Did a search and found this thread but nothing conclusive in it.

Last week I took my '14 to the dealer for recall fixes. When I picked up the next morning, I left and two blocks later the warning comes on for low oil (there is an alert sound, the hazard triangle with the exclamation point appears in the speedometer display). I pulled over and pulled up the oil gauge display and it said "LOW."

So I drove back to the dealer and told them I was getting a warning for low oil, and since there was originally enough oil, and in fact they top off fluids when the car is serviced, something weird is going on.

Not five minutes passed and the customer service associate came back and said the oil is fine, it's the temperature that's low, and now that the car is warmed up, the warning is gone.

This is crazy, I thought, but what could I say? So I took the car and left. A week later or so and on a cold morning (for NorCal) I got the warning again. I drove for around 10 minutes before it disappeared and the oil level was normal again.

So, by the dealer's logic, everyone in areas where it really gets cold is getting this alert on a daily basis? I don't think so. And of course it's insane that a car without a dipstick relies on an oil indicator that tells you there's not enough oil if it's cold.

What should I do? Just accept that the monitoring is erratic? Document the times I get an error and return to the dealer?

 

Several questions for you, but I think you may be confusing the engine temperature gauge with the oil gauge.

If you are referring to the gauge on the instrument cluster with a picture of the engine and a blue and red scale that says LOW when you start the car, that is the engine temperature and it will always say LOW when you start the car. It should change to OK after a few minutes. This gauge will appear only in the instrument cluster when you press the "BC" button on your turn signal, along with avg mpg, avg speed, distance to empty, etc.

In colder climates, you will also usually see a warning light pop up that looks like a triangle with a snowflake in it. This is the low ambient temperature warning and it will pop up if you start up the car and it's 37F or below outside, just as a warning that there may be ice on the road. You tend to see it a lot in the winter.

There is no gauge that shows the oil level while you are driving. To access oil measurement, you have to go into VEHICLE INFO --> VEHICLE STATUS --> MEASURE ENGINE OIL LEVEL. The car has to be warmed up (i.e. driven for a few minutes), car needs to be in park (or stopped and in neutral if you have a manual), and the measurement takes about 1-2 minutes. When it's done, you'll get a gauge that will say MIN and MAX.

There is a oil warning message that will pop up if the oil level is REALLY low, but it's hard to misinterpret as the displays will specifically call out that the oil level is low and will advise you not to drive.

 

Here's a picture of the engine temperature gauge. Is this what you are referring to?

 

OK now I feel really dumb because I thought the engine temp was the oil level. Keep in mind I only drive the car on weekends, during the week it's my wife's.

That admitted, I am aware of the snowflake alert but I don't think that's what I'm getting. I'll have to watch it carefully next time and figure out what is going on.

 

Don't worry about it. I've met more than a handful of new F56 owners who made the same assumption

 

When you say "temperature" do you mean oil or water?

 

If you go to vehicle status, check control, it sometimes tells you more information.

 

Interestingly enough, the manual says it refers to a combination of both oil and coolant temperature.