An Oil Thread THANK YOU!!!

[purcellj]

So this is not the typical oil thread. It's actually a THANK YOU!

I was aimlessly cruising around yesterday in my E92 '12 (in fastest color RED) when the oil warning light came on. It was quite clear to add a full quart. So since I was aimlessly cruising, I headed to my nearest dealer and bought 2 bottles. [it's funny the message says quarts but it's sold in liters]

Once home, I remembered all the warnings seen here about over filling. So I added 1/3L. Today, I requested an oil level and it's reading 2/3 above min (or 1/3 less than max). Glad I didn't listen to the car.

So this pad-wan thanks the board.
John

[davesaddiction]

Has anyone ever gotten an overfill message after adding a quart when the car has directed you to?

I used to try to add partial quarts, but because of how obnoxious the gauge is, now I just add a full bottle after I get the message (seems like I read this advice at some point).

[W///]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

Has anyone ever gotten an overfill message after adding a quart when the car has directed you to?

I used to try to add partial quarts, but because of how obnoxious the gauge is, now I just add a full bottle after I get the message (seems like I read this advice at some point).

Yes I've seen where people add 1 qt and it was overfilled. I've had it tell me add a quart, I'd add 0.5qt and it would be almost at max. So I never recommend add a full quart, half first and see what it reads.

[DBH]

My car has asked me twice to add oil. I've added one liter (the designated oil only comes in one liter bottles) both times and in both cases the gauge subsequently read full...go figure!

[paddy335]

Aimlessly cruising.....oh those were the days

[MKE_M3]

I get my oil change every 5000 miles and have yet to see the oil level drop on the indicator. How many miles are people driving before seeing the add a quart indicator?

[jphughan]

I always add 1/4 quart less than what the oil gauge indicates would be required to reach the top. That pretty much always gets it to read full but not overfilled. Once I had it tell me to add a quart, so I added half and it read full.

I also don't do anything at all until it's only one tick above minimum, except before a track day when I'll add more if it's down to half.

[roastbeef]

When it asks for a quart, give it a quart. I haven't had any issues.

I carry a quart in the trunk in a BMW oil bag. Velcroes to the carpet in there to keep it from moving around.

My dealership will give me a quart for free if its low, by the way.

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by MKE_M3

I get my oil change every 5000 miles and have yet to see the oil level drop on the indicator. How many miles are people driving before seeing the add a quart indicator?

~3000 miles to get a quart low with mine. I push her pretty hard...

I'd be interested to know others' intervals (I'm guessing there's a thread about it somewhere).

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

~3000 miles to get a quart low with mine. I push her pretty hard...

I'd be interested to know others' intervals (I'm guessing there's a thread about it somewhere).

I've got 27K miles on my car now and have noticed that it's burning oil noticeably less than it was in the first 15K or so. I might need to add 1 quart at most between 7500-mile intervals, but that mileage includes 6-8 track days. I used to lose 1/4 quart each track day, now I lose 1/4 quart or less every 2 track days. I don't spend sustained time in the upper rev range on the road too much.

Then again it's tough to tell because this oil level gauge is terrible. On my last oil change I told them to only fill 8.25 liters to avoid an overfill. The gauge read totally full even after having it measure multiple times while stationary, then within 2 weeks and fairly little driving it dropped to 1/2 full. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually lose 1/2 quart in 2 weeks....

[TX]

The computer only calculates 1/2 L adjustments at a time. I add in that interval and never the full +1 when asked. It can also take several trips to get a new level reading at which point if you keep adding oil you would have over-filled. if it says +1 I add 1/2 L and drive until it changes. I've even had the car returned to me from BMW twice with a > MAX over-fill alarm after I drove it home. Now I do my own oil.