E46 - Oil level sensor - low oil false readings

[e301988325i]

The yellow oil light keeps coming on despite being to the top on the dipstick on level ground. Is it a mechanical sensor that could gunge up? Looks very expensive on real.OEM part no9.

Does anybody have any experience of this problem?

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=12&fg=05

Ps) Never ever ever ever buy an E46 they are a complete POS.

Current list of things wrong:

Rear parking sensors working intermittently

Airbag light on

Offside telescopic headlight washer needs replacing

Oil level sensor regularly incorrectly indicates low oil level

Drivers electric window not working properly

Interior fan needs new FSR final stage resistor - hedgehog.

Rust rear arches

Rust inside rear nearside door on the sill

[bss325i]

Its an electronic sensor and they are common for going wrong.

E46's are far from a POS.

All types of cars have the good and bad examples. I guess you've got a bad one and to be fair, you list of ailments are short and minor.

The PDC fault will be a sensor

The airbag light will be the passenger seat occupancy sensor mat

The oil level sensor fault will be the sensor its self

Rust on the rear arches will be down to lack of cleaning/wax oiling

The window fault will be the regulator

Without seeing the sill rust i cant comment

Telescopic is unusual, why does it need replacing?

[ah]

My wife's E46 air bag light has a mind of its own,it comes on and then goes out,stays on for 5-10-Min's goes out etc.Do I have the same fault Barry.

[e301988325i]

Its an electronic sensor and they are common for going wrong.

There's a lot of expensive to fix 'common for going wrong' issues with the E46's and that is what make them a POS.

E46's are far from a POS.

All types of cars have the good and bad examples. I guess you've got a bad one and to be fair, you list of ailments are short and minor.

That being based on your BMW tech experience makes me think I'm not buying another BMW after E34/E36 generation.

The PDC fault will be a sensor

£50 + 1/2 hr fitting?

The airbag light will be the passenger seat occupancy sensor mat

Aren't these over £100 + £££fitting into the seat

The oil level sensor fault will be the sensor its self

80 odd quid + 1/2 hr fitting by the looks of it.

Rust on the rear arches will be down to lack of cleaning/wax oiling

Do correct me if I'm wrong, but a lack of galvanising is the issue here.

The window fault will be the regulator

Its slow and the glass misaligns and has to be lifted at the rear of the window to close.

Whats a regulator £100+ & 1 hour fitting + whatever else is wrong?

Without seeing the sill rust i cant comment

Bubbling under the plastic tread plate trim when you open the rear door.

Telescopic is unusual, why does it need replacing?

I've dug far enough to see that it looks physically broken (odd) and clearly leaks screen wash rapidly.

£50 + 1 hour fitting?

Oh, forgot to add the blower fan stopped working today. So I've ordered a £20 hedgehog from evil bay, I put this off for a couple of months I admit and will do this myself.

Oh yeah and the gear stick sits in front of 5th, which you've explained is a gearbox out and then gearbox split job, which is a carry over problem present in the E36's. More POS ammo there I'm afraid.

Oh and I've just done replaced both front calipers (ok that's normal service work)

The best thing about the car is the acceleration over 100mph, and that it's high speed stability only wavers once over gps 140mph.

Ps) Before you say DIY I haven't got time to do this lot myself, new baby via casarean means time is short.

Pps) It has to be done as it's hard to see out of the windscreen at this time of year with no screenwash and no blower fan .

[bss325i]

I can empathise on the new baby by casarean, my second son was born this way in April.

As for the ailments, over what time period have they all built up?

I CBA to quote every line again but the labour times you have quoted are excessive and not what we would get at the dealer. With the exception of the window reg.

Yes, galvanisation would help but i dont think any BMW is galvanised.

For all the bad ones there are plenty more that are ok and dont go wrong frequently and are capable of big mileage without huge expenditure.

[e301988325i]

I'm guessing how long it would take and on parts prices.

We've had the car a year and done 13K. Parking sensors were iffy on the test drive, but were fixed when we drove it away and were ok for a couple of months.

Headlight washer, drivers window, gear shift, oil level sensor, air bag light and the rust have come on throughout the summer.

Other than that it's had a £90 electronic thermostat, another 'common problem' just use a normal one FFS it doesn't warm up especially quickly compared to any other normal vehicle so what's the f*cking point?! 4 tyres, both front calipers and two oil changes by me clean the engine out, PAS fluid changed (ATF dexron II).

