[ntran90]

Did my first oil change post break-in yesterday @5500 miles and noticed that a a little over 8qt of oil came out of the pan. I've heard from some reliable sources that the M3 calls for 6.5liters (6.87qt) while others say a oil service calls for 7liters (7.4qt). So BMW tech overfilled by .6qt on the low up to 1.13qt on the high end. I ended up adding 6qt of oil, did a oil measurement and iDrive told me that oil level was OK and the virtual dipstick was more than 3/4 of the way to the max level.

This is probably me letting my paranoia get to me...but would driving 4K+ miles with an engine that's been overfilled cause any long term issue? I've heard that overfilling an engine can cause significant damage but those cases is when it was over filled by a lot more than 1qt right?

[BzsBimmer]

Service is 7 liters.
Slight overfill is ok but 1 liter could be on the border of a tad too much.

Unfortunately you did the change on your own and may not have much recourse. The flip side is that even if the dealer did your oils change, they would never know either because they do a bulk drain and to my knowledge, do not measure discharge.

I think these have oil overfill warnings?

[ntran90]

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

Service is 7 liters.
Slight overfill is ok but 1 liter could be on the border of a tad too much.

Unfortunately you did the change on your own and may not have much recourse. The flip side is that even if the dealer did your oils change, they would never know either because they do a bulk drain and to my knowledge, do not measure discharge.

I think these have oil overfill warnings?

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not aware of any overfill warnings, if there are it never went off during the 4K+ miles I drove the car post break-in (which I guess is a good thing). The car felt fine during the time I drove it. I did the change due to not being comfortable with the long interval for the included oil changes. I still plan on bringing the car in to the dealership whenever iDrive tells me it's due for service, but I'll also be doing my own oil change every 4.5-5K miles without resetting the service reminder. To my understanding this should not affect warranty.

[kgelfen360]

What did the iDrive measure before u did the oil change?

[ntran90]

Originally Posted by kgelfen360

What did the iDrive measure before u did the oil change?

Unfortunately I didn't think to do a measurement before the oil change ...gonna do that from now on after each dealership service.

[kgelfen360]

Originally Posted by ntran90

Unfortunately I didn't think to do a measurement before the oil change ...gonna do that from now on after each dealership service.

The picture you posted after the oil change. Ur iDrive measurement is below Max which is probably fine. I looked on mine it’s recently it was right at Max. Sounds like you put recommended amount. Maybe they put more at the dealer ? Cuz like I said mine reads at Max. Not sure….

[ntran90]

Originally Posted by kgelfen360

The picture you posted after the oil change. Ur iDrive measurement is below Max which is probably fine. I looked on mine it’s recently it was right at Max. Sounds like you put recommended amount. Maybe they put more at the dealer ? Cuz like I said mine reads at Max. Not sure….

They definitely put in more at the dealership. The first pic with the oil drain was taken a little before the pan finished draining and if you look closely it's a smidge over the 8qt line, so that tells me the tech who did my break-in service overfilled my engine anywhere from .6qt to 1.13qt.

[MT6]

A dip stick would have been good, I worry about S58 left to the mercy a $1 sensor for engine oil level checks.

[N1rve]

Back when I used to be a Technician for Toyota, we were told to ensure the dip stick was to max before letting the car leave. Even though the manual would say to add like 5.3 QTs, the oil wouldn't reach the max line and customers came back complaining that we scammed them and didn't fill the oil to the max line.

So we were instructed to do the following:

1) Add Oil to Specifications.
2) Turn On Car and let it run for a few seconds. Check for leaks.
3) Power off car - Check Dip Stick.
4) Top off oil to ensure oil reads to max line.
5) Turn on car and let it run for a few seconds.
6) Power off car - Check Dip Stick Again

So I have a feeling the dealership you went to probably got the same "scolding" I got in the past because of a customer complaint (s).

[Higgs Boson]

Originally Posted by MT6

A dip stick would have been good, I worry about S58 left to the mercy a $1 sensor for engine oil level checks.

For every $1 sensor there used to be 5000 boneheads misreading 10 cent dipsticks. Therefore we all suffer by not having to double pull the hood latch.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by MT6

A dip stick would have been good, I worry about S58 left to the mercy a $1 sensor for engine oil level checks.

I think you're putting too little faith in the technology. There's a reason why liquid level sensors are cheap. They're so robust and dated that a failure is both 1) so incredibly unlikely that you'll win the lottery if it happens to you easily and 2) easy to detect with a failure warning.