Temp Gauge

[danbk]

Hi, I been having a weird issue of fluctuating temp on my oil gauge lately, especially and usually when its cold (NYC) . Driving on the highway in a bit colder weather by oil temp would always go down below the 1/4 mark and go up and down as a I drive. I thought the thermostat was bad so I went and changed it, and still the same issue. When I turn the car off within 10 minutes the oil temp is almost down to the cold needle. Is this normal, any suggestions?

[SapphireM5]

Originally Posted by danbk

Hi, I been having a weird issue of fluctuating temp on my oil gauge lately, especially and usually when its cold (NYC) . Driving on the highway in a bit colder weather by oil temp would always go down below the 1/4 mark and go up and down as a I drive. I thought the thermostat was bad so I went and changed it, and still the same issue. When I turn the car off within 10 minutes the oil temp is almost down to the cold needle. Is this normal, any suggestions?

The oil temp moves while driving especially at lower temps. It's funny you mention this because I have only started noticing this within the past month or so. I also read that eco mode, sport and sport + all have different oil temp settings. I believe the temps run a little higher in eco mode an run cooler in sport and sport + expecting you will be pushing the car driving oil temps. Can you take a video of what your seeing?

You can also open up the secret menu on the dash and watch what the actual temps are. Mine seems to fluctuate more when it's in the 88*c - 94*c. It's almost as if you can sit there and watch it go up, then drops back down about 1/8" and vice versa.

[Pikey Motorsports]

How do you open the secret menu

[SapphireM5]

Originally Posted by Pikey Motorsports

How do you open the secret menu

[danbk]

the way you described it makes perfect sense actually. I usually always leave it in sport + mode with D2 Shift, so it makes sense why the temp always seems to be lower. Now thinking of it when it is in eco, it does stay more consistent in the 1/4 mark. What a waste of a thermostat and 4-5 hours labor, should've post first! Lol

[SapphireM5]

Originally Posted by danbk

the way you described it makes perfect sense actually. I usually always leave it in sport + mode with D2 Shift, so it makes sense why the temp always seems to be lower. Now thinking of it when it is in eco, it does stay more consistent in the 1/4 mark. What a waste of a thermostat and 4-5 hours labor, should've post first! Lol

So you can still see yours moving around a bit while driving?

[technician117]

My oil temp gauge acts similarly in the cold weather and depending on the style of driving (which makes sense). Once it heats up to the first mark, it will only cool back down about half way back to the 160 mark during light throttle highway cruising. I just assumed this was normal operation. There is a massive oil cooler on these cars, so if you're not pushing the engine hard and driving at a steady state, the temps should come down naturally. I'm not sure where on the gauge a minimum "warm engine" point would be, if there even is one. 160 isn't exactly cold either.

Edit to add: If I'm driving in traffic, the needle will come up to the first mark. Pretty much any other time it will sit slightly below the first mark. It's only on prolonged cruising in cold weather that it will drop. This tells me that general area on the gauge is normal operating temp. I don't think you can treat oil temp the same as coolant temp in terms of "running cold".

[SapphireM5]

Originally Posted by technician117

My oil temp gauge acts similarly in the cold weather and depending on the style of driving (which makes sense). Once it heats up to the first mark, it will only cool back down about half way back to the 160 mark during light throttle highway cruising. I just assumed this was normal operation. There is a massive oil cooler on these cars, so if you're not pushing the engine hard and driving at a steady state, the temps should come down naturally. I'm not sure where on the gauge a minimum "warm engine" point would be, if there even is one. 160 isn't exactly cold either.

Edit to add: If I'm driving in traffic, the needle will come up to the first mark. Pretty much any other time it will sit slightly below the first mark. It's only on prolonged cruising in cold weather that it will drop. This tells me that general area on the gauge is normal operating temp. I don't think you can treat oil temp the same as coolant temp in terms of "running cold".

Yup sounds normal!

[Boosted M5]

I also noticed the oil temp gauge fluctuating. More when it's cold out (50 degrees or lower) I thought it was odd but seems to be normal. It must have to do with the big oil cooler. On my old 550i it never fluctuated and ran closer to 100C according to the secret menu info.

[M5Rick]

Yeap the colder air will cool the oil more,where I live I have all the settings nearly always on comfort (poor roads) with the oil temp needle just above the first dot.