oil light came on

[darren no 7]

hi all oil light came on today on my m3 e46 2002 the oil level was not on min but light has now gone off after i filled it to max,it had the barrings done two years ago, could it just be the oil sensor or do the lights come on when the oil is not that low thanks

Edited by darren no 7 on Wednesday 16th January 18:39

[E36GUY]

It may not have been on min but if the light came on then it's too low. Way too low. You should never see the oil light. Did you check it with a hot engine after the light came on or did you let it get cold? If the engine was warm and the oil level was above min then I would reckon that once cold that level would be on or below min. Just speculation.

Check your oil more often!

[petrolhead76]

If the light is yellow just top it up and relax - just check more often. If the light was red I'd worry.

Just to flag though on my 325i beamer, and my brother-in-laws same car and age both our oil sensors went funny when the car was 6 years old...apparently a common fault that occurs around the age of 6 years - which happens to be similar to your car !!

Basically it would come on (in yellow) when the car was started and then turn off after 20 seconds or something even though the oil was topped up and nowhere near min.

HTH

[PieroW]

My Oil light comes on too, well before it hits the minimum line....top it up and you are good to go!

[John Laverick]

Was it whilst conering hard [around a roundabout for instance] ?

[darren no 7]

no the wife was driving it and the light come on yellow

[RLK500]

Mine comes on too, (Yellow) after starting and driving a short distance, then goes out. Oil level is spot on. Appears to be a feature of E46's of all flavours.

[darren no 7]

thank god for that,thought engine was on its way out

[petrolhead76]

Get the sensor changed if you are worried - should stop it coming on for the next 5 years (which appears to be its lifetime)

[breezy]

RLK500 said:

Appears to be a feature of E46's of all flavours.

Yep absolutely. If the yellow light flickers on and off but the level is fine then it is usually the sensor.

Might be worth putting up with it until your next Inspection/Oil service since you will need to drop the oil to replace the sensor.

[gun12b]

there not called OIL burners for nothing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!