[jbrskissummitcolo]

My 2014 435 ix MT6 has added a new feature to annoy me.

The oil level sensor system doesn't work to tell me the oil level any more.

The I have tried the process several times in the past few months and it always craps out at 17% complete.
First time I thought maybe not up to temperature but I have since decided that it just doesn't work any more.

pretty soon, since the car seems to use a quart every 5K or so, I'm really going to want to know what the level is.

Any suggestions?
Does the automatic low level warning work even when the manual request to check oil level is not working?

Taking it to the dealer to get the system fixed is probably in my future unless someone knows a trick to getting the oil level system to work again?

Try as I might to love this car it does annoy me so that I can only describe it by the things that are wrong - it can't remember that I only use sport mode and makes me press that button after every start. It can't show me the tire pressure even though it has TPMS. They didn't include a dipstick, not a problem until the electronic system crapped out. They put the steering wheel heater switch in an impossible to spot location. RTF tires. The radio/multifunction display never comes back on showing the screen I want to see the most (seems like it chooses something at random). The steering column plastic rattles. Glass lens on the fog lights - they might as well just crack them at the factory.

Stupid car pisses me off even as I enjoy the power and handling. It ranks #2 in my garage for power and handling but somehow worse than the others for everything else.

[jgoens]

[QUOTE=jbrskissummitcolo;19367739

Try as I might to love this car it does annoy me so that I can only describe it by the things that are wrong - it can't remember that I only use sport mode and makes me press that button after every start. It can't show me the tire pressure even though it has TPMS. They didn't include a dipstick, not a problem until the electronic system crapped out. They put the steering wheel heater switch in an impossible to spot location. RTF tires. The radio/multifunction display never comes back on showing the screen I want to see the most (seems like it chooses something at random). The steering column plastic rattles. Glass lens on the fog lights - they might as well just crack them at the factory.

Stupid car pisses me off even as I enjoy the power and handling. It ranks #2 in my garage for power and handling but somehow worse than the others for everything else.[/QUOTE]

Those are complaints nearly everyone has. Yeah, I always wonder why the idrive starts different screens.

[smithf80]

Originally Posted by jgoens

Those are complaints nearly everyone has. Yeah, I always wonder why the idrive starts different screens.

It doesn't start at different screens. If its a fresh startup and the car's electronics have gone to sleep it will go to the main screen, if the car hasn't gone to sleep yet it goes back to where you left it.

[CalCarNut]

I'd take the car in asap since there is no manual way to check the oil. One of my biggest pet peeves is that there is no dipstick and you have to rely on the iDrive system to tell you. Maybe it just needs a software update/re-boot.

[jbrskissummitcolo]

Originally Posted by smithf32

It doesn't start at different screens. If its a fresh startup and the car's electronics have gone to sleep it will go to the main screen, if the car hasn't gone to sleep yet it goes back to where you left it.

Not exactly been my experience, but the precise thing is does wrong is that it won't ever and has never ever come back to the screen that shows Radio Data / station information if the car has been off for more than an hour.

I checked just now, after it has been off overnight (more than 15 hours) and it came back on showing the screen that would let me start an oil level check. The last thing I did with it yesterday after I pulled into the garage was try to check the oil and it failed again.

So my experience is that it remembers somethings after being off for a good long time and never ever comes back to the screen I want - radio station information.

[jbrskissummitcolo]

Originally Posted by SoCalDave

I'd take the car in asap since there is no manual way to check the oil. One of my biggest pet peeves is that there is no dipstick and you have to rely on the iDrive system to tell you. Maybe it just needs a software update/re-boot.

Since the roads have been covered with ice and small rocks that bust glass fog light lenses I haven't been driving the 435 all that much lately. The selection of RTF snow tires is very limited if your car has 19s. My Audi is more suitable for winter driving (even if it doesn't have heated steering wheel)

Now that the 60 degree weather is here for a couple days I am so looking forward to driving to the dealer in far far away and wasting a few hours for them to fix the thing.

