[KevinMc]

I was driving today and the red oil light came on. It had been driving normally and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just some rain while driving around town. I pulled over immediately and turned off the engine. I waited a while and started it again and the light was still on. Got it towed to my great independent mechanic.

I had the oil serviced in September and no issues until today. Am I looking at a serious repair?

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by KevinMc

I was driving today and the red oil light came on. It had been driving normally and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just some rain while driving around town. I pulled over immediately and turned off the engine. I waited a while and started it again and the light was still on. Got it towed to my great independent mechanic.

I had the oil serviced in September and no issues until today. Am I looking at a serious repair?

Was it the low oil warning notice, or an oil pressure notice? Strange it popped up red without first giving the quart low yellow warning. That's concerning. That is obviously a bad thing, but low oil could just mean they didn't do a good job changing it the last time. Or maybe the bolt backed out or something. Oil pressure could be bad though... pump is shot, or the pickup is clogged maybe. N52 motor?

[e91Owner]

If it’s just the red oil light without the waves, it’s for low pressure & is probably just the oil pressure sensor (which is super cheap).

[KevinMc]

It is just the red oil light, no waves. It is the N52, I haven’t read any comments about this type of thing happening. I’m planning on the worst but hoping for the best.

[lordnikon]

What is the oil level reading?

[KevinMc]

I tried to get to the oil level reading, but it won’t let me get to it for some reason.

Also, it was raining pretty good yesterday.

I live in Los Angeles area, so I don’t drive in a lot of rain. I took it up to San Francisco last month and got into some heavy rain. I started to get the TPS warning light coming on. I checked the tires and no issues. After the heavy rain stopped, the TPS light went off. Starting to wonder if my car just doesn’t like rain.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by KevinMc

I tried to get to the oil level reading, but it won’t let me get to it for some reason.

Also, it was raining pretty good yesterday.

I live in Los Angeles area, so I don’t drive in a lot of rain. I took it up to San Francisco last month and got into some heavy rain. I started to get the TPS warning light coming on. I checked the tires and no issues. After the heavy rain stopped, the TPS light went off. Starting to wonder if my car just doesn’t like rain.

Engineered for that dry desert climate they have in Germany!

[e91Owner]

Originally Posted by KevinMc

It is just the red oil light, no waves. It is the N52, I haven’t read any comments about this type of thing happening. I’m planning on the worst but hoping for the best.

It’s pretty common actually. If you had a means to read BMW diagnostic codes, you would be able to confirm. The red oil can icon without waves has nothing to do with the oil quantity per se, as it is solely an indication of pressure. If you lost all of the oil causing no pressure, you’d surely be able to see that and have more than one fault listed on the check control.

[GoRomeo]

I would change the oil amd filter again to be safe. Make sure you use the correct oil and mann fllter.

[Mike K]

Yes and check the condition of your oil filter cage and o rings.

[KevinMc]

Well, it turned out that the wiring going to the oil pressure sensor had some of the insulation worn off creating a short. It took a day and a half to diagnose and it’s fixed. I was bracing the worst and very relieved.

Thanks for everyone’s input, much appreciated.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by KevinMc

Well, it turned out that the wiring going to the oil pressure sensor had some of the insulation worn off creating a short. It took a day and a half to diagnose and it’s fixed. I was bracing the worst and very relieved.

Thanks for everyone’s input, much appreciated.

Thanks for posting the follow up info! Great to hear it was really NBD.

N52 comes through again!!!

[KevinMc]

So, the oil pressure light came back on within 2 weeks following the initial fix. The mechanic manually checked and the pressure was fine. Then the holidays happened and finally got it back to him once he reopened the shop. He spent 2 weeks with it and was thinking of replacing the ECM and got a used one, but would have cost $300 to clear the old vehicle before he could reprogram to my car. He opened my ECM and the chip for the oil pressure sensor was fried. He replaced the chip and now it’s fixed. I’m optimistic that this has finally solved the issue.