Really worried about this

I very much agree with Slim regarding hiring a car for the day, running your car's engine with what may be contaminated lub. oil may only cause you more stress which you don't need on a day attending a funeral. Hope you get the problem sorted quickly.

 

I'm open to all the options for what is wrong, including a possible sensor error. That is why it is essential to check the dipstick and get the actual level. If it is reading high, any doubts, don't use the car until properly investigated.

Peter

 

we have a problem with mitsubishi canter trucks, they have a oil level check button on the dash for the drivers, only trouble is they only hold 6 ltrs of oil and the test light goes out even with 1/2 ltr of oil, guess how many times they have blown the engine up.

 

As others have already pointed out car still within manufacturers warranty. Phone BMW Emergency Services Sunday evening and explain issue. When they attend and do the visual dipstick check which will be inconclusive request an ISTA portable diagnostic which can interrogate the actual oil level to mm precision - it will also show all fault codes currently logged on the vehicle (don’t be shy ask to see them and take a photo for your own records). If oil level over the prescribed limit (I suspect it will be but the exact permissible max level details are available from within ISTA) request recovery because of “potential subsequent damage to vehicle which will invalidate Manufacturers Warranty if you continue to drive vehicle with a known fault present” to your chosen dealer for diagnosis at their leisure whilst you drive the Enterprise (they normally open their doors at 08:00 on a Monday) supplied hire car on Monday and Tuesday. Be prepared for much scratching of heads from BMW technicians at the dealership as to the cause of the problem - if not happy or no credible fixes suggested (e.g. drain a bit of excess fluid and see how you go etc....) insist politely on escalation to BMW UK/PUMA measures for their words of wisdom. If dealer drags their feet with the suggestion of escalation for PUMA measures then in the meantime phone BMW customer services and ask if you can tell them a story of your loyal customer woes whilst having all previous service details to hand (they’ll already have your full owner all vehicle history back to the year dot on screen anyway but if you can regurgitate your loyal customer history verbatim it all helps). Hopefully common sense prevails and if the dealer doesn’t offer a credible fix then BMW themselves will provide guidance to the dealer and only residual sour taste is the inconvenience of having to personally manage the problem to a satisfactory conclusion - and going forward regardless of any other interventions or fixes done by the dealer resolve to a 7500mile oil change and filter interval to limit the chances of it happening repeatedly because of ongoing fuel dilution issues. Best of luck with it and would be interested to hear the outcome.

 

Thanks again for all the input. I’m currently 250 miles from the car so can’t do anything until I check the oil level on Sunday evening. The funeral on Monday is at 1.30pm and is 100 miles away, but still do have time to get a hire car Mon morning. Let’s see what the level is first.
Also, it’s due brake fluid change next month and I was going to get an interim oil change done whilst it’s in, seems this is even more necessary now.

Cheers

Ian

 

It is quite common for the oil level to rise in diesel engines, due to fuel getting past the pistons during DPF regeneration as already stated. It used to happen quite regularly on my son's Isuzu D-Max too. If the sump level becomes excessive, to the extent that the crankshaft whips up the oil 'mixture', excessive oil gets carried over into the oil breather and thus into the combustion chambers. Since a diesel is 'compression ignition' it runs on this carried over oil to the extent that the revs carry on rising until the engine 'blows up' (commonly, a con-rod comes through the side of the cylinder block). In a petrol engine it is quite simple to cut the spark to stop it over-revving. In a diesel engine, the ecu limits the revs by cutting out the fuel through the injectors. However, once it is running on its own sump oil then cutting the injected fuel has no effect; the revs continue to rise catastrophically.

 

We’ve not heard of runaway diesels for a long time, though I’d imagine it’s entirely possible and very difficult to stall an Auto under these circumstances.
Though very worst case,
The oil level sensors, I’m sure is three colours, as you’ve past the yellow one, it’s probably worth erring on the side of caution!