[tturedraider]

The lack of dipstick is utterly STUPID!!! It's been that way since the E9x. The only good thing is that we've seen very few failures of the sensor.

BMW isn't the only culprit. Porsche does this and I'm pretty sure others have made this switch, too. I think GM may have this on some of their cars.

It is just mind bogglingly stupid!!!

[chiefneil]

Ditto, missing dipstick is annoying. I like to check out my car the day before a road trip - tires, fluids, etc. Having to start the car and sit and wait for the oil check is more time-consuming and annoying than pulling the dipstick while I'm already under the hood checking the coolant.

And can I can get an "amen" for how annoying and difficult it is to read the coolant fill line? A semi-clear white arrow positioned off to the side on a semi-white tank? Really? I need to remember to take a sharpie to it next time I check.

[jbrskissummitcolo]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

The lack of dipstick is utterly STUPID!!! It's been that way since the E9x. The only good thing is that we've seen very few failures of the sensor.

BMW isn't the only culprit. Porsche does this and I'm pretty sure others have made this switch, too. I think GM may have this on some of their cars.

It is just mind bogglingly stupid!!!

Yup it isn't just BMW.
My old Porsche has both dipstick and a level sensor plus it has a 14 quart capacity for oil
My newer 911 Turbo has the sensor and no dipstick, they have been doing it that way since at least 2001.
Seems to be the way things are going. I've never had a sensor or electronics failure on either of them.
Just a failure of the (almost) two year old BMW

[Billfitz]

What's being overlooked is that a dipstick is of no value if you never look at it. Most drivers don't. Electronic oil level measurement will warn you of low oil before the oil pressure is dangerously low. If the oil level measuring function doesn't work, get it fixed.

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by jbrskissummitcolo

Yup it isn't just BMW.
My old Porsche has both dipstick and a level sensor plus it has a 14 quart capacity for oil
My newer 911 Turbo has the sensor and no dipstick, they have been doing it that way since at least 2001.
Seems to be the way things are going. I've never had a sensor or electronics failure on either of them.
Just a failure of the (almost) two year old BMW

Car and Driver overfilled their Cayman long-term tester by 2-3 qts because the sensor kept giving a low warning. Good thing it eventually switched to an overfill warning! No dipstick, of course.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

What's being overlooked is that a dipstick is of no value if you never look at it. Most drivers don't. Electronic oil level measurement will warn you of low oil before the oil pressure is dangerously low. If the oil level measuring function doesn't work, get it fixed.

100% true. It is still stupid to eliminate the physical way to check the level of what is literally the life blood of the motor. Even the dealership has no way of physically determining the oil level other than draining it. It's such a piddling amount of money to design in a dipstick. But it's entirely true that large numbers of today's car owners virtually never open the hood.

[jww///95]

My 328d has a dipstick in addition to the electronic level sensor.

[kent11202]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

The lack of dipstick is utterly STUPID!!! It's been that way since the E9x. The only good thing is that we've seen very few failures of the sensor.

BMW isn't the only culprit. Porsche does this and I'm pretty sure others have made this switch, too. I think GM may have this on some of their cars.

It is just mind bogglingly stupid!!!

I can't envision how "somebody" at BMW actually thought the electronic system could possibly by cheaper and more efficient than a regular old dipstick. Very few failures with the current system? I have NEVER had an old fashioned dipstick fail.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by kent11202

I can't envision how "somebody" at BMW actually thought the electronic system could possibly by cheaper and more efficient than a regular old dipstick. Very few failures with the current system? I have NEVER had an old fashioned dipstick fail.

Amen!!

[cncmastr]

Originally Posted by kent11202

I can't envision how "somebody" at BMW actually thought the electronic system could possibly by cheaper and more efficient than a regular old dipstick. Very few failures with the current system? I have NEVER had an old fashioned dipstick fail.

It's about emissions.

[BavarianFanatic]

Drain oil. Measure the output. Refill and make up the difference?

I was most of the way through developing a simple dipstick retrofit, but never finished it since I'll bet that 99% of the folks that complain about it wouldn't actually follow through with buying and installing it.

