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      04-07-2013, 10:37 AM   #1
godfather87
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car burning oil

hi guys,
I was prob 200km away from home last night and the low engine came on...it was at the minimum mark, everything was closed and i had no choice but to drive it back to home and ruin my weekend plans...i have 13k km mileage on the car..but is it normal for the car to burn this much oil? i find it odd that i burned oil, i didnt drive it hard at all far as i know...its 90% highway driven so far. what do you guys recommend? Also can i just go to my wallmart and buy engine oil, if so which one would i need? i got a 13 335ix....thanks
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      04-07-2013, 10:44 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by godfather87
hi guys,
I was prob 200km away from home last night and the low engine came on...it was at the minimum mark, everything was closed and i had no choice but to drive it back to home and ruin my weekend plans...i have 13k km mileage on the car..but is it normal for the car to burn this much oil? i find it odd that i burned oil, i didnt drive it hard at all far as i know...its 90% highway driven so far. what do you guys recommend? Also can i just go to my wallmart and buy engine oil, if so which one would i need? i got a 13 335ix....thanks
Same thing happened to me and I'm on 12,000 km's only.

Doesn't have much to do with the way u drive.

Curious to know which oil I can purchase rather than wasting time at the stealership on Monday...
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      04-07-2013, 10:56 AM   #3
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now I'm thinking its all because bmw using smaller engines and turbo to get more power out....
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      04-07-2013, 11:21 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by godfather87 View Post
hi guys,
I was prob 200km away from home last night and the low engine came on...it was at the minimum mark, everything was closed and i had no choice but to drive it back to home and ruin my weekend plans...i have 13k km mileage on the car..but is it normal for the car to burn this much oil? i find it odd that i burned oil, i didnt drive it hard at all far as i know...its 90% highway driven so far. what do you guys recommend? Also can i just go to my wallmart and buy engine oil, if so which one would i need? i got a 13 335ix....thanks
It's common, especially with turbo engines. Happened to me last month. Just buy mobil 1 0w40 or castroil 0W30. But are recommended by BMW. From experience the Mobil 1 is easier to find.
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      04-07-2013, 12:18 PM   #5
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I wouldn't worry about it. My old E90 328i needed a quart about every 12,000km which is about where you are at now.
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      04-07-2013, 02:53 PM   #6
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I just keep a case of BMW oil (overpriced Castrol) in the garage. For a long trip, I keep a quart in the car.
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      04-07-2013, 09:27 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by godfather87 View Post
hi guys,
I was prob 200km away from home last night and the low engine came on...it was at the minimum mark, everything was closed and i had no choice but to drive it back to home and ruin my weekend plans...i have 13k km mileage on the car..but is it normal for the car to burn this much oil? i find it odd that i burned oil, i didnt drive it hard at all far as i know...its 90% highway driven so far. what do you guys recommend? Also can i just go to my wallmart and buy engine oil, if so which one would i need? i got a 13 335ix....thanks
Turbo engines tend to use/burn more oil than NA engines in general.
Some N55's burn more than others.
Also, newer engines tend to use more oil early in their life as well.
Being a quart low around 7K miles isn't that bad.
More likely your engine will use less oil over time as more miles are put on it.
Others have made good recommendations on the oil you can use from auto supply stores. You don't have to use BMW oil to top it off.
The N55 3.0 has a 7 quart capacity so it has a very large oil supply, which is a good thing.
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      04-07-2013, 09:36 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RPM90
Quote:
Originally Posted by godfather87 View Post
hi guys,
I was prob 200km away from home last night and the low engine came on...it was at the minimum mark, everything was closed and i had no choice but to drive it back to home and ruin my weekend plans...i have 13k km mileage on the car..but is it normal for the car to burn this much oil? i find it odd that i burned oil, i didnt drive it hard at all far as i know...its 90% highway driven so far. what do you guys recommend? Also can i just go to my wallmart and buy engine oil, if so which one would i need? i got a 13 335ix....thanks
Turbo engines tend to use/burn more oil than NA engines in general.
Some N55's burn more than others.
Also, newer engines tend to use more oil early in their life as well.
Being a quart low around 7K miles isn't that bad.
More likely your engine will use less oil over time as more miles are put on it.
Others have made good recommendations on the oil you can use from auto supply stores. You don't have to use BMW oil to top it off.
The N55 3.0 has a 7 quart capacity so it has a very large oil supply, which is a good thing.

