135i oil consumption

[2WheelDave]

G'day all.

I'm still learning about our "new to us" 2011 135i.

Our car is supposed to have had an oil change at a dealer prior to purchase (last fall). It's had about 2500km put on it since then and it's reporting that it's down a litre. It doesn't leak oil, so it must be going out the tail pipe. My wife just called me to ask as she's on the last leg of a road trip in it. It has been quite warm and I know that the road she's coming home on does lend it self to "brisk" driving so sustained 140km/hr speeds might have something to do with it.

Your thoughts?

[Edrift]

That's concerning. 1L of oil consumption is such few KMs could indicate bigger problems.

Did you check the intake manifold to see if there is lots of blow by?
Check the oil filler cap and coolant cap to see if it looks like a chocolate milkshake.

If it's going out the tail pipe then you'd expect to see whitish bluish smoke

[Gangplank]

If it's telling you it needs a liter you'll want to add some ASAP. I would add just a quarter or third of a liter and then check it. I agree it shouldn't be losing that much in such few KM. You would be able to see it leaking onto the under tray or somewhere in the engine bay. If it's the oil filler housing gasket (OFHG) you'll see it there by the oil filter cap. As noted if your burning that much you'd see blueish smoke which doesn't seem to be common on these cars.

There is a chance the oil level sensor is bad. I've had it go out on my car and my wife's mini (same part for both cars actually b/c mini is made by bmw). I'm not saying it is definitely the problem but it's something to consider if you don't see oil or smoke.

[Happy Jose]

It might also be leaking out the pan gasket or the OFHG both common problems. Get prepared to get the old wallet open!

[zx10guy]

When I was losing oil at that rate, my OFHG went. And the way my OFHG was failing, the oil leakage was getting extremely excessive. The mechanic that worked on my car said he had to use a bunch of brake cleaner to clean up all the oil that covered the engine and the underbody tray.

[ShocknAwe]

Just because it's not on the tray doesn't mean it's not leaking. Very likely there's oil all over the side or front of the engine. If you were leaking that much oil through the turbo seals, you'd likely see it behind the car in clouds when you accelerate.

OFHG, OFCG, VCG, oil pan, turbo seals, rear main seal. Typical culprits.

[Happy Jose]

I periodically check the OFHG, but the pan gasket requires taking off the plastic cover and getting up there with a flashlight ala the Car Wizard!

[2WheelDave]

Half a quart of oil was all it needed. I'll have a good look around tomorrow with a flashlight.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by 2WheelDave

Half a quart of oil was all it needed. I'll have a good look around tomorrow with a flashlight.

When you check it with the OBC menu is it showing below the minimum level or is it between the lines? There is a Min & Max line. If it's between the two it's a-ok. If it's at the min it will tell you to add. See the attached pic posted my MightyMouseTech in another thread.

[2WheelDave]

It was showing the +1L warning when the oil light came on for my wife yesterday. She added just shy of a 1/2 quart at a gas station when she stopped and it changed to the "OK" indicator with the bar at half way up the scale.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by 2WheelDave

It was showing the +1L warning when the oil light came on for my wife yesterday. She added just shy of a 1/2 quart at a gas station when she stopped and it changed to the "OK" indicator with the bar at half way up the scale.

Sounds right. I'd keep an eye on the level & check around the engine bay for leaks.

[tock172]

My 2011 N55 (build date 3/10) started to burn oil with 35k miles before I sold it, and this was after I had the OFHG leak repaired. My tuned 2012 (build date 12/11) burns no oil between services. What oil are you running? I would avoid the the 0W30 that BMW is using for most fills at dealers these days.

Originally Posted by 2WheelDave

It was showing the +1L warning when the oil light came on for my wife yesterday. She added just shy of a 1/2 quart at a gas station when she stopped and it changed to the "OK" indicator with the bar at half way up the scale.

I would fill it all the way up to the full mark on the virtual dipstick.

[JimD]

If the engine was fully warmed up the reading was probably not the issue. But after my last oil change, my gauge initially said I was not at the max level, closer to the middle, but later it came up to max. So at least sometimes, my gauge takes awhile to settle down.

The other posters have commented on leakage sites and that is more typical of a modern engine. Mine doesn't do that, yet. I've had cars that burned oil, however, and the most typical issue is valve stem seals. Piston rings can also let oil by but usually only if the PCV valve is allowing too high pressure within the engine.