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philt83
24-10-2010, 10:26 AM
Hello to all, i am new to this forum, and also new to csl ownership. I've had mine a couple of weeks now, and absolutely love it. Having previously owned a M3 evo, it is a world apart!

One thing is playing on my mind, the electronic oil level indicator and my local bmw dealer was not a great deal of help. (they tried to tell me i didnt have one!). When i 1st got the car it was showing +1.0L and all of a sudden it is showing -:-L.

all ive heard from other bmw owners i know who have this stupid feature fitted, is that they are notoriously unreliable, and since i dont fancy taking the airbox out every 2weeks to check the emergency dipstick, i was hoping someone can give me some pointers as to how to get the most reliable reading out of this thing, and what the best level to keep it at is.

Many thanks

outnumbered
24-10-2010, 12:22 PM
-:-L just means it hasn't been driven on a long enough journey to take a long term reading. It takes a journey of 20-30 minutes in my experience. There's also a way of taking a short-term reading, if you look in the handbook, I've never bothered.

If it was showing +1.0 within the last 2 weeks you've got nothing to worry about.

Dan
24-10-2010, 01:20 PM
To force a reading press and hold the sport button and it will show what level it is, do you do a lot of short journey's?

azrael
24-10-2010, 03:39 PM
It also wont give you a reading if you've used track mode prior

shimmy
24-10-2010, 04:25 PM
It also wont give you a reading if you've used track mode prior

What's track mode?

shane@mbtech
24-10-2010, 05:23 PM
What's track mode?

M track button on steering wheel as people call it.

shimmy
24-10-2010, 05:33 PM
M track button on steering wheel as people call it.

Ahhh thought I'd missed something for 4 years!

My oil readings has gone to -/- only 3 times and has come back after between 50-150 miles

shane@mbtech
24-10-2010, 05:50 PM
Ahhh thought I'd missed something for 4 years!

My oil readings has gone to -/- only 3 times and has come back after between 50-150 miles


Happened once only in mine.

I have a funny story re missing something on a car.

In my dealer days at Mercedes, I was doing some minor job on a customers 129 chassis 1999 SL, the customer was at the car too, he was peering into the showroom and said to me That he really liked another SL sat in the showroom with the roof down. (same car as his basically).
I said why, yours is just as nice, similar age, just a different colour.
He said but that one in the showroom is a convertible. I said so is yours, he just laughed and said yeh right. I thought he was joking but he was deadly serious. His car just had the removable hardtop on.

After a funny discussion, I had to show him that the hardtop was removeable, we removed it and I showed him his convertible car.

He was like a kid at christmas, gave me a big tip and wanted to get home asap to get his hardtop off and in the garage. He was genuinely in shock, I was just laughing.

He had owned it for nearly 18 months:hahaha:, it was sold with hardtop on and the used car salesman, whom he bought it off, must have just presumed he knew. Well you would.

Sticks in my memory that one.

shimmy
24-10-2010, 06:04 PM
We had a silver 1980s 500SL and the hard top weighed a tonne and was very hard to get off and at least for two of the years we had her we left it on all summer!

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp97/shimmylasco/cars/sl500220604005.jpg

shane@mbtech
24-10-2010, 06:43 PM
We had a silver 1980s 500SL and the hard top weighed a tonne and was very hard to get off and at least for two of the years we had her we left it on all summer!

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp97/shimmylasco/cars/sl500220604005.jpg


They are heavy thats for sure, 2 man job to remove and refit.

Nice pimpmobile shim:smokin:

shimmy
24-10-2010, 06:49 PM
They are heavy thats for sure, 2 man job to remove and refit.

Nice pimpmobile shim:smokin:



Was a lovely car tbh, bought by a paddy (ex CID) whovwascgona do a full restore as it was classic silver with blue leather

DuncanR
24-10-2010, 09:01 PM
M track button on steering wheel as people call it.

Is that also the sport button ????:banghead:

How many fookin ways are there of driving these things ! ... I thought just the one ...fast as ya can !!