50i loves to eat oil :)

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by sbkim

Thanks for the info. It seems like 2 qts every 2 months is becoming the norm on my 2015 50i. Dealer provides free top up but now that I am nearing the end of my powertrain warranty, I am concerned whether there is something wrong with the engine. Is there some test that dealer can do to ensure no issues?

2qt every 2 months is normal. It's only $100 or so a year - that's less than some of us pay for car wash a year. n63tu crated engine from Germany costs $40k. Just add oil and live happily ever after

Dealer has a threshold - 1 qt per 700 miles - if you exceed that - then you need to worry, otherwise it's normal

[sbkim]

Originally Posted by DuSh

2qt every 2 months is normal. It's only $100 or so a year - that's less than some of us pay for car wash a year. n63tu crated engine from Germany costs $40k. Just add oil and live happily ever after

Dealer has a threshold - 1 qt per 700 miles - if you exceed that - then you need to worry, otherwise it's normal

Thank you - I am happy to add oil as long as I know it's not a harbinger of bigger problems after my warranty. Happy New Year

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by turboawd

I wasn't aware 0w 20 is an approved oil.

the factory sticker under the hood states 0w20.

[kanvas]

Always take 2 qts in the trunk, especially on long road trips!

[crackerjack15]

This is just a guess, but I would assume that the engine consumes oil because the rings have a wider gap and piston wall clearance as compared to a naturally aspirated motor due to the increase in heat and pressure produced by the twin turbo's. So oil consumption is increased. thoughts?

[fosterelli]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Does the manual list temperatures as a guide also?
I'd try to use the thinner oils in colder climates And the thicker oils in hotter climates.

Trade-offs.

0W-20, 0W-30, 0W-40 are all the same winter (W) rating, meaning at engine cold start (regardless of ambient temperature) they're all the same viscosity.

The second number in a multi-grade oil is the operating temperature viscosity. All of our engines operate at roughly the same temperature (195°F to 220°F), regardless of ambient/outdoor temperature. That is what the cooling system is designed to do.

For all intents and purposes, whether you're in Arizona at 100°F outside, or Alaska at 20°F outside, once your engine is warmed up, we're within a few degrees of each other internally, so the oil is not seeing any difference.

So the real goal for most people should be (1) have the thinnest oil at start-up (the W rating), faster lubrication from the sump to the points where it matters (2) use the suggested second viscosity unless you have harsher driving conditions (lots of hauling, towing, racing, etc.)...then step it up to one of your higher choices. If you're trying to save MPG, stick to the low side of your choices. I tend to go somewhere in the middle (if 0W-20, 0W-30, and 0W-40 are my choices, I tend to say BMW's EPA/CAFE is for the low side, and I'll go with the 30 or sometimes the 40.

[boyce89976]

I change the oil every 5k miles in my 2014 X5 5.0 and have never had to add oil.

There was an interesting article (Car and Driver, maybe) where a BMW Engineer said that most oil consumption in the newer engines was due to the fact that most people never drive the engine hard enough to actually "break it in".

If you're using 2QTs every 2 months, I'd say that's not normal, that's a problem.

[kanvas]

I need 2 qts every 5/6 months.

[fosterelli]

If you think you have a problem, and you're under warranty, the dealership can perform an oil consumption test. Basically they fill the engine precisely, seal your drain plug and oil fill cap w/ tamper-evident tapes, and have you drive X,XXX amount of miles. They then measure how much oil is remaining in the engine and determine next steps.

I had an Infiniti that consumed oil. Started with a strange knocking noise - which the dealer blamed on a failed 6 speed manual transmission, which was completely replaced under warranty. Knocking came back, guess I got a transmission for free! Then they performed an oil consumption test and replaced my engine under warranty. Apparently consumption is something they test due to the other symptoms my car was experiencing. Unbeknownst to me the thing was eating enough oil for them to determine my car had a failure. I never had to add oil, was never low more than 1/2 quart on my oil change intervals, but I was a 3K oil changer back then. I believe the test was 6K or 7.5K miles if I recall.

