550i Loosing oil fast but no leaks found
 

Hey guys I think something is really wrong with my 06 550i 92K.

For about two months my car had almost no oil use. Monday, last week, I took the car for an alignment to an indy I haven't used before. I left the shop with iDrive showing oil full.

On friday, I checked the iDrive and the oil level was two bars short. I used the dipstick and the level was just below max mark. I added 1/4 of a quart and brought it up to halfway the max mark and sensor showed 4/5 bars.

This week I took the car into the dealership to get the passenger occupancy issue fixed and get a software update while its there. Picked up the car today and the SA tells me they had to add 2 quarts of oil because the dipstick was dry when they took the car in. They found no oil leaks and crank vent diaphragms are still good.

The indy that has been taking care of the car for the last couple of years said he has never seen a bmw V8 loose oil that fast without an apparent oil leak.

When dealer pulled up the car, there is was some smoke coming out the driverside tail pipe. When engine was idling there would be a barely visible puff of smoke every 10-15 seconds.

Can the valve seals just let go all of a sudden like that?

what kind of oil did you add?

Yes, the seals can crack around the perimeter of seal bearing against the valve stem.

Castrol edge 0w40 europian. Engine had mobil 1 0w40 euro in it.

Drove it back from work and around town a bit. No more visible smoke at idle or acceleration. I have seen this before but only after letting the car idle for over 20 minuets or being in bumper to bumper traffic for an extended period of time.

Now my iDrive is showing oil above maximum level but the dipstick reads just above max mark section. Sounds like my oil level sensor needs to be replaced.

Am I supposed to check the dipstick with engine running or not? I usually do it right after I shut off the engine.

On a unreleated note. Everytime I start the car and put it in drive I get a "Active steering inactive. Initializing" message and my steering wheel start to turn on its own. After the message goes away, I get a Active Steering Malfunction error.