Oil consumption

[AlexC]

All

Any thoughts welcome on this - what is the 'normal' expected oil consumtion on a 3.0d, 2005 with 52k....

Had the car serviced at a BM dealer in March and this morning it pinged at me to check the oil level after an 11 mile drive to work. checked the level and only the tip of the dipstick was wet - low oil indeed I thought and left it for an hour to sit. Went back to it and pulled the stick out - oil level spot on at the max notch!! Ran it for 5 mins and the level dropped down to half way.

Has anyone seen this much variation before - have only had the car 6 months and it never used any oil until now.

Confused of Southampton

[jamesturner]

Hi, Just completed 1st oil change on my 2005 3.0d 120k as I got down to last green light on dash. I have owned it 20 months and have done 20k in that time. I have never checked the oil prior to today and put in 7.5 litres Castrol 5w 40 and drained 6litres of the old stuff out. Did find it took a while to register on the dipstick though. Also Air filter was a bugger as well.

Job well done me thinks

Regards Jt

[AlexC]

JT

Thanks - did it ever tell you to check the level of the oil when it only had 6l in the engine?? it told me to check the oil pressure but then the dipstick showed full!! Crazy..

AC

[X5Sport]

When new it is not unusual to see approx 0.5l used per 1,000 miles until you get to about 20,000-30,000 miles. My X5 was certainly a 'user' and BMW told me it was completely normal and their engine spec allows for that much consumption. You will get variations on the dipstick as it takes a while for the oil to drain back from all the galleries. A wait of 5-10 mins with a warm engine usually stops that.

The 'Check Oil Pressure' warning is common as is the 'Check Oil Level'. Usually it's nothing but sometimes it's a bad sensor. I had mine changed when the car was less than a month old.

If you start get frequent errors with nothing wrong with the levels then one trick is to get in the car, switch the ignition to Pos2 (Xmas lights come on) wait and putyour seatbelt on and then crank the engine. This allows all the computers to boot up fully and most of the warning lights to go out. Seems to save a lot of spurious errors shortly after starting.

[AlexC]

Thanks for the info - I am still under BM warranty so will ask them to check the sensors if the message happens again.....

cheers

[jamesturner]

Hi,

I have never had a warning message regarding the amount of oil, however when putting the new oil in 6litres was just above minimum hence the extra 1.5 litres. The handbook said 7 litres but was unsure to whether it included the oil filter. Also did Hand brake shoes today which were fiddly and will need 2 tyres, brake pads and discs by the winter. Just be wary of BMW dealers though as my local one in Norfolk has always been a pain, Money no object comes to mind.

Regards Jt

[philip600]

Hi,

When checking my oil level the first time I take the dip stick out there is little or no oil showing on it. It's only when I put it back in & take it out does the level show ? It's always been like this but I can't explain why.
Maybe this is what is happening with yours ?

Regards, Phil.

[B1G JV]

Your dipstick should only show lower at first dip if you dip soon after turning off the engine. If not you're wiping it off on the way out as it sits in a sump of oil. This still wouldn't explain the sensors (and therefore the computer) showing it up.

If you have an oil pressure warning rather than a low oil level then i'd check it out, i don't know about the 3.0d but the 4.4 is prone (in some cases, and as happened with me in 2007) to the oil pump bolts to become loose in the sump, causing sporadic oil pressure warning when it sucks in air before sucking the pump back flush with the flange. However when they become more loose it happens more often! My (then) local BMW indy (P&R BMW Middlesex) couldn't diagnose it until i read it on a USA forum and told them to check! lo and behold 3 bolts loose and 1 sitting in the sump!!!

£340 later (full new oil change, diagnostics, gasket set, loctite and new bolts) it has been fine since (I still have the car!)

[AlexC]

Guys

cheers for the input.

Phil - that is exactly what happens with mine, little oil on first dip then 5-10 mins later all is good and back to the top mark. Sounds like this is 'normal' and just the time it takes for the oil to return to the sump from all the oil galleries.

The oil pressure warning has only happened once (yesterday) today all seems fine, it could just be that the computer was not fully booted up (as in comment above) i was in a rush to leave that morning.

I am keeping a close eye on it and cheers for the Sump bolt info, if it happens again I will get that checked out.

Hopefully nothing but as always the most expensive promlem is usually the actual answer!!

[X5Sport]

It's just your X5's way of ensuring that your heart rate can accelerate rapidly. They do it every so often just so you never get lulled into a false sense of security. Sometimes the funny noises you wonder about are just the car plotting and sniggering!!

[AlexC]

Lol - wish mine would just stop doing that!!!!!! I must have caused it upset by not keeping it in the garage over night or something!!