[Jyadz]

So I took my car into the dealer yesterday for a brake service and asked them to check my oil level becasue I believe my oil sensor is acting up. It was saying +1 for a while and just when I was gonna add more oil it said it was at max oil. So I asked the dealer to check my oil level and they said it was fine but right when I got home it said +1 one again.
So my questions is does the dealer have a special way of checking the oil or do they do it the same way I do with the on board computer. I think it might have showed them it was good but then changed for me to +1. So do they have way of checking the oil besides the on board oil sensor as their is no dipstick?? Thanks!

[dave4]

This might not answer your question, but should give you knowledge of how the e-dipstick works. It was posted 2 days ago in another thread by Efthreeoh.

Quote: "The bar graph in the display is showing you the level of oil in the engine for just the "last" i.e. 7th quart of oil. The bar graph is analogous to the hatch marks on a mechanical dipstick (or on BMW's old mechanical dipsticks, the area between the upper and lower lines). Many people mistake the bar graph to represent the whole 7 quarts of oil in the engine. So your engine is showing only 1/4 quart low. HOWEVER, the CBS needs time and mileage to recalculate the oil level. The engine needs constant operation and to reach specific sustained RPM for a few minutes to provide the accurate reading. Once the engine is warm and the parameters are met, the CBS updates the oil level every 5 minutes. On top of that, if you change the oil and start the engine and immediately take a reading (because the engine is still warm from the oil change it will give you one) the CBS will report the last known reading it has until it updates. So if you were a 1/4 quart low before when you changed the oil, the immediate new reading after the oil change will be the previous oil level at 1/4 quart low."

Furthermore, he posted this yesterday in the same thread:

Quote: "If you read any owners manual of cars with a mechanical dipstick, all of them say that as long as the oil level is in the range of the markings on the dipstick the engine has enough oil in it and is safe to operate. It is a fallacy that the oil level must be at the very top of the markings at all times for the engine to have a safe amount of oil in it.

BMW recommends that you oil add oil in 1 QT/1L increments when the CBS notifies you of a low oil level condition (the "+1QT" notification). Trying to tweak the oil level in 1/4 quart increments with the BMW e-dipstick is difficult and can lead to over filling the crankcase with oil. When (if) your engine gets to the "+1QT" notification, then top off the engine with 1 quart/liter of oil.

Don't over think this. BMW has engineered the system to maintain the proper level of oil and give you notification of when to add and when to change the oil."

[Efthreeoh]

OP, you can go look up my discussion on the oil level sensor when the car reaches 186,000 miles. Because of that, I've become quite familiar with the E-dipstick and have been educated by the BMW techs at the dear that did my diagnosis on how it works. The oil level sensor, if failed, will show a fault code of the failure that can be found using a BMW scan tool and will not report an oil level ("inactive"). The owners manual states that once the car has indicated a low oil level condition (i.e. "+1QT") you must add a full quart of oil within the next 120 miles. One time, along time ago, around 130,000 miles, I went past the 120 mile add a quart interval (that's easy for me todo since I drive 160 miles a day), and my e-dipstick started reporting a different oil level. That went on for over a week and then the +1QT notification came back. Now for me that time period was proably 1,500 miles, but it got the oil level all out of whack.

[Jyadz]

Originally Posted by dave4

This might not answer your question, but should give you knowledge of how the e-dipstick works. It was posted 2 days ago in another thread by Efthreeoh.

Quote: "The bar graph in the display is showing you the level of oil in the engine for just the "last" i.e. 7th quart of oil. The bar graph is analogous to the hatch marks on a mechanical dipstick (or on BMW's old mechanical dipsticks, the area between the upper and lower lines). Many people mistake the bar graph to represent the whole 7 quarts of oil in the engine. So your engine is showing only 1/4 quart low. HOWEVER, the CBS needs time and mileage to recalculate the oil level. The engine needs constant operation and to reach specific sustained RPM for a few minutes to provide the accurate reading. Once the engine is warm and the parameters are met, the CBS updates the oil level every 5 minutes. On top of that, if you change the oil and start the engine and immediately take a reading (because the engine is still warm from the oil change it will give you one) the CBS will report the last known reading it has until it updates. So if you were a 1/4 quart low before when you changed the oil, the immediate new reading after the oil change will be the previous oil level at 1/4 quart low."

