Low oil

Also note that 330/530i's are known for using quite a lot of oil, so it's probably normal for it to drop past the minimum level - particularly if it wasn't brimmed to the max when you got it.
 
Clarkey said:
If you actually believe this then you are deluded. This is backed up by the fact that the OP now says his engine is knocking. Coincidence? I think not...
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lol ok mate. It's amazing what noises you hear if you're suddenly worried about something. I'm sure (and hope) thepharcyde's car is fine - he didn't even get the red light which is what appears when there is an oil pressure problem - what part of this do people find hard to understand?
 
Wicksta said:
lol ok mate. It's amazing what noises you hear if you're suddenly worried about something. I'm sure (and hope) thepharcyde's car is fine - he didn't even get the red light which is what appears when there is an oil pressure problem - what part of this do people find hard to understand?
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Back in t'day, when a car was a car, we didn't have all these newfangled LEDs and computers.
 
The question was What damage does low oil do to a car, and am I likely to have damaged it?

The answer is bottom end wear, and yes it is possible you have damaged it.

What part of that do people find hard to understand?
 
thepharcyde said:
Whats the damage of running a car with low oil. Just on my way out and driving my fav back roads, and the Orange oil light comes on. I believe it goes red too.

I pulled to the side of the road and turned the engine off, then on and the light went out.

So I drove to my local Frauds, and parked up, turned the engine off, and the orange light come on again.

So I checked the oil (engine was warm, but alas minimal oil on the dipstick level) below the min mark.

So just put a litre of 0W-30 Castrol in and driven home.

Another well done to Wollaston Motors. I have only had the car 3 weeks, and done around 1,000 miles on it. So they either did not check it, or the car has burnt loads of oil.

Anyway, am I likely to have damaged my E46 330 engine?
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Oil should be checked weekly. You have no one to blame but yourself :p
 
I think what we are essentially dealing with here is a perfectly acceptable, but soon-to-be-low, oil level that has, in combination with hard driving, fooled the oil level sensor in to thinking that it will be necessary to top up within the next 30 miles. I suspect the engine will be fine and the oil level hasn't become low at all.

The fact that the car only thought the oil level was low (and not below minimum) when driving hard, no engine damage will have occured.
 
Lopéz said:
The question was What damage does low oil do to a car, and am I likely to have damaged it?

The answer is bottom end wear, and yes it is possible you have damaged it.

What part of that do people find hard to understand?
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I'm intrigued to know why you think this car which has suffered no oil starvation/pressure issues whatsoever now has a possibly damaged engine. How?
 
I think it depends on the engine but its surprising how low the oil can go before it gets bad.

I think the top end get starved first but thats just my guess based on nasty noises my engine has made on a couple times Ive forgotten it needed topping up :eek:
ie. no oil on the dipstick when engine cold :o
 
The rule used to be that if the oil light has come on then it's already too late. But nowadays with the ECU monitoring just about everything for any signs of abnormality then it's not always that clear cut. As said a lot of cars now use it as a make-shift "need to get a service" light but there are still plenty of cars with more basic drivechains where the light does quite literally mean "the damage has already been done".
 
I should mention on my old car (it'd be like 25 years old now) the oil light came to be on permanently. It was just old and it had enough oil but lacked oil pressure anyway, nothing to be done and it ran fine anyway.

Varies by the engine/car I reckon
 
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