Paolo1

Granted, my 2012 BMW doesn't even have a flippin' dip stick and that's too little, but aren't 3 oil gauges too much?

TRINITONY

That's the one I keep my eye on.

TMc993

Keeping in mind that the newest of these cars is over 13 years old, the combined information provided by the three gauges is fairly essential for air/oil cooled engines. I don't pay much attention to the oil level gauge because I like to open the engine cover and eyeball the engine while I check the dipstick, but when I drive, I keep a close eye on the oil temperature and oil pressure gauges. They convey some pretty important information and ignoring them can cost a lot of money..

NYC993

That doen't mean your car doen't measure oil level, temp or oil pressure. You just thave a computer to monitor all 3 plus another slew of parameters and give you warnings.

Paolo1

I'm clearly out of my depth here with even these basic questions so thank you for entertaining the discussion. Part of what has been driving my befuddlement with these 3 gauges is the guidance I see in some places that says "the oil level gauge, can only be read when you are stationary in idle". I appreciate the education.

NYC993

One reason oil level is important in 993 is because 993 burns oil. So after 3-5k miles you are probably 2-4 quarts lower than what you started with. New cars don't really burn oil so oil level is less relevant unless something is wrong.

993 has dry sump so most of the oil sits in the tank where the oil level sending unit is, which is nothing more than a floater with an arm connected to an electric component that registers position of the arm (similar to the the thing that makes water in in your toilet stop flowing once it's full).

The oil is constantly flowing, so if you are on the gas or moving, the oil moves faster and causes the floater to drop lower so it looks like you don't have any oil. Also you need to be on even surface so oil is evenly spread in the tank. If it flows to one side, the floater will end up too low.

Oil also has to be hot because it expands. With cold oil it will look like you are very low on oil.

Lastly, the oil sending unit can get out of the alignment. I guess with age the arm connecting to the floater bends, of the floater floats less...I'm not really sure what causes it. Hence, many don't rely on it. But if you align it, it works fine. Also one quart is what it takes for the gauge from min to max.

NoleenELT

I agree, plus if your oil temp becomes too hot, you also have a problem!