Funny. Had this happen last week and thought I was just being a dumb ass. (No criticism implied. Talking about me).

Checked oil, level in the garage, warmed up and off for a few minutes to drain back as I was taught. Read low. Very surprised... Added 1 Qt. ran it and checked again. Now it's way over the top mark. Sucked 1 Qt out with a little pump. Back to reading normal. WTF?

Maybe the cold is doing something, drawing oil into the dipstick tube under certain conditions?

Next time I will make a point of venting the cap and dipstick while I let it sit before reading the level.

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David.X5
2001 X5 4.4i Sport
SOLD! at 160k miles