Until you take the advice given numerous times in this post and check it on a level surface when at operating temperature you may be chasing your tail for a problem that may not even exist. My oil level reads zero when I park upside down

I am never comfortable that any reading on the stick is accurate until I get the same reading at least 2 more times in a row and it is the same on both sides of the stick.

This thread has been going almost a month. Are you saying that it stopped varying for some period of time and now it is back to the same issue?

The e39 and e53 sit side-by-side in the garage which is LEVEL. In 8 years I never encountered this with the e39 or the e46 for that matter.

And I use rarely the e53, so every odd morning before I leave to work, I have the habit of checking all kind of fluid levels. Some time I check on the e53 as well.

IMO checking the oil level on X5 [e53 N62 4.4i] is simply NIGHTMARE lol :wow:!

I have & had many different cars [all listed bellow in my sig], but so far they ALL where easy to read and find out up to where the oil level on the dipstick is.
For some years I had TWO identical X5's - [now it's down to just one], both with the same N62 4.4i engine, 2005 year, similar miles 70k vs 100k, with the same options - just different Ext. colors .... For years I do my own oil changes [by vacuum extractor on all my cars and by drain on the X5's because of the " NICE" oil filter location .... ] - so far I had measured the oil levels on both X5's many times - either: on cold engine [my choice] ; on hot & warm engine ; after 30 sec. ~ just start/ shut off the eng. ; on leveled DIFFERENT parking lots for different time length ; on level in my own garage L or R side spot .... after 5 hours ; after 1 day ; after 5 days ; after month and even after 6 months stored and not started ..... ~ with either: quick or slow pull & withdraws on the dipstick ; with even opened oil cap ; with even turned key to 2 ~ Acc. [NOT running engine].
I even got new dipstick from the BMW parts. dep. [different reason: 'cuz the original dipstick had developed some cracks at the bottom plastic end .... [ but X5 = cheap plastic materials all over]] - anyway 3 dipsticks with 2 X5's & many different "Custom" oil level checks = same story: Hard to read and find out the Exact oil level [+ to make it even more "fun" the oil level on the dipstick does have different level readings on both sides [sure they are even by ANGLE]] ..... lol :cool:

More than 4 YEARS AGO I had posted similar question for my back then "NEW" X5 - regarding the oil level being "different" ............., but NO replays at all on the subject ...
[for reff. bellow is the link with my post & Q. N:5]
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...questions.html

:popcorn:

The only time I Check Engine Oil is when the all mighty and powerful OBC tells me to