Engine Eating Oil

[GMT II]

I have about 30,000mi on the car already. About 2/3 of the way towards its 1st oil change and once again 2/3 of the way towards its 2nd I get a critically low oil message requiring a quart of oil.

The car is in for service for that and a myriad other issues and my SA told me that this is a known issue for which there is no solution. He will be stocking my truck with quarts of BMW oil for the duration of the maintenance program.

Any one else experience this? Is the engine burning its oil? It isn't coming out of the bottom of the car as I would have seen.

Thanks all.

[ErvGotti]

It's an inherant problem with direct injection cars including Audi's and Vdubs. Oil blow by is recirculated back in to our intake track, an oil catch can can help things stay clean, but there's nothing you can really do about the loss of oil due to blow by.

[BMW86]

You should be changing your oil at least every 5,000miles. The scheduled service intervals for oil changes are far too long.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by GMT II

I have about 30,000mi on the car already. About 2/3 of the way towards its 1st oil change and once again 2/3 of the way towards its 2nd I get a critically low oil message requiring a quart of oil.

Like most manufacturers, BMW claims that oil consumtion of 1 quart per 1,000 miles may be considered "normal" - a spec which must date from the 1960s.

Since you are only burning 1 quart per 10,000 miles, I wouldn't worry about it. But if you already are adding one quart in 10k, why not do an interim change at around 7,500 miles? It should cost about $100 at a BMW dealer, about $60 if you DIY.

Tom

[ModBargains.com]

Originally Posted by ErvGotti

It's an inherant problem with direct injection cars including Audi's and Vdubs. Oil blow by is recirculated back in to our intake track, an oil catch can can help things stay clean, but there's nothing you can really do about the loss of oil due to blow by.

I couldn't have said that better myself. Blow-by is caused when a combustion in the engine forces fuel, air, and moisture past the piston rings and into the crankcase. From there, the blow-by is released by the crank case vents and back into the intake pipe. This occurs on all engines, but is worse on turbo engines due to the stronger combustion. If nothing is done, this excess “gunk” will build up in the valvetrain, turbo, intercooler, and intercooler piping.

To the OP, excessive engine oil consumption is not normal and there may be a bigger issues on hand. However, for future preventative issues, I would recommend that you check out the BSH Oil Catch Can for your N54. I'll shoot you over a PM with more details!

- Alan

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by **********s.com

To the OP, excessive engine oil consumption is not normal and there may be a bigger issues on hand.
- Alan

While I certainly agree that excessuve consumption is not normal, would you really define 1 quart in 10,000 miles to be excessive for an N54 - or even a NA BMW 6?

Tom

[BrokenVert]

I burned a quart before my first change. I'm at 45k miles now and she hasn't burned any oil since. My engine is in awesome shape and I don't baby it

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by maxnix

That would be an interesting statement if we knew at how what mileage each oil change was performed and if you or the technician actually measured the amount drained each time. No dipsticks are not much of a help here.

I've done the 15k interval for the services and I've cut it in half myself. I've sent my oil out after every change and it's completely fine (no particulates etc) and every time I've done it I've drained about 7 quarts and put 7 quarts back in

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by maxnix

I would certainly define an OCI of 10K miles as excessive on a turbo engine, even if never run very hard.

Let us know when BMW honors that as a warrranty claim!

Tom

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by maxnix

There's a claim for frequent oil changes?

SW: "Sir, you oil is too fresh for the mileage on your car. We'll have to drain it and install some older used oil to maintain the warranty."

Sorry, I thought you were referring to Oil Consumption Interval, not Oil Change Interval.

Even with my NA motors, I'm more comfortable with a normal change interval of around 8k miles.

Tom

[RPM90]

OP:
1 quart per 10k is not a big oil loss at all, especially in a turbo engine.
Sure, you're using more than others may be, but it's a very acceptable loss.
It's not a "critically low" condition in the least. It's only down 1 quart out of 7.

How the rings seat during the initial break in and early miles.
There is variance on how well the seating happens.
Your engine is on the "looser" side of acceptable.

Another potential is that your rings set just fine, but you have poor turbo bearing seals.
Have you checked your plugs to see if you're burning any oil?
Do you see any blue smoke from the tail pipe?

1 quart every 1k miles would not be acceptable in my book.
If that were happening, you'd be going through the equivalent oil use of 2 oil changes every 14k miles.
With that much oil loss you'd leaking, burning, blow by, fouled plugs, etc.., you wouldn't need an oil change just a filter change, cause you'd have fresh oil all the time by having to add so much.
It would be like a total loss oiling system.

One big advantage to BMW engines is that they have a 40% greater oil capacity than most engines, 7 compared to 5 quarts.
It's another reason why a longer drain is possible. It's a large amount of oil for 3.0 liters.

I won't go into the whole "too long" interval thing.
But, if it makes you "feel" better, then by all means go and do an in between oil change.

In my 135i I was 1 quart low by 11k miles. Didn't concern me at all.
My E46 325i was also a quart low by around 14k miles, first change. The next oil change, about the same mileage, showed only between 1/4 to 1/2 below full.
By the 3rd it was nearly no loss.

