[chuckg]

Well guys im sorry to neglect my car but today i had a quite a scary experience and i dont know what happened and why yes im a total newbie to the M5. Last night check engine oil level light appeared on the dash i was on the way home when it occured. So i went to the nearest gas station adnn they didnt have 10w-60 oil as labeled as needed in my engine bay. So i go to start the car this morning the engine churns over but no go, i then run to a gas station and put a quart of 10w-60 engine starts right up. Now was this due to the oil level? or is there something wrong with the engine? Also, do i have to use 10w-60 oil in my car?. Its a 2000 M5 with 59,000 miles. Also, an oil change was done almost 2,000 miles ago, and the inspection lights are green. Thanks for the help!


-Lou

M5s do go through oil more quickly than many engines and you should definitely check your oil level at least every other tankful of gas. My 2003 used a quart about every 1200 miles or so when new and then settled down to one about every 1500-1600 miles now with about 10k miles on it. There are a number of threads about this issue on this board. I seem to recall that the older E39 M5s had 10w-60 as the recommended weight of oil while mine has 10w-30 as the recommended weight. Hope nothing is wrong with your beast!

ChuckG :byee55amg

 

[dinanm5NY]

I used to ad 10-60 all the time 600 -1000 miles a quart

bmw replaced my motor a few weeks ago the oil was changed to 5w30

it doesnt burn any oil now:cheers:

 

[///MLOVER!]

well added 2 quarts of 10w-60 this afternoon car is running just fine, *knocks on wood*.

 

[ard]

Well guys im sorry to neglect my car but today i had a quite a scary experience and i dont know what happened and why yes im a total newbie to the M5. Last night check engine oil level light appeared on the dash i was on the way home when it occured. So i went to the nearest gas station adnn they didnt have 10w-60 oil as labeled as needed in my engine bay. So i go to start the car this morning the engine churns over but no go, i then run to a gas station and put a quart of 10w-60 engine starts right up. Now was this due to the oil level? or is there something wrong with the engine? Also, do i have to use 10w-60 oil in my car?. Its a 2000 M5 with 59,000 miles. Also, an oil change was done almost 2,000 miles ago, and the inspection lights are green. Thanks for the help!


-Lou

Yikes.

Well, kudos I suppose for admitting it... I wouldn't have fessed up..

Here is my thinking. You can always change the oil- changing bearings is more...difficult.

Therefore, if I ran out of oil, I'd put ANYTHING in to provide the lifeblood to the engine. straight 30, 40, 10W15, whatever. Then change the oil when I got home. Was it a low oil warning or a low oil PRESSURE warning. If the latter, you most likely did damage. Perhaps. (Maybe not much, and maybe of no consequence, but running without adequate pressure risks bearings)

Are you changing oil based on the silly maintenance indicator? Don't. Read up here on change intervals.

 

[Anita]

Lou,

You're going to know me as the person who loves to quote the owner's manual at you , but seriously, in my '02 M5 manual, it call the "CHECK ENGINE OIL LEV" a Priority 2 message and describes it as follows, "The oil level is at the absolute minimum, so add engine oil as soon as possible. Refer to page 115. (how to ck oil--add oil info on pag 116) Until then, do not drive more than approx. 30 mile (50 km)" Since it doesn't sound like you went that far to get home(?), I think you should be okay. Now as to why your car wouldn't start the next day, I don't know--unrelated problem/coincidence??

I would just check your oil level frequently as mentioned by others.

Continued good luck with your situation and enjoy your car!!

Anita

 

[Stevus]

Could the M5 go into Limp mode on low oil???

 

[jjc1843]

Lou:

1: Castrol TWS 10W-60 is the oil for the car. Available only from the dealership at about $9.00 a quart.
2: The owners manual says you can use 10W-60 Synthetic (not the TWS) as a stopgap measure.
3: I see you are on Long Island also, PM me if you want to get together. I've had my '00 about a year now, and have learned quite a bit about the beast from this website.

Stevus: I have no idea if that would trigger limp mode.

 

[ard]

Lou,

You're going to know me as the person who loves to quote the owner's manual at you , but seriously, in my '02 M5 manual, it call the "CHECK ENGINE OIL LEV" a Priority 2 message and describes it as follows, "The oil level is at the absolute minimum, so add engine oil as soon as possible. Refer to page 115. (how to ck oil--add oil info on pag 116) Until then, do not drive more than approx. 30 mile (50 km)" Since it doesn't sound like you went that far to get home(?), I think you should be okay. Now as to why your car wouldn't start the next day, I don't know--unrelated problem/coincidence??

I would just check your oil level frequently as mentioned by others.

Continued good luck with your situation and enjoy your car!!

Anita

Leave it to the woman to read the manual... (First rule of manhood: never read the manual)..

If indeed it was a low oil warning, it is OK to drive as Anitia pointed out. It is curious though if you were unable to start the car because of this... strange..

A

PS Anita, you know I'm kidding....

 

[hudson]

Well guys im sorry to neglect my car but today i had a quite a scary experience and i dont know what happened and why yes im a total newbie to the M5. Last night check engine oil level light appeared on the dash i was on the way home when it occured. So i went to the nearest gas station adnn they didnt have 10w-60 oil as labeled as needed in my engine bay. So i go to start the car this morning the engine churns over but no go, i then run to a gas station and put a quart of 10w-60 engine starts right up. Now was this due to the oil level? or is there something wrong with the engine? Also, do i have to use 10w-60 oil in my car?. Its a 2000 M5 with 59,000 miles. Also, an oil change was done almost 2,000 miles ago, and the inspection lights are green. Thanks for the help!


-Lou

Lou your car's engine wouldn't be hurt if you were only a quart or two low on oil. Plus I doubt if that was the cause of the AM no start. I would probably check the oil more often to find out how much it consumes. Buy a couple of quarts of 10-60 and put it in the trunk for when you need it.

Hope this helps
Joe

 

[Anita]

Leave it to the woman to read the manual... (First rule of manhood: never read the manual)..

If indeed it was a low oil warning, it is OK to drive as Anitia pointed out. It is curious though if you were unable to start the car because of this... strange..

A

PS Anita, you know I'm kidding....

HA HA HA And not that reading the manual doesn't raise more questions and head scratching :haha:

Like with this situation, on the next page, 68 under the section "Displays after completion of a trip" for the same display when the key is turned to the O position (you know turning your car off) "CHECK ENGINE OIL LEV" means to "Check the engine oil at the earliest opportunity (next stop for fuel). ....."

I think the more serious oil related messages are first the Priority 1 message that won't go out "STOP!ENGINE OIL PRESS" "The oil pressure is too low. Stop the vehicle and switch off the engine immediately. Refer to pages 16, 115" Now page 115 is info on how to check oil level and page 16 turns out to be the engine oil pressure warning lamp the other serious one. For this is says "May be accompanied by the warning "STOP!ENGINE OIL PRESS" in the Check Control Display panel: stop the vehicle and switch off engine immediately. Check level of oil in engine, top up as required. If oil level is correct: please contact the nearest BMW center."

No wonder I have to keep reading the manual! I can't remember all (or any of) that


Last thing to add--remember our cars, I think all years are the same, have a little bit different oil level checking procedure--you don't just pull out the dipstick and ck. You may have a sticker under the hood showing directions too. Otherwise you can just read page 115 of the manual HA HA HA

Anita