possible faulty oil sensor BMW, what to do?
Discussion
for a little while now in the mornings, starting from cold my BMW 135 has been hitting me with the yellow oil light warning (lamp). i am parked on driveway which i assumed was skewing the results/setting off false red flag because of the incline.
but after a while driving (when the car heats up i presume), the warning triangle goes away. i've been checking the oil via the indicator stock and it says always says "max OK". (there is no physical dip stick!!!)
but i pulled over soon after starting my journey today instinctively, and checked the oil and the level was below the minimum level (in between zero and "minimum") but after driving another mile or two this went away. when you check e-dipstick its says max OK again.
i think the senor is gubbed?
i have at least 40 miles inbetween me and the BMW garage, if i am low on oil i must be on borrowed time. can i damage the engine if i add a little oil? (if it is indeed at max) i am now paranoid about moving it at all now!!
any advice here? thank you.
but after a while driving (when the car heats up i presume), the warning triangle goes away. i've been checking the oil via the indicator stock and it says always says "max OK". (there is no physical dip stick!!!)
but i pulled over soon after starting my journey today instinctively, and checked the oil and the level was below the minimum level (in between zero and "minimum") but after driving another mile or two this went away. when you check e-dipstick its says max OK again.
i think the senor is gubbed?
i have at least 40 miles inbetween me and the BMW garage, if i am low on oil i must be on borrowed time. can i damage the engine if i add a little oil? (if it is indeed at max) i am now paranoid about moving it at all now!!
any advice here? thank you.
Edited by scuderia430 on Thursday 28th February 12:53
Scary stuff
Fancy not having an actual dipstick!
As to course of action I suppose you can only best guess the oil level based on your experience of the car's oil consumption, whether it has any leaks etc.
The sensor lives in the bottom of the sump so unless you want to bring your next oil service forward you're going to have to make do.
Don't risk overfilling it, it'll just breathe a load of oil vapour into the inlet and make a mess.
I would say keep an eye out for the oil pressure warning but of course that's no help as by the time that illuminates it's often curtains for the engine already.
Fancy not having an actual dipstick!
As to course of action I suppose you can only best guess the oil level based on your experience of the car's oil consumption, whether it has any leaks etc.
The sensor lives in the bottom of the sump so unless you want to bring your next oil service forward you're going to have to make do.
Don't risk overfilling it, it'll just breathe a load of oil vapour into the inlet and make a mess.
I would say keep an eye out for the oil pressure warning but of course that's no help as by the time that illuminates it's often curtains for the engine already.
HustleRussell said:
Scary stuff
Fancy not having an actual dipstick!
As to course of action I suppose you can only best guess the oil level based on your experience of the car's oil consumption, whether it has any leaks etc.
The sensor lives in the bottom of the sump so unless you want to bring your next oil service forward you're going to have to make do.
Don't risk overfilling it, it'll just breathe a load of oil vapour into the inlet and make a mess.
I would say keep an eye out for the oil pressure warning but of course that's no help as by the time that illuminates it's often curtains for the engine already.
i haven't personally filled in up with oil for a good while. so unless the garage has topped it up while in for a service it can't still be at "max".Fancy not having an actual dipstick!
As to course of action I suppose you can only best guess the oil level based on your experience of the car's oil consumption, whether it has any leaks etc.
The sensor lives in the bottom of the sump so unless you want to bring your next oil service forward you're going to have to make do.
Don't risk overfilling it, it'll just breathe a load of oil vapour into the inlet and make a mess.
I would say keep an eye out for the oil pressure warning but of course that's no help as by the time that illuminates it's often curtains for the engine already.
the other day i braked hard to a stop and the oil light flashed up as soon as i did this... this hasn't happened before under hard braking. this has gotta be low oil and the gravity of the sudden stop swished the oil forward and triggered the senor... don't you think?
scuderia430 said:
HustleRussell said:
Scary stuff
Fancy not having an actual dipstick!
As to course of action I suppose you can only best guess the oil level based on your experience of the car's oil consumption, whether it has any leaks etc.
The sensor lives in the bottom of the sump so unless you want to bring your next oil service forward you're going to have to make do.
Don't risk overfilling it, it'll just breathe a load of oil vapour into the inlet and make a mess.
I would say keep an eye out for the oil pressure warning but of course that's no help as by the time that illuminates it's often curtains for the engine already.
i haven't personally filled in up with oil for a good while. so unless the garage has topped it up while in for a service it can't still be at "max".Fancy not having an actual dipstick!
As to course of action I suppose you can only best guess the oil level based on your experience of the car's oil consumption, whether it has any leaks etc.
The sensor lives in the bottom of the sump so unless you want to bring your next oil service forward you're going to have to make do.
Don't risk overfilling it, it'll just breathe a load of oil vapour into the inlet and make a mess.
I would say keep an eye out for the oil pressure warning but of course that's no help as by the time that illuminates it's often curtains for the engine already.
the other day i braked hard to a stop and the oil light flashed up as soon as i did this... this hasn't happened before under hard braking. this has gotta be low oil and the gravity of the sudden stop swished the oil forward and triggered the senor... don't you think?
But yea don't take any risks on oil, call the dealer- there may be a back door way you can determine oil level
i've read many topics on BMW forums about lack of real dipstick, everyone hates it (rightfully so) there is no way to check oil if the sensor is faulty.
it has never flashed up low oil warning under hard braking before, so that leads me to suspect that there is hardly any oil in there and it is bottoming out and triggering the warning.
it has never flashed up low oil warning under hard braking before, so that leads me to suspect that there is hardly any oil in there and it is bottoming out and triggering the warning.
BMW have been doing this for some time - my 56 plate Z4 Coupe has no dipstick and I really don't like that.
A relative has a late E46 which luckily has a dipstick and the low oil sensor - I say luckily because his sensor failed, but he could check the level until he had his next service done and had a new sensor fitted!
Just a thought, but would a failed sensor throw up a fault code on the OBD menu? If so maybe get that read first.
Failing that on a 135i I'd just bite the bullet and get it booked for an oil & filter change regardless of when it's next due, to get the comfort factor of it having a working sensor.
A relative has a late E46 which luckily has a dipstick and the low oil sensor - I say luckily because his sensor failed, but he could check the level until he had his next service done and had a new sensor fitted!
Just a thought, but would a failed sensor throw up a fault code on the OBD menu? If so maybe get that read first.
Failing that on a 135i I'd just bite the bullet and get it booked for an oil & filter change regardless of when it's next due, to get the comfort factor of it having a working sensor.
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