Oil level constantly changing in cic
 

is this normal or is something wrong? oil is clean no antifreeze or anything but the level changes every start up. when it sits over night next day start up level is on the max mark, but then every time you make short trips and restart a different level is shown? is this the same with all x5 or is there something goin on here. the pics below are taken about 15 min apart.

http://i64.tinypic.com/34ytg81.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2dw6911.jpg

There is practically no difference in those displayed oil levels. You could add 1/2 a quart if you'd like. Does your X5 have an oil dipstick?

no i miss that, dont trust electronics too much. lol

I think it's normal. My x5 does the same thing. As long as it's within 1 or 2 bars you are ok. Digitization of analog data ...there is always gonna be an error margin (+-) :) ... also oil viscosity changes when hot and possibly can affect oil level. Luckily my 4.8 x5 has a dipstick...most accurate for sure...

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Oil level sensors fail. Mine did, others have reported this.

Not having a dipstick is criminal.

One annoying thing I have found also is that I have a very steep driveway. Well, the oil level sensor will set itself when the vehicle starts, not while it's running. So then after I drive somewhere and park on the flat, when I start the car the next time, then I get a true reading of the oil level.

The sensor seems to check the oil level at start and then only after an hour or so of driving which has caught me off guard a couple of times when I have left for a long trip, thinking everything was good to go and either get an hour away or stop at a rest area and then the warning comes up to fill with oil.

I have the 35d and the two times it has been an issue is long trips 8-10 hours when I have been running 80-90 mph for a couple of hours, so not entirely surprised and it's also been close to the oil change interval. But now has me carrying a spare quart of oil so I don't get caught off guard again.

What year is your D? I'm under the impression all M57's have a dipstick- my 2010 has one.

Wait. Are you saying I would have to get off my butt and actually check a manual dipstick? :rofl:
It's a 2013, and yes, does have a dipstick so inconveniently placed between the engine cover and the air intake hose. So yes, I can pull the car onto the road and manually check the dipstick too.
I was just commenting more on that I was surprised the "sensor" wasn't a continuously monitoring sensor. At least on mine, it seems to just check it when I start the car and then maybe an hour later it checks it. So when I start the car on the driveway it will show "full" and then an hour later will pop up the warning to fill. After the first low oil warning on a long trip, I started monitoring when the level changed and that's when I found it typically seems to be checking when you start the car.

I've seen mine show full and within the same week, it will show 1 bar low.

What I thought was weird is that it showed full when cold but iirc, oil expands with heat. My thought is that the oil is up in the cylinder head so oil level is lower in the oil pan. Makes sense I think.