[bad karma]

I had an oil change done when I had a VANOS bolt failure about 1500-2000 miles ago. I have an N55, approximately 54,000 miles on the clock.

A couple days ago I got the Minimum Oil Level notification and BMW of Portland kindly topped it off at no charge. The impression I've gotten is that some oil loss is normal on these engines, but I'm curious how much is "normal", because losing a quart every 1500 miles seems like a lot to me.

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[drunkenup]

1500 mi seems a little frequent, I haven't lost any since my last change. You may have a leak but I'm unfamiliar with the N55

[NickBlaine]

I was losing a quart about every 2-2,500 miles. Gaskets were replaced. Still losing the same amount of oil. BMW now saying its normal. Good luck

[mike5809]

I believe that BMW will consider up to a quart of oil every 800 miles within tolerance. At least that was what they told me a number of years ago when I had my 2003 Z4.

I always thought was so super excessive. I think a quart every 1500 is a lot.

As reference, both my 2011 335i with 40k and my 2007 335i with 65k never needed a single drop of oil between oil changes (which I do at 7,500).

[bad karma]

Originally Posted by drunkenup

1500 mi seems a little frequent, I haven't lost any since my last change. You may have a leak but I'm unfamiliar with the N55

Thanks, I will keep an eye out. I park on the street so it's hard to tell if anything on the ground is mine or not, but I gave the engine a pretty thorough look-over and didn't see anything obvious.

I've got full warranty until 100,000 miles so if it does it again I'll just have the dealer go through it.

[paco89]

I just posted a similar thread on my e90, noticed the oil was almost at minimun with about 700miles from a recent oil change at bmw. So to me it seemed like a lot of oil consumed!, idk havent checked for leaks yet, but my common sense on this one tells me it is not normal.

[Meeni]

That's usually what you loose when you have a slow leak somewhere. Take a look at the valve cover mating area, the area around the oil filter, and if you can, under the car at the main pan. These are common leak area.

[galahad05]

If you have:
1) a pretty low mileage engine,
2) no obvious oil leaks
3) no smoke coming out of the tailpipes

Then...check your antifreeze. If it's milky looking, then you have oil contamination. And the most likely culprit (apart from a blown head gasket) is the oil filter housing gasket.
BMW in their infinite wisdom:
a) made the oil filter housing with side-by-side oil and coolant passages inside,
b) made the gasket material that separates these passages of a material that tends to fail fairly early.

So, with the OFHG, even if you don't see a leak on the outside, there could be a leak on the inside.

Just some food for thought.

[napeHbNYC]

My e90 N54 with 27k miles never needed any oil between changes so far. My buddies N55 x5 2011 needs a quart every 900 miles, dealer said it's within spec but his car is in for the carbon build up cleaning and it's only at 27k miles also.. I guess that's where all the oil goes :/

[Gizm0]

2008 n54, 117k miles, I use about a quart every 5000 miles... I also have a leaky rear main seal that I will replace when I put in a new clutch... Hopefully that will bring the oil consumption back down.

1 qt every 1500 miles seems like a lot...

[Gizm0]

Originally Posted by napeHbNYC

My e90 N54 with 27k miles never needed any oil between changes so far. My buddies N55 x5 2011 needs a quart every 900 miles, dealer said it's within spec but his car is in for the carbon build up cleaning and it's only at 27k miles also.. I guess that's where all the oil goes :/

Carbon buildup and oil consumption aren't related...

[galahad05]

I run the 2007 n54. That's with the forged internals. I'm seeing a bit less than a quart every 3000 miles.
Sometimes.

[galahad05]

NOTE: When I mentioned forged internals, it doesn't really have any bearing on oil consumption--the pistons are still cast.

EDIT: Well what do you know--I spoke wrong. A little research shows that my build date has the forged pistons.....probably. That might explain some extra oil loss over time.

[napeHbNYC]

Originally Posted by Gizm0

Carbon buildup and oil consumption aren't related...

Not directly, blow by partially rests on the valves..

The article is about the catch can but the first part explains perfectly what is blow by, so to get back to the argument-oil consumption and build up in the valves are related..

https://www.redline-motorworks.com/kb_results.asp?ID=8

[kiel_dafo_kenyg_as]

Consuming oil can be a sign of a yet not broken in engine as well as of a high-rev driving style.

[John 070]

None on my '07 N54

[Miller335]

My 2007 N54 needs 1/4-1/2 quart every 5K.

[bad karma]

Originally Posted by whiteblue

Consuming oil can be a sign of a yet not broken in engine as well as of a high-rev driving style.

This is probably most accurate. I drive my car the way it was meant to be driven, let's say.

Safely, prudently, but expediently.