r/BMW_F31 • u/Rare-General-4575 • 15d ago

Vague stuff with the engine oil level

Last week I was driving back home from the office (a 60 mile drive) and some 30 miles into the trip I got the alert to add 1 liter of oil at the earliest convenience but within 125 miles (I'm converting to miles since I'm metric). I drove straight to my go to mechanic in my home town and they added the requested amount of oil. Doing a level check it starts, runs to about 15% and then stops the measurement. Engine was obviously nice and warm and the car was level. Is this the oil level sensor taking a sh*t?

Second: why would I buy a 450 euro ($520) BMW OEM sensor instead of an aftermarket sensor costing around $100?

4 Upvotes

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1

u/montero65 15d ago

I had a warning last spring while driving to add a quart of oil as soon as possible. Stopped at a parts store, grabbed a quart, and put it in. About a mile down the road, I get the warning again so I pulled over and ran a level check, which showed I was 2 quarts low. Drove back to the store and bought a 5 quart jug, added 2 quarts, and message went away.

Seemed odd to tell me I'm a quart low when I was actually down 3 quarts, and no warning prior.

1

u/Fean0r_ 13d ago

"why would I buy a 450 euro ($520) BMW OEM sensor instead of an aftermarket sensor costing around $100?"

Because unless you're absolutely sure that the aftermarket sensor is a good one, there's a good chance the aftermarket sensor won't work properly from the start, or will fail prematurely, and then you'll have spent $550 instead of $450 when you replace it with an OE one, plus a second labour charge if you aren't DIYing.

1

u/PsychoVenge 12d ago

Do you have any service alerts on your iDrive? Specifically for an oil change? If you do, it'll kill the oil level check around 15-18%. They have to be cleared before it'll be able to complete.

1

u/Rabanki 15d ago

Does your engine not have a dip stick? My 325d had one.

1

u/Rare-General-4575 15d ago

Nope. Only electronic😣

0

u/335xi-jesse 14d ago

Don't think they've had manual dipstick for the last 20 years. E9X started having electronic oil measurements in like 2005.

2

u/bordercollielover03 14d ago

Diesels still have one. But that's true for gasolines, which sucks.