I don't think you need to worry at all.

BTW, how did you drive the engine during the first few thousand miles?

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by ErvGotti

It's an inherant problem with direct injection cars including Audi's and Vdubs. Oil blow by is recirculated back in to our intake track, an oil catch can can help things stay clean, but there's nothing you can really do about the loss of oil due to blow by.

You're correct on not being able to do much about blow by.

I wouldn't say that oil usage is an inherent "problem" due to DI. Oil dilution is an inherent issue with DI.
Blow by is inherent in all ringed internal combustion engines.
Forced induction increases the potential of blow by due to increased combustion chamber pressures.

[GMT II]

Originally Posted by RPM90

OP:
1 quart per 10k is not a big oil loss at all, especially in a turbo engine.
Sure, you're using more than others may be, but it's a very acceptable loss.
It's not a "critically low" condition in the least. It's only down 1 quart out of 7.

How the rings seat during the initial break in and early miles.
There is variance on how well the seating happens.
Your engine is on the "looser" side of acceptable.

Another potential is that your rings set just fine, but you have poor turbo bearing seals.
Have you checked your plugs to see if you're burning any oil?
Do you see any blue smoke from the tail pipe?

1 quart every 1k miles would not be acceptable in my book.
If that were happening, you'd be going through the equivalent oil use of 2 oil changes every 14k miles.
With that much oil loss you'd leaking, burning, blow by, fouled plugs, etc.., you wouldn't need an oil change just a filter change, cause you'd have fresh oil all the time by having to add so much.
It would be like a total loss oiling system.

One big advantage to BMW engines is that they have a 40% greater oil capacity than most engines, 7 compared to 5 quarts.
It's another reason why a longer drain is possible. It's a large amount of oil for 3.0 liters.

I won't go into the whole "too long" interval thing.
But, if it makes you "feel" better, then by all means go and do an in between oil change.

In my 135i I was 1 quart low by 11k miles. Didn't concern me at all.
My E46 325i was also a quart low by around 14k miles, first change. The next oil change, about the same mileage, showed only between 1/4 to 1/2 below full.
By the 3rd it was nearly no loss.

I don't think you need to worry at all.

BTW, how did you drive the engine during the first few thousand miles?

The car is my daily driver so usage is very consistent. About 85% driven on interstate highways. No over revving, I shift at around 3k and go easy until the engine is warmed up. I don't track it or stress out the drivetrain. Just eating miles on the interstate. Lots of miles.

I appreciate everyone's input. You all know a lot more about engines than I do.

[JimD]

A potential impact of long oil change intervals is stuck oil rings. The bottom rings on the piston are to scrape the oil off the cylinder walls so too much is not in the combustion chamber. If they get gunked up they stick and don't scrape the oil off very effectively. Keeping really clean oil in the engine helps them to work well longer.

On my old cars, I used to occasionally change the valve stem seals because that was a pretty good bet for why they were starting to use oil. I'm sure BMW has a seal but I do not know if it is a condidate for higher oil consumption.

Another variable that may make a difference is the line up of the gaps on the rings. Staggering the gaps is often stated as better to minimize blow by. I doubt it is checked in a factory, however, and might help explain why some engines use more oil than others.

Jim

[romak47]

i always keep an extra quart in my trunk .. car eats oil.. everyone knows bmw's in general eat oil.. :P

[jbenington86]

I'm very interested in this thread... Almost makes me want to start a thread and get people to post some info to start a spreadsheet to try and figure out whose cars burn through oil, how they have driven and their oil change intervals.

I bought my 128i over in Germany and the first place I took it was the autobahn but did not exceed 100mph for the first 1,500 miles. I repeatedly took my car to the max even set my cruise control at 130mph on a drive to the airport (not for very long though). I have also only done the free BMW oil changes which have been anywhere from 8k-12k between changes. My car has never burned up any oil or just not a significant amount to register it on the cars computer. My oil level has never moved off of the full line since day one.

[Brandon26pdx]

I always wonder if the people who end up having bad oil consumption and blow by are the ones who babied the crap out of the engine in the early miles. Lots and and lots of real world evidence out there to suggest babying an engine for the first few hundred miles is the absolute wrong thing to do.

Whenever I buy a new car I actually worry about not working it well enough during the first couple hundred miles to get the piston rings seated tightly to the cylinder walls. This affects everything...oil consumption, power, fuel economy and emissions.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by Brandon26pdx

I always wonder if the people who end up having bad oil consumption and blow by are the ones who babied the crap out of the engine in the early miles. Lots and and lots of real world evidence out there to suggest babying an engine for the first few hundred miles is the absolute wrong thing to do.

Whenever I buy a new car I actually worry about not working it well enough during the first couple hundred miles to get the piston rings seated tightly to the cylinder walls. This affects everything...oil consumption, power, fuel economy and emissions.

Aw boy! Engine break-in discussion time!

[BahamaBart]

I eat a quart every 7,500 miles - like clock work.