CNVRTfromBMW

...So on Sunday, I got into the car while in the middle making a few stops while running errands, I started the car and saw the amber warning in the center gauge, "Please Reduce Oil Level" with the oil can icon and the vertical bar showing oil maxed out. Needless to say I became alarmed for a few seconds--after all, it is a warning light; however, I know I have not added any oil at all to this car. I left that location, and as that large warning left, the amber oil can remained in the top portion of the screen for the duration of my drive.

I have been driving the car for about 1,200 miles and 2 months since my 5K oil change and I check the oil level gauge pretty frequently, especially when I am showing others the neat capability of checking the oil level through MMI on this car. The vertical bar has always shown about two-thirds solid when the engine is cold. The rational part of my mind went through all of that, but it could barely override the alarmist in my mind that yelled crazy stuff, like, "Someone may have snuck oil into your car when you weren't looking!" and other craziness.

The car continued to do that through a couple of other start/stop cycles. Then, when I started the car later in the evening, it was gone. No more warning light. Gone as mysteriously as it began. It didn't come back today either. All seems normal with the oil level gauge.

I don't remember seeing this as an issue in this forum before, and I wonder if there anything I am possibly missing concerning the warning being valid? I know oil expands when it gets hot, but the oil level is normal and I have had some pretty intense driving sessions since getting my 5K change, and the oil level never read above 3/4 after those high-revving sessions. I check because I like to keep an eye on those types of things. On Sunday, I was literally just doing the leisurely, cliched, "sunday afternoon driving" when this began happening.

Any clues? Just a glitch? Any one else experienced this?

bheffern

I was able to isolate it to parking the car on a (somewhat severe) incline (I can't remember whether it was nose up or down). Presumably, starting the car in this position causes the sensor to activate.

CNVRTfromBMW

Thanks. I think I did park on a hill on one of my stops. Makes sense.

RI A6

Especially if you drive short start and stop distances. Once the oil is up to temperature, most of the excess fuel (along with some oil) will vaporize off and be deposited on the intake valves through the PVC system.

Bob58

It's actually a bit comforting to know that the system "works".