Oil change mistake

SSATVAT

MEMBER
2007 BMW 328
3.0L
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
101,000 MILES

I was changing oil in my car 328i, removed the filter and drained the oil in pan after opening the underneath bolt.

The mistake I made was to start pouring engine oil through the hole where oil filter goes, I poured two quarts and realized I need to pour through oil cap and not through where oil filter goes. In BMW oil filter is next to engine, it is not underneath or sideways usually on other cars. Car started correctly with no warning sign but next day "service engine soon" light came on and RPM is going up unexpectedly. My question: did I mess up my car engine? How can this be fixed?

1 Reply

BMDOUBLE

MECHANIC
1,139 POSTS

The oil will make it's way to the pan even if you fill it through the filter housing so that shouldn't be an issue. The PCV system on these cars is in the valve cover and will exhibit symptoms similar to this when it fails. Usually a rolling idle and stall at times, usually a quick check is to remove the oil fill cap while the engine is running. If there is a large suction hard enough to make it difficult to remove the cap, the PCV system has failed. If the oil cap is not fully tightened it will also make the idle raise when the PCV is faulty because it's acting as a vacuum leak. Lets just look over the engine compartment for anything that may have come loose during your oil change and look into getting your vehicle scanned for trouble codes and we can go from there.