Mechanic talking rubbish? "You don't use your car enough"

[LookatmyFatArseDP]

I have a 10 plate BMW 3 series M Sport (included that wanky M Sport as may be relevant). Shes my pride and joy and whenever she so much as squeaks she's in the garage to be checked. She's immaculate.

A while ago I had "low oil pressure warning stop immediately" warning flash up then disappear. Obvs I cried (nearly anyway).

Took it to my proper German specialist garage. They replaced the oil sensor as it was covered in crap, all good.

Except, it happened again a few months later 😩 warning on then off straightaway. DP took it back and mechanic clocked it had only done about 5k miles in 1.5 years 😳 he asked DP about my driving habits which are rather Miss Daisy - few miles to work, mway for about 0.5 mile, never really get up to 70mph expect maybe once a month for a few mins.

He said he'd love to take our money but the problem isn't the car, its because I never get it fully warmed up with my pootling about and if it was genuine low pressure the warning would appear a lot more regularly and stay on for a while. His fix was for us to ensure it goes on a "spirited drive" at least once a month on solid mway driving for 30 mins to clear stuff out as that's causing the oil sensor to, I dunno, get covered in shit or whatever?

Now cars been fine for about 8m. It did it again a few times last week. No i hadn't "spiritidly driven" it for ages. DP took it out for 40mins. Its been fine since.

While mechanic seems to have been right I guess (he's really old school, loves BMWs, in particular, is always doing training etc). I just find it incredible that a car can throw out such a scary warning every now and then because I don't drive it much??

Does this sound right or do I need another mechanic? I'm so worried about my prize possession 😩

Ah I feel pretty sad now I've wasted it in a way, I used to really enjoy properly driving it and reliving my xr2i days (showing my age there) but I lost my love for that after that first warning 😞

Just decided I'm going to whizz, not pop, to a shopping centre about 25m from here tomorrow 😊

It’s just a car warning light, not the end of the world, why are you so afraid of it appearing? If it appears then just deal with it then. Can’t imagine only driving a car so little in a year, especially when you love it!

A beautiful car is a thing of joy. Definitely keep it and give it more long trips. Driving a Ford is miserable if you're used to quality.
Enjoy your lovely vehicle @LookatmyFatArseDP

"Drive it like you stole it occasionally" 🤣🤣🤣

I bloody will from now on!!! Its honestly such a nice car for its age, I feel really bad now 😩

If you're only driving short distances, you'd be much better off with an electric car.

Mine's a Hybrid PHEV and I do a lot of local short drives on electric but if I drive to the city a couple of times a month, that's a 90min drive each way.

Engine oil gets thinner when hot. If it never gets really hot, it'll congeal in the sump, and not get lifted up into the engine, thus the low oil warning. It means the pistons are not getting properly lubricated, and will wear over time.

It's true, cars need to be driven, the oil goes clammy if not. They need a good run sometimes

Just got my renewal, £700 with max NCD, up from £530 and that's the cheapest 😡

Yes, we do not use our car much so we make sure that we drive it at over 50mph for at least 30 minutes every 3 weeks or so.

It doesn't really but the brakes thing is an issue. Most EV braking is "regenerative braking" so it's actually engine braking rather than using the physical brakes - quite common to see no wear at all on the brakes as they are so rarely used.

EV drivers are advised to brake sharply every couple of weeks just to make sure the physical brakes get used sometimes.

I'm with everyone else - surely the point of a car like that is to have fun? My car isn't anywhere near as nice as that as it's just an Audi A1 but it's got a more powerful engine than the ones I've driven the last 15 years and I absolutely love it. I love that I can put my foot down and just GO.

Even DH who isn't a big man but still looks ridiculous driving it as it's so small, and who drives our family-friendly but still very powerful car normally, says how much fun it is to drive my car.

I remember my parents used to take our family car for a big drive up the motorway for an hour at, approx 30 years ago, after having problems due to lots of short journeys - so def a thing

Yes, we got rid of our gorgeous high spec car because we were only pottering in it and the particle filter for grumpy. Got a sensible car instead.

I have to say the most "fun" car I've had for short turny corner type journeys apart from my xr2i from days of yore, was a Ford Ka, the old shape one. My god at times it felt like I was cornering in a go kart.

This BMW ive got now is pretty unassuming, its debadged (wanky x 2) (and has been lowered by the prev owner 🙈 wanky x 3) and I often get blokes pull up to next to me at traffic lights with the clear intention to speed off ahead of me...

Its petrol too so if I get the clutch just right....my god it zooms off and can dust quite a lot of better spec cars 😃

@deplorabelle

EV drivers are advised to brake sharply every couple of weeks just to make sure the physical brakes get used sometimes.

Yes, I’ve seen this. I remember…. occasionally….. and then I sometimes have to brake sharply for real world reasons. At its recent service with 27K on the clock, my EV’s brake pads were only 10% worn.

Google diesel particle filter. Diesel cars are fitted with these filters to cut the toxic emissions from running these engines. They need to get up to certain temp to cleanse the system and ”regenerate”. When you only do short trips the exhaust never gets up to the required temperature and particles build up in the system.

Lots of school run vehicles and pop to the shop vehicles tend to get affected by this issue. Car needs a good run at least once a month and will solve the problem.

You’re being contradictory in your statements about loving your car etc and being almost afraid to drive it. Driving it will stop the warning light going on and you can enjoy it anxiety free once you get your head around that.

complete waste of a car you love to have it sitting there like your best china only to never be used and then depreciate in value. Drive the damn thing like you love to and get over yourself!

Its a petrol. Another reason why I was a bit hmm about this clear it out thing, ive heard about diesels needing a blast but not really petrol cars.

I have to thank you all honestly you've all given me the kick up the arse I needed ❤

I'm going to get her valeted - get the ginger cat hairs off it 😡 - and enjoy driving again!

When we had a diesel car about once a month we’d take it out for a motorway drive in a lowish gear as I understand that’s good for the engine, particularly when it rarely does long/fast journeys … so sounds right to me.

I think you need a Tesla for your next wanky car

You don’t have a car that suits your driving habits. the mechanic is right.

Yup he is 100% right. If you don't drive your car, especially a higher performance car, long enough you can do irreparable damage to the engine. Listen to the expert.

I know honestly I don't know why this sodding oil light has been some sort of bizarre trigger for me being anxious about it. Probably not helped by googling it at the time 😩 I'm not allowed to google car stuff now 🤣

That's absolutely correct. My mechanic has also told me the same as I only tend to drive short distances and he has advised taking longer drives occasionally to help the cars function and performance.

Yes my battery kept on going flat so I’ve been really aware of it since! I must admit I wasn’t aware before OP but now you know.