BMW e90 Oil

Spipov

Hi all.

Coming home yesterday, the yellow low oil level came up. after i turned off and restarted, that message went, so i thought it was to do with the level of the parking and thought nothing of it.

since it did again this afternoon when i got home again, i looked into it, and it is saying it is at minimum and +1L.

am i to assume it is asking for 1 L oil?

on that note, is it ok to drive on for another morning so i can get to someplace to add the oil?ill try and get to bloomfield motors or chelmsford, as i work in city centre (only about 5 km from home to work).

if not, ill make halfords tomorrow afternoon, and wondering, what oil should i use, and can i just top it up myself?

thanks for replying so i can think of something before tomorrow!


oh, and the computer says i have 30000km before next oil change? im due service in 7000km as per the on board computer, but i do a lot of city driving, and i didnt see oil anywhere in the engine bay or where i park, so im assuming this is ok?

king_of_inismac

Spipov wrote: »

Hi all.

Coming home yesterday, the yellow low oil level came up. after i turned off and restarted, that message went, so i thought it was to do with the level of the parking and thought nothing of it.

since it did again this afternoon when i got home again, i looked into it, and it is saying it is at minimum and +1L.

am i to assume it is asking for 1 L oil?

on that note, is it ok to drive on for another morning so i can get to someplace to add the oil?ill try and get to bloomfield motors or chelmsford, as i work in city centre (only about 5 km from home to work).

if not, ill make halfords tomorrow afternoon, and wondering, what oil should i use, and can i just top it up myself?

thanks for replying so i can think of something before tomorrow!


oh, and the computer says i have 30000km before next oil change? im due service in 7000km as per the on board computer, but i do a lot of city driving, and i didnt see oil anywhere in the engine bay or where i park, so im assuming this is ok?

Generally not a good idea to run the engine when it's low on oil. The question for me would be where has the oil gone?

I have an e90 myself and I service it myself every 9000 miles. I ignore the BMW service indicator. My advice would be to get the car serviced and see if they can spot a leak

Gumbo

What version of E90 is it?
My old E90 320d would require a top up in between services.

When the light comes on it means one full litre is required. you wont be running low or anything just top up as soon as you can.

Its a handy warning system as you know you can simply empty a one litre bottle straight in

Spipov

318i petrol.

last service september 2011, drove 3000km only since

Nissan doctor

Spipov wrote: »

Hi all.

Coming home yesterday, the yellow low oil level came up. after i turned off and restarted, that message went, so i thought it was to do with the level of the parking and thought nothing of it.

since it did again this afternoon when i got home again, i looked into it, and it is saying it is at minimum and +1L.

am i to assume it is asking for 1 L oil?

on that note, is it ok to drive on for another morning so i can get to someplace to add the oil?ill try and get to bloomfield motors or chelmsford, as i work in city centre (only about 5 km from home to work).

if not, ill make halfords tomorrow afternoon, and wondering, what oil should i use, and can i just top it up myself?

thanks for replying so i can think of something before tomorrow!


oh, and the computer says i have 30000km before next oil change? im due service in 7000km as per the on board computer, but i do a lot of city driving, and i didnt see oil anywhere in the engine bay or where i park, so im assuming this is ok?

Just get a 1L bottle of the correct spec oil in your local motorfactors and top it up. You wouldn't go to a dealer to top up oil surely?

Spipov

unfortunately id be nowhere close to a dealer to do that.. how much do you reckon i can still drive before i have to top up nissan doctor, and thanks for the help!

Nissan doctor

Spipov wrote: »

unfortunately id be nowhere close to a dealer to do that.. how much do you reckon i can still drive before i have to top up nissan doctor, and thanks for the help!

You don't drive with any low oil warning at all if your considering the long term condition of your car TBH.

Spipov

i was thinking of getting to halfords which is about 2 km away from where i am at, but if its not recommended then ill sort something out..

thanks

Nissan doctor

Spipov wrote: »

i was thinking of getting to halfords which is about 2 km away from where i am at, but if its not recommended then ill sort something out..

thanks

Chances are it won't do any damage, but at the same time its not a 10 year old runabout either and with an engine so prone to oil related failures you'd have to decide for yourself if you want to chance it.

dharn

oddly enough bmw recommend only topping up when yellow light comes on i litre needed then so no danger going a day or 2 like that

Nissan doctor

dharn wrote: »

oddly enough bmw recommend only topping up when yellow light comes on i litre needed then so no danger going a day or 2 like that

That's because there is no dipstick so until it reaches the 1L required level, you'd have to estimate how much to put it....and BMW will assume that most people can't do that.

Checking your oil level on these is easier then most cars anyway, you don't even have to get out of the drivers seat.

