Your owners manual will tell you what to do.

Hint: check oil level.

 

Thanks Kris!

 

Check oil with dipstick. I would bet you are about a quart low; exact same sequence happened to me on my 330.

 

Thanks man. I just thought it weird that it doesnt turn on until after the car has been turned off. Every other car I have had if the oil was low it would start with the light and/or beeping noise while the car was running. The instrument cluster is not one of those things I think to look at when I am about to get out of the car. I'll have to check it when I get home tonight.

 

If it gets low enough, it'll be red and come on while the car is running.

 

I had a problem with my sensor. It would turn yellow after I shut the engine off and the oil level would be between the normal levels. At my last service visit, I mentioned it to the Service Advisor & they replaced the oil level sensor unit. Seems there was a short in it.

Johnny

 

Had a similar issue 2 weeks ago with the light coming on. It was a quart low, but since I have my next service scheduled on Tuesday, I only put a half of a quart in and saved the rest for the next time it happens. Well, over Thanksgiving, we took a very long drive through the mountains of TN and NC with some steep grades and twisties. When I stopped again, the light came on again after I turned off the car. Verified that it was still half-way between the lines and did nothing. The problem has not returned. Wonder if the grades and turns caused the oil to slosh to one side to trigger the sensor with it only being a half a quart down? Anyone know how it works? I am going to mention it to my service advisor on Tuesday.

 

yellow oil can is oil level.there are problems with contamination with these oil level sensors due to its operating principles that causes moisture trapping contaminants within the sensor itself and therefore it becomes unreliable and sends errouneous readings.The operating principle is that a heating element in the sensor heats the sensor above the temperature of the oil, then the time taken for the sensor to cool back down indicates the level of the oil. The longer the "cool down" time is, the lower the oil is in the engine.Yours is a good sign/indicator that it is at the "early" stages of failure because it sees the warning as PRIORITY 2 (engine is shut off).Priority 1 on the other hand is while the engine is running.
Red oil can is oil pressure.Do not confuse this for oil level.Shut the engine off when this lamp comes on or you will do some serious damage to the motor.

Check your oil level. Check the oil quality while you are at it,if its low and the quality is questionable why would you top it off? Just change the oil and filter.

And if the oil level is okay,yet the warning lamp persist.Your Oil Level Sensor is faulty.

 

yellow oil can is oil level.there are problems with contamination with these oil level sensors due to its operating principles that causes moisture trapping contaminants within the sensor itself and therefore it becomes unreliable and sends errouneous readings.The operating principle is that a heating element in the sensor heats the sensor above the temperature of the oil, then the time taken for the sensor to cool back down indicates the level of the oil. The longer the "cool down" time is, the lower the oil is in the engine.Yours is a good sign/indicator that it is at the "early" stages of failure because it sees the warning as PRIORITY 2 (engine is shut off).Priority 1 on the other hand is while the engine is running.
Red oil can is oil pressure.Do not confuse this for oil level.Shut the engine off when this lamp comes on or you will do some serious damage to the motor.

Check your oil level. Check the oil quality while you are at it,if its low and the quality is questionable why would you top it off? Just change the oil and filter.

And if the oil level is okay,yet the warning lamp persist.Your Oil Level Sensor is faulty.

i am due for my last oil change under warranty. They needed me to wait for a few more weeks before BMW would cover the cost of the service. Just buying time. Once I start paying for it, I will do things a bit different.