juris335

New 6,000 miles ago my 535xi now tells me I am one quart of oil low. Could I be using 1 quart of oil every 6,000 miles? I can find no leaks. What is par for this engine? Should I be losing sleep over this?

sleeper50

Cold colorado mornings contribute as well as any driving at high RPM (ie redline). I would not lose sleep. My 550 also likes a little sip now and then between oil changes.

juris335

Thanks for your words of consolation. I am a very conservative driver so never redline. Just seems like a quart is a lot to "use" in 6,000 miles.

kapusta

Sounds like you haven't properly broken-in the engine. So you don't have a good seal between the cylinder wall and the piston - your rings are not doing their job and letting the oil pass from the crank case into the cylinder. See: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm as to why... (Hint - you did not redline...)

ObD

This is nonsense. It's normal for a BMW to consume some oil.

ObD

It's normal. The amount used depends on your climate and driving habits.

kapusta

Of course you are entitled to your opinion. However for all my cars I did the break-in as above and none consume any oil. Do a goole search and you will discover that the above is not nonsese for most poeple. We should do a poll here and see who comsumes oil and who doesn't. I would not be surprised if people with conservative driving styles will more likely have cars that consume oil.

Patrick E61

My E39 consistently did the same thing, no big deal. Just add more oil.

juris335

I've had 9 BMW and am not aware of ever needing to add 1 quart of oil. My 145,000 mile 740i does not use one quart of oil. This is a big surprise.

simmer

Bottom line for ANY 4-stroke engine.....the fastest, strongest engines get broken in hard!

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

This technique is very well known by most and works.