Any of y'all try Liqui Moly's Motor Oil Saver? It's pretty popular w/ BMW owners and indy garages.

[DuSh]

As it was mentioned not every first owner of n63tu engine breaks it in properly - due to monotone driving on highways and tendency of owners to not push it. Rings do not seat properly and hence it may consume more oil down the road as it will sip through not properly seated rings. That and the fact that n63tu is in fact 8 cyl. 4.4L engine (50% more than n55/n54 - which still consumed oil when driven hard). In addition it's a high-performance engine and tolerances are there for materials to expand during heat/cool cycles - so oil will be consumed no matter what. My 50i eats oil depending on how I drive it - if I drive it slow - it may never require adding oil between oil changes, but when driven hard - naturally more oil is consumed and it may drop below threshold and ask for 2qt fill up
As it was mentioned currently dealers have 1qt per 700 miles threshold that initiates the process of investigation, whether it's consumed in 2 months period or 1 day - doesn't matter imho, just saying

[BimmerX5kid]

im kinda new to the board but have owned bimmers for last 20 years.. and i gotta tell you this oil consumption debate is about as polarizing as the air conditioning wars.

but here's what i was thinking about.. How would anybody really know if a quart every month was "normal" or was it a sign of a rings issue? Most people just sell their cars before the time comes when a rings issue would really show itself as a catastrophic failure.
So back in 2013 i had a 2006 X5 3.0 that i purchased in 2009 pre-owned.. i thought the truck ran pretty good. it had 79k miles on it. I took it to a local mechanic who i'd used a dozen times over the years for brake jobs, tire changes etc. i said "Louie, when you have it up there check for an oil leak, i'm up to 1 quart every month lately." He told me later "you dont have an oil leak" i said "that's great". he said "no that's bad it means your burning your oil".. i said "how do i fix that?".. he said "you dont, you sell this car ASAP." And i did a month later.

Should i just have kept the car for years more until catastrophic failure? Was there really a rings problem or was it normal? I guess my point is: HOW WOULD YOU EVER KNOW? The only way to know if it was a "problem" would to do a compression test on the car, right? Is this what people are getting done when told that one quart a month is not a problem?

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by BimmerX5kid

im kinda new to the board but have owned bimmers for last 20 years.. and i gotta tell you this oil consumption debate is about as polarizing as the air conditioning wars.

but here's what i was thinking about.. How would anybody really know if a quart every month was "normal" or was it a sign of a rings issue? Most people just sell their cars before the time comes when a rings issue would really show itself as a catastrophic failure.
So back in 2013 i had a 2006 X5 3.0 that i purchased in 2009 pre-owned.. i thought the truck ran pretty good. it had 79k miles on it. I took it to a local mechanic who i'd used a dozen times over the years for brake jobs, tire changes etc. i said "Louie, when you have it up there check for an oil leak, i'm up to 1 quart every month lately." He told me later "you dont have an oil leak" i said "that's great". he said "no that's bad it means your burning your oil".. i said "how do i fix that?".. he said "you dont, you sell this car ASAP." And i did a month later.

Should i just have kept the car for years more until catastrophic failure? Was there really a rings problem or was it normal? I guess my point is: HOW WOULD YOU EVER KNOW? The only way to know if it was a "problem" would to do a compression test on the car, right? Is this what people are getting done when told that one quart a month is not a problem?

