nickferr

I get an intermittent alert to add one quart of oil. Could this be an error? What kind of oil should I use?

Nick

robg

Pretty common, even at lower miles. Go by the dealership, they should top it off for free. If you want to do it yourself, there have been lenghty discussions as to what is the "right" or "good" oil. When I top off, I use the Castrol full synthetic (though I am sure someone wil respond with an explanation as to why the US full synthetic is not a true full sythetic, etc. etc. ) But then again, I only lease.

JDN

I think Castrol synthethic is allegedly the same oil as the BMW oil. That's what the big boys have always told me anyway. What I can't figure out is why is he a quart low. At a slightly higher mileage, I am jam up on my oil stick.

robg

I went though about a quart every 7500 - 10,000 on my E39. Iwas assured by numerous sources that it was normal (or at least acceptble). There was never any sign of a leak (no stains on the driveway) and no smoking during operation to indicatea ring problem. Just burned alot of oil.

Rudy

robq, was your E39 a 8-cylinder or 6-cylinder car?

I find it amazing that I never, ever had to add ANY oil in my two E39s (540i) over a six-year period (two, three-year leases.) I remember thinking that someting must've been wrong with the "low oil level" warning light because I never saw it light up!

Now, on the E60 (545i), I find I'm worrying about the same thing. Does it have a "low oil" warning in iDrive or not? (I seem to remember that it's supposed to warn me.) My oil level has been fine for almost 10,000 miles now. I am, however, getting an "oil service" warning which I'll be getting this coming Tuesday.

I'm just amazed that in all these years, I've never had to do anything but change the oil at the recommended intervals...

robg

I had a 6 cyl 530. Could make a difference, but a BMW tech who I came to know and trust (and who would top me off w/o waiting for an appointment) told me if was fairly common on all the E 39s. i used to drive around with a quart in the trunk just to top off if I was not close to home - but like i said never a sign of a leak.

Guess you have just been one of the lucky ones.

SueBMW

Yep, never a bad idea to carry around a quart or two of oil in your trunk. We bought 2 quarts at delivery.
There is a low oil warning, and a low oil pressure warning.

nickferr

That's my concern. I haven't had any smoking or black residue on the exhaust pipes. It seems unusal that I would need oil - where'd it go?

Guess I'll go with the castoroil full synthetic to top off.

Thanks,

Nick

Henry

My E39 used a quart of oil about every 4-5000 miles, and I was told by my service department that that was quite common. On my E60 530i with 6000 miles on the odometer the oil dropped a third of the way down after about 2000 but has remained at that level since.

There is no point in using anything other than BMW Synthetic in the US, since it is cheaper than buying another brand at an auto parts store, and it meets the European A3B3 rating, as well as having been approved by BMW as a "Longlife-01" lubricant. Without that endorsement, and lacking the A3B3 rating, an oil is not suitable for long drain interval use in a BMW. Castrol Synthetic 5W-30 doesn't meet those specs -- only the 0W-30 does, and it is hard to find. Mobil 1 0W-40 would also be acceptable, but not the 5W-30.

Rudy

It sounds like so far, it's common for 6-cyl E39s to burn oil. Anyone besides me with experience on the 8-cyl cars? (both E39 and E60)

So far, I'm thinking that the 8's don't use oil like the 6's...

Oh, and one more thing:

nickferr, castoroil might make your car sick!