[Kev314]

The main prob I have is that there is no easy way to verify that the guy putting in new oil actually did the job; i.e., by taking out the dip stick and looking at the color. Anyone can have a mental lapse after coming back from an interruption. That leaves the possibility of going an additional 7500 or 10,000 miles on old oil.

[maverick83]

Originally Posted by jbrskissummitcolo

Not exactly been my experience, but the precise thing is does wrong is that it won't ever and has never ever come back to the screen that shows Radio Data / station information if the car has been off for more than an hour.

I checked just now, after it has been off overnight (more than 15 hours) and it came back on showing the screen that would let me start an oil level check. The last thing I did with it yesterday after I pulled into the garage was try to check the oil and it failed again.

So my experience is that it remembers somethings after being off for a good long time and never ever comes back to the screen I want - radio station information.

Annyoingly if you have it on any other screen accept the radio, and your pdc comes on, it goes to menu screen after pdc disengages again. Very annoying.

[Adamr916]

Originally Posted by jww///95

My 328d has a dipstick in addition to the electronic level sensor.

+1, sales manager told me that all of the diesel's have a dipstick. The actual tube is still there on most of the cars, so you may be able to order a dipstick for it. But my 328d did come with a dipstick so I can see how fast it turns black after a fresh oil change.

[RoundelM3]

I'm having a hard time understanding why, on a relatively new car that's still under warranty, that the trip to the dealership or at least a call to them isn't the first action taken. If it's not working right, they're the ones with the expertise to fix it as opposed to the posters on this forum. I've never had this problem on my previous '07 E92, the wife's '11 E88, or my current '13 F30. But if I did, I'd be making a service appointment right away. And especially if the TPMS display isn't working either. Sounds like something in the electronics needs replacing.

So pushing the button for sport mode every time you start the car is too much trouble? Buy some pre-cut protective film from BavAuto to protect your headlight and foglight lenses - cheap insurance. Strange that my iDrive (non-nav) always comes back to whatever screen I left it on previously. And I frequently turn it off, particularly at night (have button 8 assigned to that) and it remembers that, too. I've even coded my TPMS display to give tire temperature as well as pressure for each wheel, and enabled the Weatherband radio (yes, it's right there just waiting to be activated) among other hidden functions. Lots of things to appreciate in these cars despite the lack of a manual dipstick - which, by the way, has already been bemoaned and bitched about hundreds of times on this forum and the E9x forum.

Sorry you're having these "problems", but that's what 4-year/50K mile warranties are for.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by roundel335

I'm having a hard time understanding why, on a relatively new car that's still under warranty, that the trip to the dealership or at least a call to them isn't the first action taken. If it's not working right, they're the ones with the expertise to fix it as opposed to the posters on this forum. I've never had this problem on my previous '07 E92, the wife's '11 E88, or my current '13 F30. But if I did, I'd be making a service appointment right away. And especially if the TPMS display isn't working either. Sounds like something in the electronics needs replacing.

So pushing the button for sport mode every time you start the car is too much trouble? Buy some pre-cut protective film from BavAuto to protect your headlight and foglight lenses - cheap insurance. Strange that my iDrive (non-nav) always comes back to whatever screen I left it on previously. And I frequently turn it off, particularly at night (have button 8 assigned to that) and it remembers that, too. I've even coded my TPMS display to give tire temperature as well as pressure for each wheel, and enabled the Weatherband radio (yes, it's right there just waiting to be activated) among other hidden functions. Lots of things to appreciate in these cars despite the lack of a manual dipstick - which, by the way, has already been bemoaned and bitched about hundreds of times on this forum and the E9x forum.

Sorry you're having these "problems", but that's what 4-year/50K mile warranties are for.

It's the new world order - ask social media and Internet forums rather than asking the person/folks who can actually resolve the issue or offer the best advice for your specific situation.

A local bulletin board page recently had a woman asking for feedback as to whether she should take her child for emergency medical care. She apparently hated "wasting hours sitting in waiting rooms for service". Hopefully her kid isn't dead now.