Electronic Oil Dipstick - Problem for the books...

bboomer · 27th December 2006, 01:01

I have 3200 miles on the beast.
At the 1200 mile service (oil change) the car came back to me with a reading of 1.3liters.
At 3000 she was reading .6 and @ 3200 she was down to .1liter.
So I added only a half quart.
I waited several days for the electronic "dipstick" to register, but it did not move off of .1liters.
I brought her into the dealer for some other service issues and asked him to check it out.
He told me the car was overfull @ 1.4liters and so they drained some oil out of it.
Now it's reading .8liters.

THIS REALLY CONCERNS ME!!
What are others experiencing with this electronic dipstick?

Sebring NL · 27th December 2006, 01:11

sorry, you added a "half quart"??

Just to be sure here, may sound stupid;

What does that mean? 1/8 of a litre?

If you say it reads (0).1 litre, does this mean 1/10 of a litre?

I guess the car gave you false info , it was still on 1.3L when you added the 1/8 litre

Fast6 · 27th December 2006, 01:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebring NL

sorry, you added a "half quart"??

Just to be sure here, may sound stupid;

What does that mean? 1/8 of a litre?

If you say it reads (0).1 litre, does this mean 1/10 of a litre?

I guess the car gave you false info , it was still on 1.3L when you added the 1/8 litre

1 US quart = 0.94635295 L

bboomer · 27th December 2006, 02:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebring NL

sorry, you added a "half quart"??

Just to be sure here, may sound stupid;

What does that mean? 1/8 of a litre?

If you say it reads (0).1 litre, does this mean 1/10 of a litre?

I guess the car gave you false info , it was still on 1.3L when you added the 1/8 litre

About a half litre.

bboomer · 27th December 2006, 02:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebring NL

sorry, you added a "half quart"??

Just to be sure here, may sound stupid;

What does that mean? 1/8 of a litre?

If you say it reads (0).1 litre, does this mean 1/10 of a litre?

I guess the car gave you false info , it was still on 1.3L when you added the 1/8 litre

I believe there are ~26 oz. to a quart and ~ 33oz to a litre.

jmayzurk · 27th December 2006, 02:40

I've had a similar experience. Mine had been sitting consistently at 0.8L on the gauge, then as I was driving (after 30 minutes straight on the highway) it suddenly dropped to -0.1L and I got a check control warning.

Fine, I pull over and add half a quart. Then it goes to 1.4L on the gauge.

Based on my experience, yours, and the many others posted here, I surmise that the gauge is simply not very accurate and/or does not have adequate damping in the measurement/reporting logic.

It's frustrating, isn't it? Especially such a fundamental measurement, one that generations of "car guys" have been programmed to carefully monitor.

I understand that a regular dipstick is not possible given the semi-dry sump configuration with no true external oil tank, but all the more reason BMW should make this work properly.

unfoundhorsepower · 27th December 2006, 02:55

Bret.....32 oz. =qt
64 oz.=1/2gal.
128oz.=1 gal. all readings on the dash are in U.S.A. measure, well thats what I go by, and never had a problem.......don't think so hard.....

unfoundhorsepower · 27th December 2006, 03:01

What does the manual read ?

dteray1 · 27th December 2006, 03:19

I never actually have a problem with the electronic dip stick at all.
But that is maybe because of the way the car was used. Mainly highway miles.

pvr · 27th December 2006, 03:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by unfoundhorsepower

What does the manual read ?

I know you know the answer to that one, UFH. Just politely suggesting he read the manual, I'm guessing.

I've had the car almost one year now, and I've never had a problem with the oil measurement adding one liter at a time, when the car asks for it. Sure I check it from time to time moving through the BC, but I don't add anything unless the car warning blings me, as per the manual. After 2k miles, needing to add a liter is not uncommon. Given bboomer's sequence as he outlines it, something is amiss. He added 0.5 liters (I presume, as the recommended oil comes in liter bottles), and the service tech (some unstated time later) drained about 0.6 liters, to bring it to a level higher than it read at 3k miles. Perhaps it really was at 0.7L rather than 0.1L when he added the oil. Just a guess

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