# Watch your oil - no dipstick!



## altieb (Mar 30, 2008)

Dunno if this is true on all the new M cars, but the M6 has no dipstick, and the electronic oil measurement system is not very quick to register (can take over a half an hour to indicate a change in oil level)... There is a quick measurement it will do, but it takes 5 minutes or so, and isn't supposed to be very accurate.

So.... the most important thing you need to do for your car, maintain the oil at the optimal level, has been made ambiguous and tricky. And for what purpose?

AND, btw, if you happen to overfill the thing, which I just did, as a result of the gauge not indicating any change with a series of additions of oil I made, until it suddenly woke up and reported that there was at least 1/2 litre too much oil in the car, there is no easy way to get the excess oil out!

There's no dipstick access, through which it could be removed, and the car is too low to the ground to get to the drain plug. OTOH, one really can't tell if its 1/2 litre overfilled or more than that, so one's not inclined to drive it to the dealer... What? Have it towed to the dealer to have a litre of oil removed? You've got to be kidding!

In the final analysis, its really a bitch, none of which would have been an issue if the car simply had a dipstick, a site glass, or any other mechanical means of knowing how much oil there was in the car! 

Guess how I'm spending my Sunday! Rant over.

Love this car btw... but really, no dipstick?

-A


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