That's exactly what I thought. It didn't make sense to me that iDrive would report different levels either. In a few instances, I actually witnessed the level changing up and down 4 times within a matter of a few minutes.

 

When I got this message the first time at 42k miles, the mechanics actually drained all my engine oil and measured it. It was indeed one quart less at least according to him. I don't know what they are gonna find out this time. I did check my car underneath this time and opened the hood. Everything looked very clean to me. No sign of leakage.

 

The oil capacity in all cars are different when the oil filter is also replaced vs. when the filter is not replaced. If they just drained the oil and measured the drained amount it would not take into account the amount of oil retained in the filer and filter housing area and all the remenant oil in the oil pan and other areas. I have not changed the oil in my 545 myself, but in most of my other past and present BMW's on which I have done oil services myself the oil capacity without a filter change has usually been almost exactly one quart less than the oil capacily with a filter change. So if I were to change the filter, fill the oil to the proper level, run the engine for a couple of minutes, and then drain and measure the drained oil it would probably also be one quart less than what I filled in it a few minutes before (because of the amount retained in the filer, etc). So I am not sure if draining and measuring the oil is an accurate indication UNLESS they take the oil retained by the filter and elsewhere into account.

 

u have a 2006 model and have 43K miles on it already?!?!??! whoah.

im wondering if the new aluminum/magnesium engines drink more oil than the old engines. my '06 has 8K miles and had to put in a quart at around 5K miles...im now seeing the oil guage slowly creep lower as the weeks go by.

 

Thats what I was thinking... but hey... a 2006 came out in March 2005. So its almost 1 year old! Thats why I hate the March Model Year switchover so dumb.

 

I've been plagued with this same problem in my 2006 530xi for over a month now. When I first received the "minimum level" warning at around 4800 miles, I immediately pulled the car over to a parking lot, turned the car off and back on, and the warning went away. I watched it for a few days after and noticed that the oil level started off at the maximum level about 5 minutes into my drive, and dropped to the minimum level when the engine had completely warmed up after about another 5 to 10 minutes. I'd be curious to hear if you or anyone else get the same symptoms.

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You describe the exact normal behavior for the oil level detection system. Upon startup, the reading is inaccurate if it even returns a reading at all. Once the oil circulates and the car warms up, the reading that is returned is the correct one.

 

Thanks man. These are very HELPFUL infos. I'll try to remember what you said and talk to my SA this time.

 

I heard back from my SA today about the PUMA that he filed with BMW. Apparently there is a problem with the oil sensor, so mine will be replaced. The part is on back order and is expected to take a few weeks to arrive. This may or may not be the same as JFiRB's problem, but I figured I'd let you know nonetheless.

 

Thanks for the update. I read your signature and couldn't believe my eyes! I too have a replaced CCC, which broke on my way home from NYC. I too have malfunctional head lamp. I too have CIP 19.02. I too am from MA, and I too have engine oil problem. What a coincidence! What is going on in Massachusetts!

 

I, too, was amazed when I read your signature and saw these similarities. Must be a New England thing!

I have been wondering whether these problems are because I have one of the early '06 xi builds (built in June). Is yours a pre- or post-September build?

I also have another unrelated problem that was confirmed by both service centers: the rear suspension emits a fairly loud creaking sound on a really cold day (single digit temperatures) when driving over a bump in the road. It is most noticeable when you first drive off if you leave the car parked outside overnight. BMW has confirmed this as well through another PUMA. I believe it has something do with the the linkage in the suspension, though I'm not sure of the specifics. There's no known fix for it as of yet, but they're supposedly working on one.