You are partially right, but the thing with n63tu is that it's going to consume oil when it runs as designed. In addition it's not only rings that are slowly eating oil, but also valve stem seals (and probably even more than rings). IMHO it's easy to know: if you reset your mileage at oil change and after less than 700 miles you are down to 1qt or after less than 1400 miles you have a 2qt fill up message pop up - then you know it doesn't get any easier than that - and you can then go to dealership with honorable claim for them to initiate engine compression check or leak test or whatever tickle their fancy. If they find it's the case - then they will replace engine for free (given you are still under warranty), or optionally they may change valve stem seals (another cause of excessive oil consumption) - which again become very brittle very quickly due to our twin turbo located within inches to valves and slowly frying everything (Downpipes and colder thermostat are 2 remedies so far for that)

I got what you are saying about compression test, but dealer won't do free compression test if your 50i doesn't consume more than 1qt per 700 miles as per BMW service bulletin. You can of course do that test on your own (from your pocket) just to be sure, but I doubt BMW dealership will honor that (unless it was done at their bay)

We have lots of owners of E70 having no issues with 100k+ miles. N63tu was updated (long list of what they changed) and so far I only saw 2 owners here on forum who had issues with excessive oil consumption that required engine change or valve stem seals replacement. Couple more at F10 forum, but that's like a drop in an ocean compared to previous generation - I think this engine is solid (for German V8) imho

[BimmerX5kid]

well thats a pretty darn good technical reply. thanks!

[Maverik259]

Several German V8s consume oil. It's how they're built. Perfectly normal within spec. The thought that "burning oil" = "sell right away" is nothing more than representative of someone who doesn't understand German or performance engines. I'm sure he's a straight up nice honest guy.

Point is several Germans (AMG) do the same thing. My NA AMG V8 did the same thing. Loved to eat oil. I owned her well passed 100k miles with not a single engine issue.

But yes much different than you're average vehicle.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Several German V8s consume oil. It's how they're built. Perfectly normal within spec. The thought that "burning oil" = "sell right away" is nothing more than representative of someone who doesn't understand German or performance engines. I'm sure he's a straight up nice honest guy.

Point is several Germans (AMG) do the same thing. My NA AMG V8 did the same thing. Loved to eat oil. I owned her well passed 100k miles with not a single engine issue.

But yes much different than you're average vehicle.

Good point! This is very common among performance engines from different brands, it's not BMW thing, it's more like physics and engineering compromise. The only domestic comparable beast engine that i would like to see in my SAV is a Hellcat Hemi engine - which surprise surprise eats oil even more than our n63tu

[alphaod]

When I got it I did the go red line it to break in the motor for the first 1200 miles because I read same article as boyce89976 then changed the oil, and the crazy thing is it never ate oil for the first year (I drove about 22000 miles).

The in the second year I got a period of 5000 miles where I needed oil every 500 miles or so, got me worried.

Now the thing with my car is it eats oil sometimes and times it's fine. I do 5000 mile oil changes also since I got it and it occasionally requires me to top up a liter during my 5000 mile cycle.

Honestly I can't seem to figure it out at all. I procedure is the same, slow and careful driving until the oil and transmission heats up. Then it's fair game, I will red line if off a green light or a highway on ramp.

[Stev_chu]

In what situations that I'm seeing all these post about adding extra qts of oil to the 5.0i? I have a 2015 but never gets anything on screen that the engine oil level is low..should I be worried?

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by Stev_chu

In what situations that I'm seeing all these post about adding extra qts of oil to the 5.0i? I have a 2015 but never gets anything on screen that the engine oil level is low..should I be worried?

I only got it 2 times within last 10k miles, both times were before I switched to a more thicker oil. Maybe thinner oil sips through easier Highway driving tends to be good for our engines too, so many variables at play, hard to say. You are good, no need to worry

[Chloros]

Dam.....after reading this thread i may just end up with Tesla lol.

[Stev_chu]

Originally Posted by DuSh

I only got it 2 times within last 10k miles, both times were before I switched to a more thicker oil. Maybe thinner oil sips through easier Highway driving tends to be good for our engines too, so many variables at play, hard to say. You are good, no need to worry

Thanks!

[Stev_chu]

Originally Posted by Chloros

Dam.....after reading this thread i may just end up with Tesla lol.

Think you should

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by Chloros

Dam.....after reading this thread i may just end up with Tesla lol.

Ya that's the answer lol