How to tell when your engine is effed.

[danewilson77]

Drive it till it dies, and go with a 5W/10W-30/40

[das boots]

KInda late on this....My sensor light comes on at 1/2 qt. under the high limit. I always carry a spare qt in the trunk. Like DW says...when funds are low...keep on riding her until she dies. But in the meantime....start looking for other options. Always have a back up plan..or a couple. Planning is the key.

[WOLFN8TR]

Seems that each sensor is a little different.
With the ZHP it seems to come on whenever I'm 3 molecules low...

So true, my yellow light comes on anywhere between 1/4 of a quart and 3 molecules.




Bayerische-Motoren-Werke

[WOLFN8TR]

Your dipstick might be wrong. E46s shipped with all different lengths of dipsticks, it's a mess. My light comes on when I'm ~.5 quarts down on the dipstick, but light on means a quart down- so I add a full quart.

The sensors can go bad- when my sedan's sensor went bad it just stopped reporting low oil.

Bayerische-Motoren-Werke

[nk_zhp]

The sensor measures the height of the fluid averaged out as the fluid splashes from side to side as you drive. Cars that spend more time driving on slopes as oppose to a straight level roads will likely see more variation in fluid height even if the amount of fluid is identical and the average may be lower as a result of that causing inconsistent yellow lights.

[WOLFN8TR]

Dipstick Issues

http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=765418


Bayerische-Motoren-Werke