Oil Level on the 1M

[Mark 1M]

I had the full car updated at bmw so its got all the latest sofware on the car.

Now i am having issues with the oil level sensor
Run the car home around 11 miles all ok drive another 4 miles and parked up for around 30min after starting the car it said top up as soon as possible after 100 yards oil was in between min and max

Called BMW and was told bring it in started the car and the oil was at min please add 1lt of oil on the way to bmw it jumped to full 2min later half full
cant make its mind up

Bmw drained all the oil out and it was between min and max so added
1/2 lt of oil and said the test on the oil level sensor was ok

Could it be the update ????

Drove 4 miles home oil was showing full then 5 min later half full i am not happy as you can imagine

Read the codes and guess what Fault P2F9E
Thermal oil level sensor

Back to BMW on monday hope they can fix it this time.

I even gave them these pictures i expected them to change the sensor
the car is under warranty.
They even put the oil taken out to mesure back in the car

Has any one has this before ?

[Tinsta]

That is very odd.. yep looks like coincidence with the software update and the sensor failing.. I would have got new oil put back in, if it wasn't new already.

[Mark 1M]

Originally Posted by Tinsta

That is very odd.. yep looks like coincidence with the software update and the sensor failing.. I would have got new oil put back in, if it wasn't new already.

Oil has done 800miles but was not asked or i would have put new oil in.

[Mark 1M]

Update
Cleared the fault code
Took the battery off for 20min and all looks to be good now.

[Dackelone]

Read the last pdf on how the OCS(oil condition sensor) works. Basically IF you do lots of short trips the water condensation in the oil can mess with the sensor. Also yes, when you get a SW update it could cause problems bc the SW updates EVERYTHING.

My basic practice is I do not trust what the car says until I have been driving for at least 45 minutes. You have to drive at least 10 minutes or 10 kms for the BC to even tell you the oil level. Still... on my car it might show the oil slightly low at first.. but after 45 minutes, it will show the oil level full.

That's my two cents on this e-dip-stick. I wish BMW would give us our old dip-sticks back. That and a place for a spare tire.

Dackel


.

[RS375]

I've had the full software updates and have not had a problem. My car is pretty much always run up to temperature though and has had additional oil changes.

Like Dackel, I too would like to see the good old manual dipstick come back. I've fond memories of looking for the damn thing when I bought the car...

[1'M Blue]

Can the oil reading issue be affected by the way the car is parked ? for example if it was parked on a slope ?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by 1'M Blue

Can the oil reading issue be affected by the way the car is parked ? for example if it was parked on a slope ?

I don't think so. That is why the BC won't give you a reading until you drive ten minutes or ten kilometers. I think it also works like the fuel gauge... in that its not an instant reading but rather and average reading of the last few miles/kms.

Dack

[1'M Blue]

Dackelone

I say this because I had some few fluctuations in oil readings ... I had parked at a slope a few times and it gives me that I have low oil readings .. then after movements it returns to normal like you said after 10min of driving ..

[h-manuk]

Yes the oil warning light can come on after parking on a slope. I've had this occur to me a few times over the years. Also to a few owners I know too!

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by h-manuk

Yes the oil warning light can come on after parking on a slope. I've had this occur to me a few times over the years. Also to a few owners I know too!

Like I have said... I don't trust what the BC says until I have been driving for about an hour. Then I will believe its level that it reports.

[Riky]

I had something quite similar last week with my 1M. It has 14.000Km, and I've been using it for short trips the last few weeks. Last week i decided to take the 1M to a track day at Spa - Francorchamps. It's about a 250 Km drive from where i live.

So before i set of i checked the oil level and it was at max. So i set off.

About 200 Km down the road at normal driving speeds i suddenly got a orange warning the oil level was at min and i had to add 1L of oil.

At 5 Km from the entrance of the track the warning turned into a red warning stating to add oil immediately.

So how could I've burned more than 1 L of oil on 250Km of normal highway driving.

I decided to drive to the track and we added 1L of oil. Let the engine run for a few minutes and the e-dipstick was in the middle. So we decided to add another 1/2L of oil. The strange thing is this last /2 L of oil never showed in the oil level!. We let the engine run for 20 min or more, and still the oil level never raised above the level before adding the 1/2 L.

I decided to start driving at the track since it was above minimum. After a while of fun at the track ( did about 5 stints of 30 mins) the oil level was still at the middle of the oil meter..

Strange thing happened when i got home ( after 250 Km of normal high way driving). The oil level was back at maximum.

So the 1/2 L of oil was lost during 2.5 hours of track driving, and showed up when i got home.

After reading the technical info in this thread, i understand there must have been moisture in the engine oil before i set of to the track so the measurement was at maximum, while in reality there wasn't enough oil in the engine. Only after a long drive the measurement was correct.

So if i didn't go to the track, i might have been driving with an engine low on oil and never would have known.

Coclusion: Take your 1M to track every few months .

Picure at the famous curve Eau Rouge- Raidillion:

[Mark 1M]

If i was you i would drain all the oil out and mesure it to make sure you have not over filled it.

[Shroom]

Amen, drain and check

[b33g33]

Mine did exactly the same thing multiple times the last few weeks! Took it in, Dealer replaced some sensors I took the car home and the next morning same damn message.

I know there is oil in there and it's due for a change in the next week or so anyway, so I am going to take it back in and have them look at it again.

I REALLY wish the 1M came with a dipstick.

[CarJunkie]

I had the low oil warning come on when I let the car idle on a slope for about 5 minutes. After a few minutes of driving, it went back to the previous reading, about 1/2 between max and +1l. I am sure if I had turned the car off, it would not have mattered, but the engine was running while the car was parked on the slope with e-brake on.

[nachob]

Sorry, now I'm worried too. I have said it from day one, why I want a dipstick but tired of getting flamed over it so I won't say it anymore!

Thanks for letting us know so we can keep an eye out.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by b33g33

I REALLY wish the 1M came with a dipstick.

Peter at TuningWerk in Munich offers a dipstick kit. The kit is only for N54's.

Maybe their US office knows about it? TuningWerkNA

[Goombeh]

it definitely depends on how level the car is.

I check mine on screen once every few weeks so I know if it's moving. Then if I ever get a low oil warning (which I do), I know it's not true as it doesn't just suddenly lose a few litres over such a short period, and it's just the incline.

I too would love a physical stick. But while she's not using any oil, it doesn't bother me too much.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Peter at TuningWerk in Munich offers a dipstick kit. The kit is only for N54's.

Maybe their US office knows about it? TuningWerkNA

Thanks, I will definitely look into it. I have had the sensor fail and you don't know how much oil you really need. You can't even add more because you don't know how much to add if it fails.

Thanks - Dackel

[octainejunkee]

I had my car go from being on the max to below the min about an hour into a 350 mile motorway drive. coincidently my pal in his M135i hatchback was in our convoy and his done the same thing 30 mins later..

Explain that? both cars have had oil changes done correctly a week ago. neither visibily burn oil and we both travelling enroute to the Nurburgring but not driving hard. We both topped up with half a litre each and now they both think they are on the maximum?

Wish they had fitted a standard dipstick to our cars..

[seis-speed]

Had this happen for the second time - I definitely (think) it is related to parking on a hill and letting the car run, the light came on as I was parked on a hill. I changed the oil, all is good and going to see if sensor starts working correctly after driving for a few days.