 

This warning appeared twice on my wife's car (X3 35d) in December and January. The car had just been serviced so I checked the level and it was fine. After driving a couple of miles it didn't re appear and as both times were the morning of particularly cold nights I put it down to a 'software glitch'.

Looking back now my wife's work and driving habits have changed recently and rather than regular long trips it has only been used on short local runs. It's since done a few long trips and the warning hasn't reappeared so the regeneration theory has merit.

However clearly the weather isn't a factor here and you mention you've done a recent long run Kleynie. Could it be the regen on this run wouldn't be sufficient to 'clear the system'?

 

As I commented earlier we had the same on my sons DMax , it had reached an "X" on the dipstick, dealer just changed the oil and filters , then amended the ECU. The trouble never reoccurred and oil level has never increased up the dipstick. It is interesting that they have this mark on the dipstick, they were more concerned with dilution/contamination than actual quantity in the engine. The service interval on the truck is 12,000mile, but the oil price [as other Isuzu parts] are a fraction of BMW oil prices.
The think is we did not know about this trouble , truck was in for another matter but this was found and dealt with within 1 hour ,absolutely no fuss but they would not allow me to take truck away without being rectified.
Interesting that Isuzu provide a 5 year warrantee [or 125,000mile] as standard , and the dealer we have used for a few years now [Warrington Commercials] can not be faulted faults that have occurred have been rectified quickly with no fuss or disputes.
The comfort and driving experience in these trucks has changed so much since he had his first Isuzu back in 2005,now full leather, GPS, Auto, etc.

 

Bmw diesels have an anti shudder device which activates when the engine is stopped and makes for a smooth shutdown. It looks like a throttle plate and is situated in line with the air intake at the inlet manifold. It's function is twofold as it will also prevent diesel runaway. The ecu will close the valve if it detects the revs rising uncontrollably.

 

Back home now and checked the oil with the dipstick, it’s on max but no more. Panic over for now but do you guys think this is worth a visit to the dealer whilst in warranty?

 

I would say yes, what do you have to lose? It could just be the oil level sensor playing up, but I'd have peace of mind knowing it's covered if anything serious crops up.

 

You’ll be relieved!
Well done for finding the dipstick! Other than sniff testing the dipstick for diesel there’s no real concern in using
I’d still contact dealer and get the “possible” sensor fault checked

During your journey tomorrow, check and recheck the onscreen level, it may settle allbeit it does take a while to respond

 

Sounds like a possible sensor problem. As said above, I would keep an eye on the electronic level reading. It may rectify itself, but if not I would certainly get the dealer to check it out, if for no other reason to get it on record.

 

Almost certainly a faulty sensor or a false reading. If I were you I would monitor the level. If the warning goes off again get it booked in. I believe you said your car needed a brake fluid service soon. I would get them to check the sensor when it is in for that just for peace of mind.

 

It's when I read threads like this about oil level problems I wish my (petrol) F10 had a bloody dipstick!!

Anyway, pleased you can still use your car with no worries about the oil being contaminated with fuel.

 

I do numerous short journeys and so thought I should check mine, and the level is slightly over on my dipstick ,although just a fraction. Last oil change was at 6000 miles in Jan 2017, it is now on 15000 15 months later. The oil contamination worried me a bit, so just ordered a Pela 6000 and will order oil and filter and do an interim oil change (for peace of mind). I plan to keep my car for 10 years, and considering that I do 20 mile round trips every day, its probably warranted.

 

Measure the amount of oil you suck out. I have done mine twice or three times now and have only ever managed to get just over 50% of the waste oil out through the dipstick hole.

 

Really?? My Pela gets pretty much all of it - I tested it [on the e34] when I got it first and there was c. an egg-cup full left when I removed the sump plug. Given that I do changes at silly-early frequencies, it's good enough for me.

 

Same here, I manage to extract pretty much 5 litres every time. The capacity is 5.5l and some oil will remain in the filter so I it's not too bad.