[bakili]

I just realise today, there are no oil dipstick on my e90 318i.
How stupid is this!?
Anyone experienced any problems with oil level sensor?
Is there any way to check oil level manually at all?
really this stupid feature puts me off from car, i will not feel confident taking my car on long jorney.

[flyfs6]

Its should be there on right hand side of the engine (when you're facing it), its not obvious is all.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by flyfs6

Its should be there on right hand side of the engine (when you're facing it), its not obvious is all.

Some of the petrol engines don't get one.

[E92Fan]

On some of the BMW engines there's no way to check oil manually with a dipstick - you rely on the oil level sensor. No reports of them going wrong either to be honest. You can check the level of the oil electronically on the iDrive if you have it, or using the on-board computer via the info display within the speedo housing. Toggle the up/down lever on the indicator stalk to cycle through the menu until you see the oil can symbol, then press the reset button on the end of the indicator stalk to check the oil level.

You'll get used to it... I regularly take my car on long journeys (2000 mile round trips) and there's never a problem with the oil.

[creepy coupe]

I had an oil change last month, I left the dealers and checked the level while still on the forecourt, it read full, the next day after only 6 miles, I checked it again and it was below half, I topped up to the max which took .75 of a litre, and it’s has stayed that way ever since.

First miss read I’ve had though.

[bakili]

I dont have idrive, but have on board computer, which shows me oil level.
But can you imagine, i drive some where on motorway at 2am in the morning, and oil light comes on to top up 1 litre? Would you trust sensor? What if sensor fault? You put liter of oil-damage engine. If you dont put oil-damage engine?
Tow to dealer, and find out oil sensor was faulty or function correctly

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by bakili

I dont have idrive, but have on board computer, which shows me oil level.
But can you imagine, i drive some where on motorway at 2am in the morning, and oil light comes on to top up 1 litre? Would you trust sensor? What if sensor fault? You put liter of oil-damage engine. If you dont put oil-damage engine?
Tow to dealer, and find out oil sensor was faulty or function correctly

You would normally add 1/4 litre of oil and then recheck the level. You are better to have less oil than required rather than it being overfilled.

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by bakili

I dont have idrive, but have on board computer, which shows me oil level.
But can you imagine, i drive some where on motorway at 2am in the morning, and oil light comes on to top up 1 litre? Would you trust sensor? What if sensor fault? You put liter of oil-damage engine. If you dont put oil-damage engine?
Tow to dealer, and find out oil sensor was faulty or function correctly

Even if it says you need a top up as a first warning, there's more than enough oil in there for the engine to work properly. And as Will says, you add a 1/4l first, check, then add more if necessary.


And have you considered what would happen if you didn't have an oil level sensor? You drive on motorway at 2am, the engine is pissing oil out everywhere but you have no clue until the next time you check your oil, or worse still your engine seizes up...!

[bakili]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

Even if it says you need a top up as a first warning, there's more than enough oil in there for the engine to work properly. And as Will says, you add a 1/4l first, check, then add more if necessary.


And have you considered what would happen if you didn't have an oil level sensor? You drive on motorway at 2am, the engine is pissing oil out everywhere but you have no clue until the next time you check your oil, or worse still your engine seizes up...!

That true, but anyway, oil dipstick will give more accurate reading-i miss it

[dxb335d]

No more accurate, more ''manual''. Feels normal and makes you feel comfortable knwoing you have checked. I wouldnt like trusting a computer either.

[AndyR]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

On some of the BMW engines there's no way to check oil manually with a dipstick - you rely on the oil level sensor. No reports of them going wrong either to be honest. You can check the level of the oil electronically on the iDrive if you have it, or using the on-board computer via the info display within the speedo housing. Toggle the up/down lever on the indicator stalk to cycle through the menu until you see the oil can symbol, then press the reset button on the end of the indicator stalk to check the oil level.

You'll get used to it... I regularly take my car on long journeys (2000 mile round trips) and there's never a problem with the oil.

Do you know if the 335i has a manual check? I want to do an early running in oil change myself and would prefer to check with a dipstick rather than on the idrive!

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by AndyR

Do you know if the 335i has a manual check? I want to do an early running in oil change myself and would prefer to check with a dipstick rather than on the idrive!

No it doesn't.

If you do the oil change yourself, you'll need 6.5 litres of oil. Use either the Castrol 5W-30 or better yet, a Silkolene 5W-30 (available from opieoils.com) And you'll obviously need an oil filter (£10)

[AndyR]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

you'll need 6.5 litres of oil.

Thanks,

Pre-emted my next question!. Cars has gone 2k miles now and I feel happer changing out the oil (even if officially it is not required).

I have purchased the silkolene pro s from opieoils before (oilmansi) as I used it in my S2000 for many years! - great oil and great company!. On offer too at the momenn via a link from the s2000 owners club - circa £35 for 5litres which is a very good price indeed!

Andy

[E92Fan]

That's a very good price! If you're going to be going down the Silkolene route, then you should buy the ProS 5W-40 - it's the best oil out there bar none for the 335i engine.

[lesfinnie]

On my previous car, which had a dipstick but I never checked it, I just relied on the oil level indicator and never had a problem in seven years

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

That's a very good price! If you're going to be going down the Silkolene route, then you should buy the ProS 5W-40 - it's the best oil out there bar none for the 335i engine.

Tony,

OT I know,

If, as I do, I change the oil every 8K ish, do I still need to use LongLife (LL04) approved oil?

Can I use other high performance, perhaps better, non LL oils instead?

[ElegantSpoon]

I think your a little paranoid.

[beemerbird]

O/P I wouldn't worry about it. My 330i didn't have a dipstick and never had any problems.

Neither of my Porsches had a dipstick and again never a problem. With respect a Porsche Turbo is guaranteed to use a certain amount of oil every 1000 miles, certainly much more than your E90 probably ever will. I only had a display showing segments as to the oil level via an oil level sensor and you know what, it worked fine.

[bakili]

Originally Posted by ElegantSpoon

I think your a little paranoid.

only bit

[Tunna_uk]

as a time served mechanic, I too was a little perplexed at not having a dip stick, but soon got used to it.
The thing I miss is being able to look at the colour of the oil.....

I think BMW gone down this road because most people NEVER check the oil between services, so this is to prevent engine damage (warning system level warning etc)

Only car nuts/ petrol heads check oil levels

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Tunna_uk

The thing I miss is being able to look at the colour of the oil.....

Exactly my issue too.

I suppose you can peep inside the filler cap, but there's only oil film visible in there.

But its not the same as seeing a nice, clear, golden drop of oil on a dip stick.

[xenon]

Luddites. For years you've always relied on a pressure switch for pressure so why not a sensor for level too? That way the car can alert you to low level that 90% of owners never check.

Not only that, it's a hot-wire sensor so it's fail-safe. If the sensor itself fails you will get an immediate notification - you wouldn't just drive around for miles with the level gradually falling in blissful ignorance.

Get with 2010.....

You'll be moaning about no choke next.