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      11-16-2011, 01:35 PM   #1
Shaw
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Exclamation Oil Level Sensor Malfunction!!!

Just after 3,000km my wife told me yesterday that the sign went on!!!
Anyone has had experience with this issue?
What did you do?

By the way, which dealerships give you a replacement car incase your car needs to be kept at their service shop?
thx
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      11-16-2011, 02:34 PM   #2
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Did you check before?

Cars typically use some oil during the break-in period so it's wise to check it weekly. You will also find that if you do lots of small journeys and then one long one that the oil level will appear to drop dramatically. (You've essentially blown out a lot of the foam and crap from the oil). I always have a couple of liters of the right oil in the vehicle if this happens, but checking weekly, as you do with tire pressures, is a smart preventative measure.
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      11-16-2011, 02:37 PM   #3
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Yes. My 2011 X3 28i just sent the same message a single time yesterday at about 3200 miles. But, it did not re-appear when the vehicle was restarted. Probably yet another computer glitch!
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      11-16-2011, 02:37 PM   #4
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I remember reading last winter when things got cold several members had the oil sensor malfunction. It was definitely cold weather related. Maybe do a search to see what you can find out on it.
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      11-16-2011, 05:40 PM   #5
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Gee, on my old car, checking the oil was such a cumbersome task. You had to get out of the car, open the hood, pull a dip stick out of the engine, clean it off, put it back in, take it out again and look at the oil level. Alot of work, but I cant remember ever having a problem with the dip stick! It worked every time!
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      11-16-2011, 06:16 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Botwin View Post
Gee, on my old car, checking the oil was such a cumbersome task. You had to get out of the car, open the hood, pull a dip stick out of the engine, clean it off, put it back in, take it out again and look at the oil level. Alot of work, but I cant remember ever having a problem with the dip stick! It worked every time!
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      11-16-2011, 08:27 PM   #7
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so...let me get this straight:
The Oil Level Sensor Malfunction indicates what?
That there is a shortage of oil? or
There is a problem with the sensor that checks the oil level?
I thought it is the latter, meaning that although there might be enough oil in the car, but the sensor is busted and can't detect anymore.
If there is a shortage in oil, why should it prompt"Malfunction" ?
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      11-16-2011, 09:03 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaw View Post
so...let me get this straight:
The Oil Level Sensor Malfunction indicates what?
That there is a shortage of oil? or
There is a problem with the sensor that checks the oil level?
I thought it is the latter, meaning that although there might be enough oil in the car, but the sensor is busted and can't detect anymore.
If there is a shortage in oil, why should it prompt"Malfunction" ?

If the oll level is low, a simple "ADD 1 quart of Oil" warning appears.
An "Oil Level Sensor Malfunction" indicates that the sensor system is not working correctly. It can't measure the oil level accurately.

After 5500 miles of "spirited" driving, my oil level display finally showed the engine to be 1/4 quart low. I added 1/4 quart of BMW spec oil and it still indicated a "low" reading after a day of driving. After adding another 1/8th quart, and driving about 10 miles, the green line again went to the full mark.

There were several Forum members reporting true sensor failures back in March and, I believe, all simply had the oil level sensor replaced. This does not yet seem to be a widespread problem since none of the (19) current F25 TSBs mentions anything about the sensor.

The Oil level Sensor is inserted through the bottom of the oil sump. Replacing it requires that the engine oil is drained and replaced. It's a simple job.

Last edited by Lotus7; 11-17-2011 at 01:10 AM..
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      11-17-2011, 12:43 PM   #9
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Exclamation Integration Level 2.44 software requires upgrade

Got a call from the dealership-Service:
"Problem is with the Software that needs upgrading to (Integration Level 2.44) and it should be OK"
Apparantly this is a diagnostic that BMW has found out recently while in the past the kept replacing the sensors.

Any comment on this guys?
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      11-24-2011, 03:58 PM   #10
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Latest update:
letter from BMW Canada (Corporate): Although certain early production X3 vehicles experienced some calibration glitches that resulted in incorrect oil level readings, the problem was identified and promptly remedied as of May 2011 production. A simple recalibration via updated software will remedy this issue. Any BMW Retailer will be happy to update the software level of your vehicle at no cost, so you can continue to enjoy your great new X3. Take care.
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      11-24-2011, 04:13 PM   #11
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Now it is getting weird:
The Oil Level Sensor Malfunction is now gone!!! After a week of cold weather, we had some higher temps... so I am thinking... it has to do with cold weather... The warning hasn't led up since!
Anyways, I have an appointment two weeks from now to have the software upgraded. We'll see what excuse they have next.
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      12-02-2011, 07:35 AM   #12
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Well the problem still exists in April 2011 production run vehicles. My warning symbol and script came on again a second time , and it now stays on. First visit to the BMW dealer to correct the problem 2 weeks ago; service mgr. said the computer on-board had not recorded the initial event, so nothing could be done. But, these VOB service managers still knew nothing about any software upgrade needed. So, at least one US dealership (metro D. C. area) did not get the message. It happened to me also with the onset of cold weather. Will try to show them a printout of this discussion.
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      12-06-2011, 03:31 PM   #13
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oil level sensor

Our 2011 X3 28 displayed an oil level sensor warning when our weather turned cold. No physical way to check the oil level since there is no dipstick. Our dealer told us this is a software glitch. They loaded a software patch under warranty. So far, so good.
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      02-01-2012, 12:26 PM   #14
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Had the oil sensor message 3 times in the past month; all during extreme cold weather. BMW downloaded new software.

Additional info on paperwork: Performed software update as per RPUMA recommendation. Cleared stored faults.

So far, all is well. EXCEPT I lost all my presets (seats, iDrive etc which I figured I would!). And by the way, if you have dvdinmotion installed, you'll lose that as well (just re-insert your ISO CD and re-install).

Dave

EDIT: I also just noticed that my TX & MX (Telephone & Multimedia) modules had been both updated to version 3.4.31 as a result. Previously, the versions were 2.4.1. I scrolled through virtually every item in iDrive and didn't notice any obvious changes or additions.
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Last edited by BMWZ4; 02-01-2012 at 12:55 PM..
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      02-01-2012, 05:08 PM   #15
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Oil sensor failure

I am happy also to report that this problem is indeed corrected by a BMW software update. It did/does still happen in later production X3s ( mine was built in April 2011); apparently somehow related to outside environmental temperatures. I took print-outs of the several discussions of this problem from this website along, but the local dealer was aware of this issue and reprogrammed my vehicle's software package as noted by others above. You do indeed lose all presets as discussed earlier, even the TPMS defaults; so be prepared to deal with those resultant issues.
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