[RyDog]

Just brought my N55 335i into the shop on Wednesday for a minor oil leak fix that consisted of replacing the valve cover and fixing a turbo diverter valve that was also leaking. These leaks never resulted in the iDrive oil level reading displaying anything other than the Max level. However, now, AFTER I have my car back and supposedly fixed up, the iDrive displays an oil level that is just a hair lower than the Max level? What could cause this? Do I now have another leak? Thank you.


-a very stressed out 335 owner

[tlow98]

A quarter of a quart is nothing to stress about. You need to look at long term trends. It could been 100ml short on the fill and this is the result.

[RyDog]

Originally Posted by tlow98

A quarter of a quart is nothing to stress about. You need to look at long term trends. It could been 100ml short on the fill and this is the result.

Good to hear, but just to clarify, they didn't change the oil or anything. Merely fixed up those leaks... I called the shop and they said to keep an eye on it. Perhaps they lost a bit of oil on the repair and didn't quite fill it up adequately afterwards?

[jt335i]

Originally Posted by RyDog

Good to hear, but just to clarify, they didn't change the oil or anything. Merely fixed up those leaks... I called the shop and they said to keep an eye on it. Perhaps they lost a bit of oil on the repair and didn't quite fill it up adequately afterwards?

They would have told you the oil was changed and charged you extra, but its nothing to be concerned as tlow98 said. Now if you noticed a major drop in the level, like just above the minimal level or under, then I'd be concerned.

[RyDog]

Picture of the measurement for reference. Thank you guys for the calming advice!

[Luis561]

Originally Posted by RyDog

Picture of the measurement for reference. Thank you guys for the calming advice!

Valve cover replacements shouldn't lose any oil, I just did mine myself. I had a bad valve cover and got a low oil light while on a 16 hour road trip, maybe you lost some prior to getting the work done. Add a little more and monitor it

[nsjames]

the oil level measurement is very, very coarse. it's basically four segments on the sensor.
if you're above the line, it's full, even if it's at the line, 250ml low.
if it's below the line it's 3/4, even if it's only a MM under the line, still 250ml low, but now the level has dropped to 3/4.

what you need to remember is that the oil level indication is just the top liter, not total oil level.
the bottom of the scale is the minimum allowed, not empty.


so just wait until it tells you to add oil, then add a liter.
that's what the owner's manual tells you to do.

[RyDog]

UPDATE: I checked the oil level again today and it still displays the same level. So, I am going to chalk it up to something harmless for now, but I will continue to monitor it! Thank you all for the helpful advice!

[colorado.e9x]

Make sure you're on flat ground when you measure it

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Oil consumption on these cars is normal and expected. I typically add a quart during my year between changes.

[RyDog]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Oil consumption on these cars is normal and expected. I typically add a quart during my year between changes.

UPDATE: I checked the oil today, and after displaying that lower level for several days, it is now displaying the MAX level again. Thankfully.

Thank you all for your help!