E70 2008 X5 has an oil dipstick ?

[pantag]

I was browsing some older threads and I saw one that was discussing that the electronic oil level system is not accurate. A couple people in the thread mentioned that checking the oil dipstick is always better and more reliable. I don't see one in the engine bay. I also checked the manual and there is nothing there either. BTW, i have the 3.0i .

[emcman]

4.8 has a dipstick.

[delhite]

dunno about the 3.0 but the 4.8 does hv one its got a rectangular head and is pretty much camouflaged

[brian5]

Had to take a look at my 4.8i to see how hard it was to find. It's right where I would expect it. As delhite said, it's rectangular.

[LeMansX5]

I was talking to a BMW engineer and he mentioned that checking oil through idrive is as accurate as dipstick. You can check oil through iDrive as shown in pics below.

[HaroldC]

It's actually very accurate, when the oil is up to temp.

While I would like to have a physical dipstick, I would think that the majority of BMW's target consumers will like not having to open the hood and get dirty.

I have a feeling that those that complain about the lack of a physical dipstick just don't trust the electronic one. Once you understand how the electronic dipstick works, you would understand that it is about as accurate as it gets. It is not physically measuring the level of oil, rather the capacitance between two plates, which is a function of volume. Once calibrated, it is very accurate in measuring volume.

Aircraft engines rely on this type of sensor, I would imagine it is far more important to have an aircraft engine full of oil than an automobile engine. ie. if the engine fails.

[emcman]

Originally Posted by HaroldC

It's actually very accurate, when the oil is up to temp.

Aircraft engines rely on this type of sensor, I would imagine it is far more important to have an aircraft engine full of oil than an automobile engine. ie. if the engine fails.

Huh I was wondering why I never saw a mechanic with a red rag pulling a dipstick out of the 757 engine.

[bmwestcoast]

Originally Posted by emcman

Huh I was wondering why I never saw a mechanic with a red rag pulling a dipstick out of the 757 engine.

on the other hand, I HAVE seen them duct tape (or some fancy metallic tape) a small hole they punctured in the fuselage after carelessly driving the luggage cart into it. i saw this while looking at the plane in-between passenger loading. i asked to move to a later flight.