Thanks RPM!

Always a pleasure reading your advice. You're always a great help to the international community present on this forum.

Thanks again!
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      04-07-2013, 10:30 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RPM90 View Post
Turbo engines tend to use/burn more oil than NA engines in general.
Some N55's burn more than others.
Also, newer engines tend to use more oil early in their life as well.
Being a quart low around 7K miles isn't that bad.
More likely your engine will use less oil over time as more miles are put on it.
Others have made good recommendations on the oil you can use from auto supply stores. You don't have to use BMW oil to top it off.
The N55 3.0 has a 7 quart capacity so it has a very large oil supply, which is a good thing.
thanks everyone for clearing this up. So is it safe to buy mobil 1 0w40 or castroil 0W30 whicever i can find at my local store and top it up? If i take it to the dealer will they add it for free since bimmer comes with no charge 4 years maintenance?

thanks
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      04-07-2013, 11:09 PM   #10
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Ultimately you want to find an oil the meets the "BMW LL-01" specification. In the US at least, Mobil 1 0w-40 and Castrol 0w-30 are what you usually will find. I believe they are both labeled "European Formula" or something to that effect. But your confirmation will be the BMW LL-01 spec listed on the back of the bottle.

I think BMW will top off for free if you bring it in.

Although, I personally couldn't imagine owning a car and not having top off fluids at home. (Oil, coolant, brake, etc.).
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      04-07-2013, 11:12 PM   #11
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I had BMW top me off a while ago...free is good!
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      04-07-2013, 11:13 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by godfather87 View Post
thanks everyone for clearing this up. So is it safe to buy mobil 1 0w40 or castroil 0W30 whicever i can find at my local store and top it up? If i take it to the dealer will they add it for free since bimmer comes with no charge 4 years maintenance?

thanks
My warning light came on with about 800 miles on the odometer. I bought Mobile 1 0W40 at Pep Boys because it was a weekend.

I am thinking they did not put the proper amount of oil in from the factory because that is seemingly ridiculous. I now have almost 4000 miles and the oil still shows full.
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      04-08-2013, 09:51 AM   #13
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i just had it topped off by taking it to the dealership. no appointment was needed, i just drove in and took less then 30 secs. I'll going to buy some extra oil incase i ever need it in the near future.....

thanks everyone, else i would of been yelling at the dealer for giving me a car that burns oil..haha
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      04-08-2013, 10:38 AM   #14
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i keep a quart of GC in the trunk just in case this happens and i'm unable to get to the dealership in a reasonable amount of time
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      05-05-2013, 10:22 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maz335i View Post
Thanks RPM!

Always a pleasure reading your advice. You're always a great help to the international community present on this forum.

Thanks again!
No problem, and thanks for the comment.
Sorry this is so late, I haven't been in this topic in a good while.
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      05-06-2013, 08:11 AM   #16
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Quote:
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No problem, and thanks for the comment.
Sorry this is so late, I haven't been in this topic in a good while.
No problem man, been only a month!
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      06-29-2013, 03:08 AM   #17
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It was a problem with old <2010 N52B25 engines. Faulty parts were replaced later. I've never heard about problems with N20 in F3X cars.

Last edited by dudespb; 07-05-2013 at 01:00 PM..
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      06-29-2013, 03:10 AM   #18
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You have to check your N55 engine if there's no leaks. This engine must not burn more than 1L per 5k km.
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      10-06-2013, 11:15 PM   #19
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so i've seen a couple of complaints in regards low oil.

and i understand that there is no dip stick so that you can confirm oil level in the traditional manner. Which would tell you exactly what the level is at.

therefore everyone is relying on the computer, which monitors and displays max and minimun oil levels.

is it possible that the oil level, on some vehicles, was never 100% capacity to begin with?
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