[grc]

I am planning to do an oil change for my M235i. How much oil should I plan to buy? I read 7qt somewhere.
Btw, this is my first car without a dipstick so once I start adding oil after I drain the old oil out, when do I know I have added enough? Is the only way to get in the car, start the engine and wait for the electronic dipstick to perform a check?

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by grc

I am planning to do an oil change for my M235i. How much oil should I plan to buy? I read 7qt somewhere.
Btw, this is my first car without a dipstick so once I start adding oil after I drain the old oil out, when do I know I have added enough? Is the only way to get in the car, start the engine and wait for the electronic dipstick to perform a check?

You need 7

[M-terkait]

6.5L

[pikcachu]

filter takes another 0.5

[Zooks527]

The BMW branded oil is now sold in liter bottles. Buy 7 liters, put 6 in, get the engine warm and check the level. Odds on, you'll find it reads at Max.

The sump is 7 quarts. There's some holdup when you drain it, especially if you do it on ramps, and 6 liters will usually do just fine. Put the leftover liter in the trunk.

[grc]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

The BMW branded oil is now sold in liter bottles. Buy 7 liters, put 6 in, get the engine warm and check the level. Odds on, you'll find it reads at Max.

The sump is 7 quarts. There's some holdup when you drain it, especially if you do it on ramps, and 6 liters will usually do just fine. Put the leftover liter in the trunk.

Thanks for your suggestion, that is what I was thinking too.
Having no dipstick is just weird. I am coming from an Audi S4 that also had an electronic dipstick, but there was an actual dipstic slot in the engine and you could buy a dipstick for $15 and plug it in. I am surprised that this is not an option for the Bmw

[Robimplicit]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

The BMW branded oil is now sold in liter bottles. Buy 7 liters, put 6 in, get the engine warm and check the level. Odds on, you'll find it reads at Max.

The sump is 7 quarts. There's some holdup when you drain it, especially if you do it on ramps, and 6 liters will usually do just fine. Put the leftover liter in the trunk.

So, if using ramps on the front end, not all oil drains? If so, seems it would be better to use jack stands to get under car to open drain plug, remove jack stands and drain for 30 minutes more, and jack up again and install drain plug. Extra work but maybe worth it to get old oil out completely. Are there standard locations for jack stands on each of the front corners?
Thanks.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by Robimplicit

So, if using ramps on the front end, not all oil drains? If so, seems it would be better to use jack stands to get under car to open drain plug, remove jack stands and drain for 30 minutes more, and jack up again and install drain plug. Extra work but maybe worth it to get old oil out completely. Are there standard locations for jack stands on each of the front corners?
Thanks.

Thats what I do without the jack stands, jack it up then once plug is out and drain pan positioned lower floor jack. Dangerous and stupid, but I use an old wheel as a safety barrier.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Robimplicit

So, if using ramps on the front end, not all oil drains? If so, seems it would be better to use jack stands to get under car to open drain plug, remove jack stands and drain for 30 minutes more, and jack up again and install drain plug. Extra work but maybe worth it to get old oil out completely. Are there standard locations for jack stands on each of the front corners?
Thanks.

Best is to use the ramp opposite of the garage slope for example.... so the result would be almost flat....

else when the oil starts to drip it will start falling onto the cover liner...

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

Best is to use the ramp opposite of the garage slope for example.... so the result would be almost flat....

else when the oil starts to drip it will start falling onto the cover liner...

Your right, that why this is a good tool
http://formafunnel.com/

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by Robimplicit

So, if using ramps on the front end, not all oil drains? If so, seems it would be better to use jack stands to get under car to open drain plug, remove jack stands and drain for 30 minutes more, and jack up again and install drain plug. Extra work but maybe worth it to get old oil out completely. Are there standard locations for jack stands on each of the front corners?
Thanks.

Honestly, I don't worry about the half quart of holdup. I'm changing at twice the stated frequency that BMW specifies and with the break-in change and then an early change, the first BMW "free" change was the third time the car's oil was changed. At that rate, I don't really worry about getting "only" 93% of the old oil out when I do it.