328i - oil level light while driving

[john_p]

If I'm "pressing on" in the 328 the oil level (yellow) light tends to come on after ~30 mins of driving.

It had a new oil level switch 6 months ago, so I'm reasonably confident the switch is reading correctly.. it never does it with normal driving, just if I drive it a little more enthusiastically than normal. (Not nutcase revving, just letting the revs get a bit higher eg. in sport mode where it changes at about 4-6k rather than 2-4k).

It's a E46 328i - auto box. 122k. Oil level is fine. No other engine/starting problems. It's not far from a service, could oil be in need of a change?

Otherwise, what could be causing it, and should I worry?

[phelix]

How long does it stay on after you ease off? Would be interesting to see what the level is on the dipstick if you were to pull over very rapidly next time it comes on and check the oil level with the engine still running - is oil in the cylinder head not draining back into the sump?

[Fox-]

phelix said:

How long does it stay on after you ease off? Would be interesting to see what the level is on the dipstick if you were to pull over very rapidly next time it comes on and check the oil level with the engine still running - is oil in the cylinder head not draining back into the sump?

It'll be on min if you do that, as the dipstick is only correct after you have allowed 5 minutes for the oil to drain back into the sump.

[phelix]

Fox- said:

phelix said:

How long does it stay on after you ease off? Would be interesting to see what the level is on the dipstick if you were to pull over very rapidly next time it comes on and check the oil level with the engine still running - is oil in the cylinder head not draining back into the sump?

It'll be on min if you do that, as the dipstick is only correct after you have allowed 5 minutes for the oil to drain back into the sump.

If it's below the minimum then that would indicate oil not draining back into the sump, no?

About a year ago I changed the valve cover gasket on my 130K mile E46 328i and found I had to retrieve bits of it from the top of the head as it had become v brittle and hard and fell apart upon removal of the cover.

[john_p]

phelix said:

How long does it stay on after you ease off? Would be interesting to see what the level is on the dipstick if you were to pull over very rapidly next time it comes on and check the oil level with the engine still running - is oil in the cylinder head not draining back into the sump?

It stays on till I stop and after the engine is turned off, I think the longest instances were ~15 mins of driving. I will attempt to check the level next time I drive it.