[Zooks527]

http://news.yahoo.com/consumer-repor...--finance.html

"BMW said oil consumption is normal on all engines, and consumption within specifications doesn't mean there's excessive engine wear. The company said some regular BMW motors can consume up to a quart every 750 miles, and M series performance engines can use up to 2.5 quarts per 1,000 miles under certain conditions."



Someone tell me again why I should be upset that I don't have a "real" M car.



EDIT: Dammit, I hate typos in the title field

[Phiberoptik]

lol wow, so that means every 1,000 miles you should stop by the BMW dealership to get your moneys worth from the Maintenance warranty, I plan to.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Phiberoptik

lol wow, so that means every 1,000 miles you should stop by the BMW dealership to get your moneys worth from the Maintenance warranty, I plan to.

lol... well they will top any fluids for free whenever you stop by

[Cyberdemon]

A lot of turbo motors in general are prone to oil consumption. My wifes old VW was claimed as "normal" for consuming 1 quart every 1000 miles.

For a car with a 5000 mile service interval and a 4.5 oil can, I pointed out the obvious that if "normal operation" means replacing ALL of the oil in between services, that's a pretty shit piece of logic. We sold the car a few months later.

With that said my 335 didn't burn a drop of oil, I actually think I went 17k before the oil reminder kicked on and said to bring it in. Still too soon to tell on the 2, but haven't seen any signs of consumption. Both cars were broken in hard.

[3.0L]

I saw that little article in this morning's rag.

My M235i had about 5000 miles on it when the 12 month oil change timer went off. Car never displayed a low oil message, so I'm not too worried about oil consumption being a problem with this particular car.

[jwr0721]

I had to add a quart at 9,000 miles

[Liquidpaper]

FWIW I have to add a quart about ever 5k-6k miles. Like every other oil change for me, probably because I track the car. It's not bad -- I just keep some BMW approved oil laying around when I go to the track.

[Pyewacket69]

I think almost every manufacturer tells its customers up to 1 Qt. of oil loss per every 750/1000 miles is within operational specifications nowadays, on any of their vehicle lineups.

I've been pretty fortunate in car ownership regarding oil usage. I've only had the issue with 2 brands, a VW Beetle and a Chrysler, both in the early 2000's. I was given that same usage "allowance" as being regarded by those manufacturers as being acceptable, and both refused to address the issue further.

Funny thing, I haven't been interested in buying a VW or Chrysler product since then...

Now, on a car driven hard (and driven hard often), more oil usage makes sense.... But the M allowances seem a bit high at first blush...at least, to me.

[CalCarNut]

Only points at the 4.4L directly..and mentions the M cars..

The 2 and 3 liter engines weren't mentioned

<whew>

[DanG]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

lol... well they will top any fluids for free whenever you stop by

I haven't heard that the Seattle area dealers will top off for free.

[AWheeler]

Interesting article and very telling of how efficient the industry has become. So 2% of selection bias-riddled CR survey respondents reported oil consumption? IMO CR has been grasping at straws in recent years now that, in very general terms, most new cars are pretty darn good.

Interesting to see BMW disclose that M engines could consume up to 2.5 quarts / 1000 miles. Wow!

[jbenington86]

Almost 5K on the odometer here and no oil consumption *fingers crossed* However my oil level measurement has gone from full to 1/2 way to needed to add a quart back to full again

*All measurements were recorded on a surface as level as you can find*

[Flipwit]

Originally Posted by jbenington86

Almost 5K on the odometer here and no oil consumption *fingers crossed* However my oil level measurement has gone from full to 1/2 way to needed to add a quart back to full again

*All measurements were recorded on a surface as level as you can find*

That typically means you are consuming that oil, otherwise your dipstick reading would not move.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by DanG

I haven't heard that the Seattle area dealers will top off for free.

weird bellevue will

[CalCarNut]

An Oil Catch Can design that sends any caught oil back to the crankcase would be pretty cool..............

[Pyewacket69]

I haven't had to add any oil to my 235, but the gas tank seems to need refilling periodically...