CrowdedHouse

Sorry for hijacking but do synthetic oils have a shelf life ?

When I got a new E90 I got a litre bottle of Castrol Edge with it(in a fancy BMW pouch with cardboard funnels and plastic gloves !)

Never had to use it

It's over 4 years old - still OK ? (Unopened)

C4Kid

Nissan doctor wrote: »

That's because there is no dipstick so until it reaches the 1L required level, you'd have to estimate how much to put it....and BMW will assume that most people can't do that.

Checking your oil level on these is easier then most cars anyway, you don't even have to get out of the drivers seat.

I still prefer the old fashioned dipstick tbh, wouldn't trust that ! :pac:

Spipov

i have bought the oil, got 1L of Wolf synthetic 5e30 oil. I didnt use the car the whole day, and when i checked the levels just now, it said "ok" and no errors came up.

should i wait for the low oil level light to come up, or can i add the 1L oil anyway already?

do i need a funnel?i completely forgot to buy one. can it be poured straight in?

Atlantic Dawn

If it was me I woukd stick half a litre in now and then after 10 miles of driving, then add the rest if needed.

You won't need a funnel if your careful, just have rags on standbye for any spills. You could always make your own funnel by cutting a drnks bottle in two.

Spipov

all done, running perfectly fine. level didnt go by that much, but now i know to keep an eye out for it.

did use a clean dry plastic bottle, and it worked fine. thanks!

Spipov

Guys, bit of an issue. things were fine the other days, but this morning when i started, after about 200metres from car park, the engine light in panel 1 (i think, not where the computer shows mileage, mpg etc) started flashing yellow and the engine became very rough.

i have now parked it and 2 mechanics i know and use dont work on saturdays.

does anybody think its because of the oil?it was fine the other days. also the manual says its possibly the catalytic converter ?

i am unsure, and was wondering whether the AA (which i am still a member of!) can do something about it, ie, would it need an oil change or am i looking at something bigger here?

Nissan doctor

Spipov wrote: »

Guys, bit of an issue. things were fine the other days, but this morning when i started, after about 200metres from car park, the engine light in panel 1 (i think, not where the computer shows mileage, mpg etc) started flashing yellow and the engine became very rough.

i have now parked it and 2 mechanics i know and use dont work on saturdays.

does anybody think its because of the oil?it was fine the other days. also the manual says its possibly the catalytic converter ?

i am unsure, and was wondering whether the AA (which i am still a member of!) can do something about it, ie, would it need an oil change or am i looking at something bigger here?

The engine light can come on for a fault with or sensed by any of the engine control system.

And oil change won't fix the problem is for certain but untill you have proper diagnostics done on the car you won't know what the problem is.

Its possible something has happed due to running low on oil but it could be any of the other common faults with these engines.

Spipov

im starting to hate this engine. seriously.

ive asked the AA to come over, maybe they can read the codes and i will post them up. nissan doctor, thank you so much for the input and the info. its brilliant to have support..

Spipov

Right

Code is

P0301 Cylinder 1 misfire detected


AA guy said its most probably the ignition coil. Is that a big job to do and any other potential worries? im going to have to get it towed on tuesday after contacting my mechanic on monday as he's more than 20km away.

Gumbo

Spipov wrote: »

Right

Code is

P0301 Cylinder 1 misfire detected


AA guy said its most probably the ignition coil. Is that a big job to do and any other potential worries? im going to have to get it towed on tuesday after contacting my mechanic on monday as he's more than 20km away.

i mentioned coild in your BMWDriver thread

on my sisters polo, it was a 2 min fix and 35e cost. done it ourselves.

Spipov

im guessing its not the oil. however when i do the check car thing, it says check ok. im sad im not going to be able to use until monday, as i dont think any mechanics can touch it now, and i dont think mobile mechanics in any sort would be able to help.

its just now the hassle of sorting out towing on Monday / Tuesday, as i do have to go to work!!

Nissan doctor

Spipov wrote: »

Right

Code is

P0301 Cylinder 1 misfire detected


AA guy said its most probably the ignition coil. Is that a big job to do and any other potential worries? im going to have to get it towed on tuesday after contacting my mechanic on monday as he's more than 20km away.

The coils would be one of the common failure on these but make sure to have the cause of the misfire double checked to be sure it is the coil before anyone orders any parts.

Spipov

thanks

its funny how ive tried a few mobile mechanics, none have answered or gotten back to me (3 in total). i know the weather is really good, but id think some of them might still be working!

i guess im going to leave it till monday then and get the aa to bring in to a local repair centre.

Spipov

ignition coil - 150 euros. sorted.


apparently common on this car. starting to hate the amount of common things to go wrong with this car.