[pacerpete]

Thank your lucky stars you have not got an E39, or shudder, an E60

[e301988325i]

Thank your lucky stars you have not got an E39, or shudder, an E60

I think our next family wagon is going to be a skoda estate with a 1.8T on lpg. Or if we get rich somehow, a V6 quattro Audi A6 on gas.

[Morat]

You'll need flashlube then!

[Morat]

Congrats on the baby! Good to hear you're now Parents
Mine was born by emergency C section after 48hrs.... never looked back since!

As for the car.. the list looks familiar.

False low oil level readings: Check. Lucky these cars still have a dipstick!
Knackered parking sensors: Check (£22 from the bay)
Rust on rear sills under plastic kickplate: Check (both sides)
Heating fan - sorted with replacement hedgehog resister (ebay again). Mine never got to the packing in stage, but it was getting very random.
Front calipers: replaced.
Front headlight washer - no problem. (Do you have HIDs?)

Our special list:

Rear demist AWOL (£1200 quote from BMW for new glass)
Rear split tailgate switch U/S (replaced by BMW and worked for 3 months but warranty not honoured because "the fault is in the glass not the switch").
Rust on hatch opening either side, about level with the bottom of the rear screen.
Gearbox is odd. It does centre, but it is still hard to find third going up or down the box.

OTOH, Car was bought three years ago with 90k showing (hmmm) now showing 128k. 90% of those miles are on potholed country roads. It had new genuine front wishbones from BMW when we bought it, they're still good. New rear shock topmounts 3 months ago at the same time as the front calipers.

LPGs like a champ, in very rough terms it costs about £35 a week in gas for a weekly 200 miles of rural commuting.

The only trouble with it is - it's getting too small with a baby and two large dogs.

[bss325i]

At the end of the day most modern turds have their issues and you will always get good and bad examples in terms of problems.

I you're going to have a modern turd then get one that drives well.

[Morat]

Oh I love driving the thing, no problems in that department. I reckon the M54B30 is waaaay under-rated. Silky smooth and nicely torquey with a singing top end. OK, it's not an S54, but you pays yer money etc.

[e301988325i]

LPGs like a champ, in very rough terms it costs about £35 a week in gas for a weekly 200 miles of rural commuting.

The only trouble with it is - it's getting too small with a baby and two large dogs.

Thanks Miles, luckily they popped Jennifer out of the sunroof after realising she wasn't going to come out face first.

I've ordered a £22 parking sensor from evil bay.

Your LPG costs are the same as ours, around 18p mile.

There's not tons of room in the back, but a lot more than an A4 where you can barely fit small children.

Our trusted garage can't look at the BMW until the beginning of next week so hopefully that should have time to arrive.

I'm hoping the oil level sensor is gunged up and can be cleaned, after all these engines do struggle with gunge when on petrol.

Ours has stopped using oil, I'm thinking that the cleaner LPG exhaust has possibly cleaned the breather system out. Still it's due another oil & filter soon as the engine cleans out all the crap.

[e301988325i]

Whilst discussing parking sensors I came across this. Disco 3 sensors are the same and £42 from landy dealer not £££££ from BMW

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... rs+fit+E46

[e301988325i]

Headlight washer fixed, was the telescope oddly, headlight washers now inoperative, the garage probably left it full of test water and it froze overnight killing the pump.

One of two faulty parking sensors replaced, need to order another one.

Air bag light off, probably wiring under the seat where the MRS & I move it back and forth.

Car is using oil again, maybe oil level sensor ok, I'll take it out and clean it next oil change.

Drivers window fixed, needed a risky bodge or new mechanism, the metal barrel on the cable had broken the plastic holder, ace design that.

It's nice to just have the MIL light on now, not a whole xmas tree now matter how festive. . .

New window mechanism, headlight telescope, parking sensor diagnosis £300. . .

Just fitted an ebay £20 hedgehog this morning, what a PITA!!!!!! Fan working ok now, god knows if it'll last, what do you think barry worth going to BMW?

[bss325i]

With the hedge hogs, go for the latest type with the thin metal cooling pins, not the earlier thick cast ones and go for a know brand not a no name no blame jobbie.

Something like this,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Final-Stage-R ... 43ac5307e4

[pacerpete]

I only fit genuine to customers cars as erratic behaviour . battery drain are not unheard of with the 'snide' ones

[e301988325i]

Mine looks the same as the febi one, lots of small long pins. If erratic behaviour & battery drain start again I'll change it for a more expensive one.

This one.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360512116269? ... 1497.l2649

[bss325i]

I only fit genuine to customers cars as erratic behaviour . battery drain are not unheard of with the 'snide' ones

The most common cause of a battery on an E46, E39, E53.