Discussion
Measure the oil level at regular intervals, depends a bit on how much your engine uses, but no more than every 1000 miles or once a week, top up with exactly the same oil that was used for the fill to keep it full. You shouldn't have to add more than 250ml, any more and you're not checking often enough or have an oil consumption problem.
I never wait but curious how some folks seems to be able to cite with apparent accuracy how much their car consumes. My dipstick at least has a range within both the min and max markers and I'm thinking at least for the min level the main oil level gauge is likely a more consisent reference point for the min level than the dipstick for you to then more accurately assess use?
mudster said:
Check oil level regularly and top up if required. Would never wait for an oil light to come on.
The only reason not to wait for the light is if you are concerned about it's reliability, which is a legitimate concern on older cars (The one on my E39 died some time ago). The light is not an oil pressure light, it's specifically designed to tell you when to top up. This is why the description in the handbook tells you that it means you need to top up 'when convenient (ie when you next refuel)' rather than 'immediately'. There are 3 stages IIRC, only the second two stages are lights you should avoid ever seeing.
RC1 said:
BritishRacinGrin said:
...by noting the amount of oil added to get it bach up to the 'MAX' mark, probably using the gauge on the side of the bottle?
but the max mark is a notch of about 4-5mm in the dipstickI wait for the light although I rarely ever see it come on. On the wifes car it came on (usually when you stop and turn the engine off not while driving) and after topping it up I checked a few times and it seemed to resolve itself.
On the basis that my car decided to tell me once to drive carefully and seek immediate attention due to no rear brake pads only to be told by the garage the pads still had a couple of thousand miles in them, I can't help thinking that there's a healthy safety margin on these things.
On the basis that my car decided to tell me once to drive carefully and seek immediate attention due to no rear brake pads only to be told by the garage the pads still had a couple of thousand miles in them, I can't help thinking that there's a healthy safety margin on these things.
Fox- said:
mudster said:
Check oil level regularly and top up if required. Would never wait for an oil light to come on.
The only reason not to wait for the light is if you are concerned about it's reliability, which is a legitimate concern on older cars (The one on my E39 died some time ago). The light is not an oil pressure light, it's specifically designed to tell you when to top up. This is why the description in the handbook tells you that it means you need to top up 'when convenient (ie when you next refuel)' rather than 'immediately'. There are 3 stages IIRC, only the second two stages are lights you should avoid ever seeing.
mudster said:
Fox- said:
mudster said:
Check oil level regularly and top up if required. Would never wait for an oil light to come on.
The only reason not to wait for the light is if you are concerned about it's reliability, which is a legitimate concern on older cars (The one on my E39 died some time ago). The light is not an oil pressure light, it's specifically designed to tell you when to top up. This is why the description in the handbook tells you that it means you need to top up 'when convenient (ie when you next refuel)' rather than 'immediately'. There are 3 stages IIRC, only the second two stages are lights you should avoid ever seeing.
I have the luxury of the computer oil display and a dipstick. If the display shows that it has dropped a bit, I check on the dipstick. It showed about 20% down on the display and similar on the dipstick so added 200ml which brought it back to max. Maybe the electronic one is accurate after all?
I check regularly and wouldn't let it get down to the minimum before topping up.
I check regularly and wouldn't let it get down to the minimum before topping up.
I wait for the OBC to say "add 1 litre", not the oil light (never seen that on any car) having said that my last m3 only used 1 litre over 38,000 miles, my old 520d didn't use any over 50,000 miles, the Z4C has never used any, so far the 335d hasn't used any either over 10,000 miles.
The only BMW I've had that used oil was an ex demo M3 and that wanted a litre every 5k, I suspect it was ragged by test pilots before it was fully run in.
I know some people get horrible oil consumption, rightly or wrongly I've always seen that as a sign of a badly run in car.
The only BMW I've had that used oil was an ex demo M3 and that wanted a litre every 5k, I suspect it was ragged by test pilots before it was fully run in.
I know some people get horrible oil consumption, rightly or wrongly I've always seen that as a sign of a badly run in car.
Wills2 said:
I wait for the OBC to say "add 1 litre", not the oil light (never seen that on any car)
The E46 generation and older BMW's do not have an 'Add 1 litre' warning text, instead they have an amber oil can symbol which illuminates once you switch the engine off if the oil requires topup.The modern ones instead say 'Add 1 litre' which is presumably the more up to date equivalent of that light.
Fox- said:
Wills2 said:
I wait for the OBC to say "add 1 litre", not the oil light (never seen that on any car)
The E46 generation and older BMW's do not have an 'Add 1 litre' warning text, instead they have an amber oil can symbol which illuminates once you switch the engine off if the oil requires topup.The modern ones instead say 'Add 1 litre' which is presumably the more up to date equivalent of that light.
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