William's 330Ci ZHP Maintenance and Project Thread

[slater]

Ah I thought he added oil and now it’s a smudge near full. Didn’t think it would be a faulty sensor as he replaced it recently...

ahh heck, i had no idea... oops.

San is correct, I changed my sensor only last year if memory serves. The oil light went on approximately two months after I changed it. I'm not concerned, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I live on a hill and no matter what direction I go I have to go downhill for a solid 5 minutes, which probably pushes oil away from the sensor in the oil pan, giving a higher chance for triggering a false positive for low oil

yeah, i guess that's possible. does it to it in your sister's car under the same conditions?

[BMWCurves]

I think the dipstick is a crap measurement on these cars. I went through the same ordeal -- yellow oil light comes on after shutting off the car, check the dipstick, level is perfect, wtf, repeat. I finally changed the sensor thinking that it was faulty, but noticed that I only drained maybe 5 quarts of oil when I was doing it...dipstick still read normal...fudge

Yup. I just keep it at the top of the range on the dipstick and assume it’s good enough.

yeah, i guess that's possible. does it to it in your sister's car under the same conditions?

Not that I know of but she doesn’t visit my folks’ place that often so I’m not sure. What’s interesting is my father has mentioned the same issue, but it’s more rare than in my car (maybe once every 3-4 months vs my ~1 month)


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[holyc0w]

I think the dipstick is a crap measurement on these cars. I went through the same ordeal -- yellow oil light comes on after shutting off the car, check the dipstick, level is perfect, wtf, repeat. I finally changed the sensor thinking that it was faulty, but noticed that I only drained maybe 5 quarts of oil when I was doing it...dipstick still read normal...fudge

My oil changes usually only come up with a bit over 5 quarts too. I wonder if the dipstick could lose accuracy as it ages.

[san]

My oil changes usually only come up with a bit over 5 quarts too. I wonder if the dipstick could lose accuracy as it ages.

If the dipstick was removed to change the o ring or for whatever reason and it wasn’t seated properly even by a few mm, that can cause quite a big variation in its reading. Left alone I can’t see how it would lose it accuracy.


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[Sockethead]

That's a very good point San!

[az3579]

Every oil change I do ends up taking between 6-7 quarts (oil filter takes some in as well). What are you guys doing?? lol

My oil changes usually only come up with a bit over 5 quarts too. I wonder if the dipstick could lose accuracy as it ages.

I actually chuckled when I read this.



Just for everyone's reference, the manual states that the vehicle's engine should be warmed up and checked a few minutes after shutting the motor off.

The exact text is as follows. As obvious as it may seem, there are a couple of points that some people miss, mainly Steps 1 and 2.

Checking the oil level
1. Park the vehicle on a level surface
2. Switch the engine off after it has reached normal operating temperature
3. After approx. 5 minutes, pull the dipstick out and wipe it off with a clean lint-free cloth, paper towel, or similar material
4. Carefully push the dipstick all the way into the guide tube and pull it out again
5. The oil level should be between the two marks on the dipstick.


I only bring this up because for years I would check my oil level when the engine was completely cold. This is how I thought you were supposed to check it, but then I read that in the manual and scratched my head. My garage floor is pretty level, but not entirely (car rolls slightly in neutral), so that could potentially mess with a reading as well.

[holyc0w]

I only bring this up because for years I would check my oil level when the engine was completely cold. This is how I thought you were supposed to check it, but then I read that in the manual and scratched my head. My garage floor is pretty level, but not entirely (car rolls slightly in neutral), so that could potentially mess with a reading as well.

Did you check if there was a difference when doing it cold versus warm?

[az3579]

Did you check if there was a difference when doing it cold versus warm?

There does seem to be a difference. Unfortunately the difference isn't consistent... sometimes it shows more when cold, sometimes it shows more when warm. It's really weird.

Using logic, I'd imagine checking it warm would show a lesser amount. Therefore, I go with the warm measurement, because I'd rather have a touch more in there than a touch less (since my car uses a lot of oil in general).

[Sockethead]

Technically warm would show more due to the expansion of the fluid. I think depends more on how long you wait to check after turning off the engine... It takes a while for everything to drop back into the pan

[az3579]

Technically warm would show more due to the expansion of the fluid. I think depends more on how long you wait to check after turning off the engine... It takes a while for everything to drop back into the pan

Oil being sucked up into various places is why I would have thought it to show less. Interesting point you bring.

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