Low oil warning -UPDATE

[matthurley]

low oil warning light came on a few times recently so went and bought a 1ltre bottle from Asda. Decided to fill up in the car park ,undid the oil cap then had a change of mind and decided to do it at home.When i got back in the car the warning light had gone out...
I thought it was odd that it came on in the first place as Ive only done about 6k since the last full oil change last year

 

[Zed Five]

Obvious question, but what does the oil level indicator say?

 

[Number5]

Had it been parked on a severe slope for a period of time ?

 

[mr wilks]

low oil warning light came on a few times recently so went and bought a 1ltre bottle from Asda. Decided to fill up in the car park ,undid the oil cap then had a change of mind and decided to do it at home.When i got back in the car the warning light had gone out...
I thought it was odd that it came on in the first place as Ive only done about 6k since the last full oil change last year

I wouldn't be at all alarmed , if it was happening over 1000/1500 then maybe
What miles currently on clock & what kind of miles were the last 6000 ? What oil grade is in ?

 

[matthurley]

Had it been parked on a severe slope for a period of time ?

Nope

Matt

 

[matthurley]

low oil warning light came on a few times recently so went and bought a 1ltre bottle from Asda. Decided to fill up in the car park ,undid the oil cap then had a change of mind and decided to do it at home.When i got back in the car the warning light had gone out...
I thought it was odd that it came on in the first place as Ive only done about 6k since the last full oil change last year

I wouldn't be at all alarmed , if it was happening over 1000/1500 then maybe
What miles currently on clock & what kind of miles were the last 6000 ? What oil grade is in ?

Grade is 0w 30

after the previous service in 2013 i did 11500 before the top up with 1litre came on

 

[matthurley]

Obvious question, but what does the oil level indicator say?

The indicator was telling me to put 1litre in. But after replacing the oil cap the symbol wasnt coming back on so didnt bother going into the oil level indicator

i will drive to work tomorrow and check the level indicator again

 

[mr wilks]

Jmo but i wouldn't run a 3.0i NA Bmw engine on 0w 30 , 5w 30 min & if miles are up over 75k then 5w 40 as ive just put in my 125k N52

 

[matthurley]

Checked the oil indicator this morning and it's indicating I need to add a litre so I will do that when i get home
Disappointed as I say as I have only done about 6k since the major Oil service last year
The previous major oil service which was done in 2013, i was able to cover 11.5k miles before I had to add a litre top up

 

[PerryGunn]

The previous major oil service which was done in 2013, i was able to cover 11.5k miles before I had to add a litre top up

Perhaps it's just a case of the garage being a bit economical with the oil at the service - last time it may have ended up filled to the max level, this time only halfway between min & max...

 

[Nictrix]

Jmo but i wouldn't run a 3.0i NA Bmw engine on 0w 30 , 5w 30 min & if miles are up over 75k then 5w 40 as ive just put in my 125k N52

Excuse my ignorance but what is the reason for changing the spec of oil if the car has over 75k on it?
Ours has around 45k on it and between services we have never had to add oil at all.

 

[mr wilks]

Jmo but i wouldn't run a 3.0i NA Bmw engine on 0w 30 , 5w 30 min & if miles are up over 75k then 5w 40 as ive just put in my 125k N52

Excuse my ignorance but what is the reason for changing the spec of oil if the car has over 75k on it?
Ours has around 45k on it and between services we have never had to add oil at all.

Simply that the cars are sent out of the factory on 0w 30 due to newness ( & of course to get close to the supposed MPG figures claimed ) as miles are added & clearances get worn then using 5w 30 or 5w 40 is perfectly acceptable
As far as I know the straight 6 non turbo engines can run a variety of oil specs without issues .

 

[Nictrix]

Jmo but i wouldn't run a 3.0i NA Bmw engine on 0w 30 , 5w 30 min & if miles are up over 75k then 5w 40 as ive just put in my 125k N52

Excuse my ignorance but what is the reason for changing the spec of oil if the car has over 75k on it?
Ours has around 45k on it and between services we have never had to add oil at all.

Simply that the cars are sent out of the factory on 0w 30 due to newness ( & of course to get close to the supposed MPG figures claimed ) as miles are added & clearances get worn then using 5w 30 or 5w 40 is perfectly acceptable
As far as I know the straight 6 non turbo engines can run a variety of oil specs without issues .

Thanks, so basically 0w30 is almost like a running in oil and is why it should be changed early.
I would assume though if there are no problems then sticking with the same oil (5w30) is advised. No point changing if everything is fine.

 

[mr wilks]

Excuse my ignorance but what is the reason for changing the spec of oil if the car has over 75k on it?
Ours has around 45k on it and between services we have never had to add oil at all.

Simply that the cars are sent out of the factory on 0w 30 due to newness ( & of course to get close to the supposed MPG figures claimed ) as miles are added & clearances get worn then using 5w 30 or 5w 40 is perfectly acceptable
As far as I know the straight 6 non turbo engines can run a variety of oil specs without issues .

Thanks, so basically 0w30 is almost like a running in oil and is why it should be changed early.
I would assume though if there are no problems then sticking with the same oil (5w30) is advised. No point changing if everything is fine.

That would be my thoughts exactly , if all is well 5w 30 would be the premium choice on a straight 6 BMW

 

[Scooba_Steve]

To the OP - the only way you'll know it was filled correctly initially is to do an oil change yourself. I have only had two oil changed carried out by 'professionals' and on both occasions it has been under filled.
My advice is to do an oil change now, on 5W30 initially, and see how you get on. If you find your engine is consuming oil then you can change to 5W30 the next time. If it still continues then CCV swap would be next.

If you don't have any consumption issues then you can only assume it was under filled initially. Would be the more likely candidate.