Furthermore, he posted this yesterday in the same thread:

Quote: "If you read any owners manual of cars with a mechanical dipstick, all of them say that as long as the oil level is in the range of the markings on the dipstick the engine has enough oil in it and is safe to operate. It is a fallacy that the oil level must be at the very top of the markings at all times for the engine to have a safe amount of oil in it.

BMW recommends that you oil add oil in 1 QT/1L increments when the CBS notifies you of a low oil level condition (the "+1QT" notification). Trying to tweak the oil level in 1/4 quart increments with the BMW e-dipstick is difficult and can lead to over filling the crankcase with oil. When (if) your engine gets to the "+1QT" notification, then top off the engine with 1 quart/liter of oil.

Don't over think this. BMW has engineered the system to maintain the proper level of oil and give you notification of when to add and when to change the oil."

Today driving home I check the oil after about 5 mins of driving and it's said it was ad max however after about 15 min of driving I checked again and it said +1 but that post seemed to explain the reason why it was doing this. So do you believe that if it says plus one towards the end of my drive I do indeed actully need 1qrt just really scared of over filling the oil because that could cause even worse damage. Thanks also very informative post btw!

[dave4]

Originally Posted by Jyadz

Today driving home I check the oil after about 5 mins of driving and it's said it was ad max however after about 15 min of driving I checked again and it said +1 but that post seemed to explain the reason why it was doing this. So do you believe that if it says plus one towards the end of my drive I do indeed actully need 1qrt just really scared of over filling the oil because that could cause even worse damage. Thanks also very informative post btw!

Well, depends on if you just bought the car and oil change has not been done yet by you or in the last 7-10K miles, I personally would do an oil change first with BMW approved LL-01 oil and MANN filter, reset the computer and go from there.

Other people have more experience and knowledge on what would be the best thing to do, but for me an (early)oil change cannot hurt the engine. (only your wallet with ~$70 MAX if DIY)

[Jyadz]

Just had the oil changed about 2,500 miles ago. My mom owned the car for about 5 years before she passed it down to me. She claims that the oil light is broken and not to worry about. She claims one time she left the dealer after an oil change and the light came back on right after she left however I know their could be many reasons for this.....

Do you feel though as long as the oil sensor is not saying inactive it should be working fine?

Just still don't understand how the dealer 2 days ago could tell me my oil level is fine when it is showing me a quart low. And it had been saying that for about a week before I went to the dealer.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Jyadz

Just had the oil changed about 2,500 miles ago. My mom owned the car for about 5 years before she passed it down to me. She claims that the oil light is broken and not to worry about. She claims one time she left the dealer after an oil change and the light came back on right after she left however I know their could be many reasons for this.....

Do you feel though as long as the oil sensor is not saying inactive it should be working fine?

Just still don't understand how the dealer 2 days ago could tell me my oil level is fine when it is showing me a quart low. And it had been saying that for about a week before I went to the dealer.

Well now that you've added some more information about the history of the issue...

So not to pull teeth here but:

(1) Where did you get the oil changed 2,500 miles ago? At a BMW certified mechanic, dealership, or Jiffy Lube?

(2) If it was a dealership, then go back, tell them the issue, have them read the e-dipstick to verify it is showing a quart low. The have them drain the oil into a clean pan (you can reuse it if it only has 2,500 miles on it) and measure quantity of the oil that drains out so they can determine if the system is reading the oil level correctly.

(3) If it was some non-certified mechanic, then take it to a dealership and have them perform the steps in (2) above.

(4) Despite what you mother has said, the e-dipstick is an important component of the car to have functioning properly.

Good luck

[Jyadz]

thanks
Why cant we just have a dipstick