BMW Trades Reliability For Profit!
01-29-07, 04:34 PM
#31
We are in agreement. Although I think the OP stated he read the story on the internet. The story may or may not be true though. I will say that just out of high school my friend drove his Gran Prix to the point where when we drained the oil only 0.5 quarts came out. The reason why he asked for help was because his car would only go about 20 MPH up hill when flooring it. No oil was detected on the dip stick. We did the oil change and was shocked
The car actually ran fine after we changed and filled the oil.
The car actually ran fine after we changed and filled the oil. MY neighbor who is an attorney has a friend that is also an attorney. His friend bought a new Audi and never checked the oil, ignored the light and blew up the engine at about 25k miles. 
Says he was to busy with court and his divorce to deal with cars.No worries though. Audi is fixing the A6 right up for the tiny sum of $13k.
Last edited by widlfiresd; 01-29-07 at 07:24 PM.
01-29-07, 05:22 PM
#32
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This forum is getting worse by the day.
FWIW, my unscheduled oil change cost is $90 CAD. BMW will pay for an oil change after one year regardless of the mileage. I just did my complementary after break in oil change. I will post my oil analysis if anyone cares.
FWIW, my unscheduled oil change cost is $90 CAD. BMW will pay for an oil change after one year regardless of the mileage. I just did my complementary after break in oil change. I will post my oil analysis if anyone cares.
01-29-07, 06:57 PM
#33
Lexus Fanatic
Some engines may not APPEAR to be using oil when in fact they do. If you take mostly short trips at colder temperatures and never get the engine really hot for long periods, the moisture level building up in the oil brings the fluid level up a little on the dipstick and offsets somewhat the oil that the engine IS using. So, when you look at the dipstick ( cold, or after giving the oil a few minutes to drain, of course ), the fluid level may still be at or near the full mark when in fact the engine may have actually used some oil and the actual amount of oil remaining may not be that high...it is the moisture in the oil giving a falsely high reading on the dipstick.
That is why, when you are crusing on the Interstates at high speed for many miles or otherwise driving aggressively, in a way to really heat up our engine, you will notice that the oil level drops quickly, and the engine then APPEARS to burn a lot of oil off quickly, when, in reality, all that is happening is that the moisture is being evaporated by the heat, and what you are looking at is the ACTUAL oil level.
That is one ( among many ) reasons why you should change your oil more often with mostly short trips....the moisture stays in the oil more often and doesn't get vaporized out as much by the engine heat that builds up with longer trips. That, of course, dilutes the oil and lessens its effectiveness in lubricating.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-29-07 at 07:01 PM.
01-29-07, 07:59 PM
#34
Lexus Test Driver
I might have exaggerated on the 1/2 quart but it was definitely less then one quart, that's a lot considering the 325 takes some in the range of 6-8 qts (I can't remember) I dumped the old oil back into one of the Mobil 1 bottles and it didn't even fill up one.
What year is your friend's 325i? Because from E46 and on it seems like if the oil level is about 1.5 qt down it's going to trigger the "check engine oil" light on the dash. I said 1.5 qt because I will check the dip stick immediately when the light is on, and at that time it's just a little under the "E" mark. After pouring a qt back into it then it's going to bring it back to 3/4 between the "E" mark and the "F" mark.
It's an`03 325i, his oil light (i.e. dumb, dumb light) came on - that's why he changed the oil.
Last edited by vin 78; 01-29-07 at 08:24 PM.
01-29-07, 08:19 PM
#36
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Why not? I've seen cars run on zero oil - it doesn't more then a few minutes but it still runs.
I might have exaggerated on the 1/2 quart but it was definitely less then one quart, that's a lot considering the 325 takes some in the range of 6-8 qts (I can't remember) I dumped the old oil back into one of the Mobil 1 bottles and it didn't even fill up one.
It's an`03 325i, his oil light (i.e. dumb, dumb light) came on - that's why he changed the oil.
I might have exaggerated on the 1/2 quart but it was definitely less then one quart, that's a lot considering the 325 takes some in the range of 6-8 qts (I can't remember) I dumped the old oil back into one of the Mobil 1 bottles and it didn't even fill up one.
It's an`03 325i, his oil light (i.e. dumb, dumb light) came on - that's why he changed the oil.
Also, the idiot light will come on when you are half a quart low on oil.
01-29-07, 08:23 PM
#37
Lexus Test Driver
Yes, I agree that's why I stated...
Why not? I've seen cars run on zero oil - it doesn't run for more then a few minutes but it still runs
01-30-07, 06:19 AM
#42
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01-30-07, 06:45 AM
#43
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There is a sensor in the oil pan to detect if there is no oil, the engine will automatically shut off if this occurs. This prevents an engine seize if there is a major oil leak.
01-30-07, 10:09 AM
#44
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The lesson we learned today is, never buy a used BMW where the factory maintence was done per the book. Need to get an owner with detailed oil changed at half recommended.
BTW back when I was a kid and doing my first oil change on our 1990 Accord I ran the engine with no oil in it for a few minutes before I realized it had no oil in it! Luckily it had Mobil 1 Synthetic in it before I drained it (back then when it was the good 100% real synthetic stuff). So that commercial where they run the engines on Castrol Syntec after draining the oil, actually did hold some truth. Car was fine.
BTW back when I was a kid and doing my first oil change on our 1990 Accord I ran the engine with no oil in it for a few minutes before I realized it had no oil in it! Luckily it had Mobil 1 Synthetic in it before I drained it (back then when it was the good 100% real synthetic stuff). So that commercial where they run the engines on Castrol Syntec after draining the oil, actually did hold some truth. Car was fine.
Last edited by toy4two; 01-30-07 at 10:16 AM.
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