Oil light on

A

Aroberts

Member
Hey guys,

So i had the Z4 serviced October 2021 and only drove around 1500. The oil light started flashing when i turn off the car, only happened 4 times in the pst 1 week.

When i checked the oil on the dash shows +1 oil. Meaning it need 1l oil top up. The car is 2.5si - 2006.

The service was done by RBM Hampshire (see details below), they also inspected the car and gave me thumbs up, no major issue, nothing on the oil.

  • Carry out Inspection 2 service. Genuine BMW parts and Shell Helix Ultra ECT C3 5w30 oil.

Is this normal to top up oil so soon, or do you think something’s going on. Car drives smooth no issues.
 
I'd chuck a litre of Shell Helix Ultra in it!

My 2nd 3.0Si needed 500ml within 1,600 miles of a service. That sort of oil use seems to be within BMW tolerances but I'd keep checking it just in case.

My 330i daily has also used 500ml after only 1,500 miles since a service (also at RBM).
 
I was/am worried that perhaps service was not done properly or the car wasn’t checked properly, and there may be an underlying issue.

Needing to top up after 1500 is cray cray for me. :D :D
 
No point crying over split Milk. For the moment the car is indicating that it needs a ltr of oil. Give it a ltr of oil and see how it goes. Garages aren't infallible. By all means, if you think they have done something wrong then take it up with them. But get some oil in there. :)
 
There’s nothing that gets checked at a service that will affect oil consumption. It is possible that oil has leaked out (which should be obvious), or they didn’t put enough oil in (in which case, when you top it up, problem solved) or your engine is burning it. If the latter it could be something serious (e.g. piston rings, you can usually tell by excessive/blue smoke) or fixable / less serious (e.g. choked CCV, evidenced by mayonnaise under the filler cap).

Best bet is to top it up as Mr Tidy suggests and wait to see what happens. Don’t overfill, the N52 engine doesn’t like that at all.
 
Aroberts said:
I was/am worried that perhaps service was not done properly or the car wasn’t checked properly, and there may be an underlying issue.

Needing to top up after 1500 is cray cray for me. :D :D
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I'd be very surprised if Ross had done something wrong tbh.
 
Yeah my fault here. There is a minor leak from the oil filter housing, Ross did report that to me, but I forgot about it.

I got in touch with Ross, and he also recommended that “BMW’s oil consumption guidelines are 1 litre per 1000 miles so even if you didn’t have an oil leak that is an acceptable oil usage BMW would suggest.”

Will fill up oil first thing today, perhaps look into replacing that filter housing.

Thanks for the help guys
 
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