Oil Light on in Console

[2001BMW325xi]

.........everytime I turn of the car it stays on for about 5-10 seconds. The Manual says that the light means that my oil is at the lower level and I must fill up next time I am at a car store. Here's my question:

My car was serviced just before I bought it from the dealer (Jul 9th) and the sticker says Oil change at 42000....(my car is at 40556 righ now).....do i still have to keep topping of the engine oil once in a while or wait till that 42000 mile mark?

If i decide to fill up can I just use any 5W-40 synthetic off the shelf at O'riellys or do I need to get one of them "BMW approved" oils?

Also does it make a difference if the previous service used a different oil and I use a different one to fill up to make that light go away? Mixing of different oils good?


Caio and have fun

[gonzo499]

first thing you need to do is check for yourself to see if the oil is low. if not, it may be the sensor.


my yellow oil light used to turn on every once in a while for around ten seconds. the oil level was always fine, it was the sensor that was bad. if you have a bad sensor, DO NOT let it go unattended. i always told myself i was too busy and would just catch it on my next oil change. very bad idea. i recently had to replace my entire instrument cluster(approx $600) and they said it probably went bad because i let the oil sensor go for so long. this could've been bullshit but i wouldn't take the chance if i were you. i think it was an additional $180 dollars for the sensor to be replaced. definitely check it out.