[skimo]

2 days ago i got the oil level low warning in the idrive that went something like this "oil level low please stop the car immediately and service" . This was strange since oil was fine just a few weeks ago. So I pulled over, and tried to check the oil but could not find the dip stick deal in the engine bay. So i went back in and checked oil from instrument cluster. After a few seconds it returned "OK" and the oil meter was all the way to the right. Warning went way from the idrive...everything seemed fine.

Yesterday I got the warning again only after switching off the car. I ran the check again in the instrument cluster and got the bar all the way to the left and it said "+1qt" . This morning I did not get the warning...

I scheduled a service apt as soon as I got the first warning but because of holiday season the first apt I could get is not till tomorrow.

Do i need to be worried? I kept on eye on the temperature gauge but the engine temp was normal. Anything I could check/watch out for till apt day?

Thanks in advance!

ps - its an 07 335i coupe with oil cooler

[777ER]

How long do you drive the car daily? Short trips will cause this problem.

When you bring it in for service, they're gonna drain the oil into a measuring pitcher and if it comes out to the right amount, they're just gonna put it back into the engine per the SB.
Next step would be to drive the car or run the engine at 3K+ rpms for a # of minutes to burn off any moisture containments in the oil which is apparently the problem since it messes with the oil level sensing unit inside the oil pan.
If that doesn't fix the problem, oil level sensor replacement would be in order.

I had the same problem and the fix was replacing the oil level sensor before the SB came out...never had the problem again.

BTW there's no dipstick on the engine.

[mwarsh1]

you were prolly on a hill and it throws throws the sensor off, that prolly all, but take it to the dealer, adn check it out for sure.

[blacknight335]

when the light comes on it just means you should add a quart of oil thats all... I had it come up on me once. I called it in and they say after a certain amount of miles its normal. add a quart and you should be fine...

[noro]

There is a known issue with faulty oil level sensors, however before you get worried give it a few days. The system is actually pretty prone to problems because it simply senses the level for a 10-15 mins and then reads out the average. So if the car was idling on an incline for a while you may get a faulty level. The best way to check the level is to get on a highway and check the level after driving about 10 mins. That's will most likely be the true level.

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Or you could just add 1 qt of oil.

[scollins]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

Or you could just add 1 qt of oil.

That is incredibly bad advice! Overfilling your engine with oil will destroy it nearly as quickly as having too little. As has been stated, there is a known fault in the oil level sensors, including a SIB for it. If I added a quart of oil every time my sensor indicated it was needed, I'd be seriously overfilled and wrecking my engine.

[skimo]

thanks everyone. Car at service. They gave me a 2009 528i loaner