Oil Light Just Came On

[dschwartzer]

I have a 2004 325xiT with about 8,000 miles on it. It seems to be running fine but I just turned it off and with the engine off, the oil light symbol came on yellow. I restarted the car and the light changed from yellow to red for about a second and then went off. When I turned the car off again the light went out.

Is this a sign of a problem? Do I need to get to a dealer for it to be checked.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[jrt67ss350]

You are low on oil - read your owner's manual.

 

[aNoodle]

Yeah, might be near the sensor level so it's on and off. Check your dip stick. Top off. Check other threads on here about the amount of oil the different engines in the 3 series burn. Some do so a little more when first breaking in.

 

[PCGuRu2K]

I take it that since your at 8000K miles you haven't changed your oil yet right? Since the motor is new it tends to drink a lil more oil during the breakin period. Your probably low about 1 qt or so. Just call up your dealer and have them top it off for free.

 

[bmwrocks]

As a side note: My car has not used any oil at any time since it was brand new. I changed the oil myself at 7500 and the dealer did it at 15000. So this tendency to drink oil during break is not always the case. Maybe I am lucky with my motor.

 

[kaburke]

Yup...you just need a ittle oil....or maybe an oil change altogether (I usually aim for 5K). My light was recently having the same problem. I added a quart; problem solved.

 

[330i and like it]

Check the oil, but there is a recall on this light because it come on sometimes even when you are fine.

 

[Kin]

The lights came on at around 8k miles on my car too. Just added oil to the correct level. Coolant was low as well on mine around the same time. So don't be surprise if the coolent light comes on.

 

[jrt67ss350]

Does anybody that drives a BMW check their oil or coolant levels? There is no excuse for waiting for a warning light to come on before realizing that your oil or coolant is low. I check my oil and coolant level every time I put gas in my car. There is absolutely NO excuse to have no idea how much oil or coolant is in your car until a warning light turns on.

Sensors break, sensors can lie. The dipstick doesn't.

Reading stuff like this makes me never want to buy another used BMW. If you are looking for a used BMW, who knows how long someone drove the car around 2 or more quarts low on oil because they never checked their oil and because they couldn't read their manual to figure out what the little yellow warning light on the dash meant.

I just can't imagine how someone can spend $40k+ on a car and then not take 5 seconds while the pump is pumping gas into the tank to periodically check their oil. People brag about how they only put 93 octane in their BMW or they only buy Chevron or whatnot, but they can't take 5 seconds that would otherwise be wasted waiting for the gas pump to finish to check their oil?? Are owners of new BMWs really that helpless?

My rant is now over.

 

[CaveDweller]

Wow, jrt67ss350, take a smoke break.

My oil light came on like this at 8k miles after the car was turned off and it turned out to be a faulty oil level sensor. Yes, I do check my oil so I knew that wasn't the problem.

There is a service bulletin out about this problem. Here is the line from my service history:

REPLACED OIL LEVEL SENSOR AND OIL PER SIB11-07-03