Engine Damage with low oil level??
 

OK, have not had any issues with the X in quite a while (knocking on a big piece of wood!). Noticed it knocking upon start-up they other morning and thought "that's what it sounds like when it is low on oil". Check it - not even registering on the dipstick. To keep it brief, I ended up adding 4.5 quarts to get it between the 2 lines on the stick!!!

Issues - (1) obviously my oil level sensor needs replacing because I never got the yellow oil can warning light. (2) pretty sure my shop shorted me on 3 quarts of oil on my last oil change - I usually burn a quart within 3K miles which is where I am at - this would explain it being so low without seeing any indication of a leak.

Question - what possible engine damage could I have with running it with only 4-5 quarts in it for 3K miles?? It seems to be running fine now and did during that timeframe.

The oil is probably shot, it got cycled through the engine a lot more than with 8.5 quarts.

Other than that, probably nothing damaged. Maybe a little more wear than normal, that's about it.

I'd just do an oil change with the proper level of a proper oil, and the level sensor while the oil is changed naturally.

OK thanks - I feel much better. I will be scheduling a shop visit (different shop than mentioned previously) next week to have the sensor replaced and an oil change with the correct amount of oil!!

FWIW:

My wife drove 7 miles or so with NO oil. No harm it would seem. No noise or otherwise. It's only been 3 weeks since, so maybe too early to tell.

If your wife drove 7 miles with NO oil, she would know! X5 DAWG, I agree with the others regarding the motor. You still had oil, although a bit low, but you should be ok.

Still had half the normal oil or thereabouts, so shouldn't have done any damage at all. Assuming you were not racing the car around corners while revving the engine up above 5K rpm - then you might have done some damage. Normal driving - no problem dude.

Awesome, thanks everyone. Was really hoping to get another 100K out of her.

engine might go 300K. Not sure everything on the X5 will. It's a good goal! I was hoping to hit 200K myself.

Oh trust me, I have replaced most everything else, including the tranny.

Yeah but you still have one of the nicest X5s. :thumbup:

HA - fair enough!

I had the same problem X5Dawg had. Low oil level for some time...very low. My X needed 5 quarts to bring it up to full. So the question I asked myself is why didn't the "check oil level" warning come on? My guess is its prob a bad sensor. Iv searched the forum and couldnt find anything on it. Does anyone know where its located and what the technical name of the part is?

Thanks for your help

2001 E53 3.0L 109K

i had the opposite problem before, in which the oil level sensor trips but when I check the dipstick it was between the lines, and resetting it doesn't work. anyways i replace the oil level sensor, the only chance i was planning to use my extended warranty, but of course it doesn't cover.

why would oil level go so low? i know better than our cars need 8 quarts, i think even the 3 or 5 uses 8 quarts. i think the part is 100 some dollars and the labor is like 200 or something. not sure where it's located, you can try realoem to see if you can find the figure for it.

:wow: how long was it since you last manually checked it?

It is in the bottom of the oil pan.

See this link, item #14:

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 3.0i OIL PAN/OIL LEVEL INDICATOR

[QUOTE=kchan;841112]i had the opposite problem before, in which the oil level sensor trips but when I check the dipstick it was between the lines, and resetting it doesn't work. anyways i replace the oil level sensor, the only chance i was planning to use my extended warranty, but of course it doesn't cover.

I have the exact same problem. Did replacing the oil level sensor cure the "check engine oil level" problem? Oil level is always good when warning goes off!

I got an oil change at the dealer in April.. about 4k miles ago which leads me to believe that the stealer didn't top off the oil level. Theres no way it drank 5 quarts in 4/5 months, Im not an aggressive driver and don't do a whole lot of highway driving to burn that much.

JCL - thanks for your help. You da man! :thumbup:

With the way these X's are, I check my oil once a week. I never let it get below to where I have to add more than 1/8 of a quart at a time. I'm currently burning about a qt every 9k or so. Not too bad from what I've heard. 95k on a 2003 3.0i. My oil filter housing seal is leaking quite a bit too. Ordered the part <$4 and will take me all morning Sunday to replace. Better than paying the dealer $400+.

I can't believe how many times the dealership/shops don't add enough oil to our vehicles!! If I just read it once or twice I would say no way its just you; this is everywhere though. You just can't trust anyone.