[exoto]

hello,

I have an E90 330i for several years now. I recently noticed that the engine costumes engine oil at an unusually high level- I have to refill 1 unit of the engine oil for every ~700-1000-mile drive. I also saw oil on the left engine bay (see images).However, I don't smell anything or see any oil on the ground. I replaced the valve cover gasket about 2 years ago, do I have to do this again? Can someone help me diagnose the issue? thank you so much!

[mikeatrpi]

That might be from the valvetronic motor. How does it look under the cover?

[TheM3Chase]

Like Mike said that could be from the VVT motor but that amount of leak also doesn't look big enough for you to be losing 1qt/1000mi

[exoto]

Originally Posted by TheM3Chase

Like Mike said that could be from the VVT motor but that amount of leak also doesn't look big enough for you to be losing 1qt/1000mi

Thanks for your reply! do you think this leakage is concerning? should I repair this? is it okay if I ignore the engine oil burning issue and keep refilling when it's empty? or should I send the car to a dealer for diagnosis ASAP? thanks!

[TheM3Chase]

Originally Posted by exoto

Thanks for your reply! do you think this leakage is concerning? should I repair this? is it okay if I ignore the engine oil burning issue and keep refilling when it's empty? or should I send the car to a dealer for diagnosis ASAP? thanks!

That leakage is a problem but shouldn't be concerning unless you start getting smoke from under the hood as the oil leak gets worse and starts dripping onto the manifold. I would check elsewhere to see if there are leaks. If not, you could be burning the oil