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How much oil to add when the yellow low level oil warning lamp comes on?

35K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  dmax  
#1 ·
The BMW Manual says to add oil with in the next 30 miles of driving but it doesn't say how much?

Basically I'm asking what is the lowest level of oil the car will get to in order to set off the yellow oil warning lamp?

I'm also trying to keep track of and get a visual image how much oil I'm weeping from the OFHG.
:hmm:


thanks
 
#5 · (Edited)
See that is the thing. Last time the oil lamp came on the dipstick was bone dry. Another time there was oil on the stick indicating it was low. This time there was oil on the stick but it didn't indicate to me that it was low.

Also this time the yellow oil lamp came on and stayed on all day when I was driving until I refilled oil. Normally in the past the oil lamp would come on and turn off on it's own in a few minutes.

I was assuming the lamp being on for such a long time was an indicator that the oil was extremely low but the dipstick did show a good amount of oil was in there.

It's more a question of what exactly is the lamp communicating in regards to the oil level severity? Does long yellow mean severly low oil level compared with a short yellow which would mean low but not super low level?
 
#6 · (Edited)
Sounds like your oil is not flowing and draining properly. The apparent missing oil could be stuck somewhere in the engine and took time to drain back down to the pan. Avoid using non-BMW oil and filter. Also avoid excessive tampering with the oil cap which opens up a gap and allows in all kinds of contaminants to interfere with the oil
 
#8 · (Edited)
Here is a very rough idea for you.

If you turn off the car, and the oil light then comes on, that usually means you're about a quart low. If you were to check your dipstick, it will usually have some oil on it but it'll be well below the notches.

If the oil light comes on while driving, that usually means you're anywhere between 1.5 and 2 quarts low. Usually the dipstick is bone dry in those instances.

This is again a very rough estimate, the best thing is to just use your dipstick. Don't just blindly put in oil.

The oil light does not indicate severity to you. It will only come on when the level is below the minimum threshold. If it's coming on and off, that usually means you're hovering right at the bottom threshold or the level sensor itself is defective. Again, only sure way to know is checking with the dipstick.
 
#9 ·
The general consensus is to add as much oil as the dipstick is telling you!!! The oil light in E46 is ONLY to let you know that you might be low, it doesnt tell you how much to add. BMW didnt say in the manual how much to add because they know as the light could be tripped from being a quart low or as much as 3 quarts low.

Now, with E90s, the car will actually tell you how much to add.


Check your dipstick just as much as you would in your old E36 and add oil accordingly.
 
#15 ·
Olaf, you've probably already added oil, but you can just add 1/4 qt. at a time, until you get to the gasket...which I hope you will soon! It was fun and easy...sort of...found out about my mistake about 4 months later...the alt wasn't bolted on the top...I'm really talented that way!

oh my. the mighty delmarco is asking for help?
Here we stand by our man, and Del is one of them. You weren't around when he got his head caught in his rear seat armrest, Jason. We all worked to help him get it unstuck...over the internet, mind you. When it was all over, he added a cupholder to hide the evidence!

Be nice to him or I'll have to find some way to mess with you! lol (but seriously!)
not to hijack the thread, but is there a way to check if the yellow oil light works? i've never seen mine turn on.
You could siphon out 1 qt. of oil, or a little at a time. Is there some reason you don't think it's working? It does signal when it's failing, like mine did consistently, after every start for over a year. Yours is undoubtedly fine. If you did that, though, by the same reasoning, you'd want to test many critical sensors? Oh, also, Autozone does free code reading...many things will signal their failure...not sure about oil light, but maybe...don't think I had a code...I had a warning light (telling me sensor was bad).