Originally Posted by jaycal3

The vacuum pump is not a black box... Look at the front left of the engine (passenger side)... on the far left of the block in the front is a pulley. directly under that is the switch.

Tons of links out there... Here is a Oil Pressure Switch Link. Post #6 has a link and HealthServices was kind enough to take a pic for you.

Originally Posted by DD_545i

I'll have a poke around. I doubt I'll find it though. Tons of little black boxes under there, any of which might be a vacuum pump or switch

I didn't find a vacuum pump DIY

Originally Posted by DD_545i

My low oil warning came on today, although weirdly after it went away and I looked in iDrive, it said I was fine. After I got home and let the engine cool, I checked the dipstick (twice) and it was indeed at the low end.

Looking in the (German) manual, it only talked about BMW oils and didn't mention anything like 5w40 or 0w40. Presumably to avoid you going out and getting such a thing from anywhere other than BMW. My car's going to be 8 years old in April, I don't waste my money going to BMW anymore.

I reckon I'll just buy 2-3 litres (near enough 2-3 quarts) and that'll keep me going until next service (in 4-5 months probably). Or would I be wiser to top it up with as much as I can get in (without going over the high level)?

I've no desire to drain it and fill it with 7 quarts. I also don't want to put the bare minimum in and have it be running inefficiently.

Also, that plasticky cover that sits atop the cylinder head, does that easily pop right off to reveal the oil filler cap? If not, is there a tutorial somewhere on how to get it off?