Oil Burning

[Giblets]

Linked to the warning check coming on now intermitently on the dash that reads 'Verif Niveau Huille' (Check Oil Level - I guess), I went out and did a quick diptstick check while the engine was still warm and it read on minimum level.

This is both staggering and worrying as the car has only done about 2000 miles since it's last oil inspection, and I don't have a puddle of oil anywhere the car sits!

How can so many litres of oil dissappeared so quickly??!?!?!?!?

I have had no oil warning light on the dash yet, only the computer check text coming up every now and again. I'm currently on holiday on the Isle of Wight and am now worried about driving it back without getting it looked at.

Any advice before I book into the dealer down here?

Ta

[x555]

Did you check it again after the engine had cooled down as there would still be a fair amount of oil around the engine giving you a false reading. Not wanting to sound patronising or teach you to suck eggs etc but sometimes it's the simple things

[Giblets]

Yep checked again an hour later and still on Min. Not good.

Stuck and emergency litre in and will see what happens.

Car is driving fine, but has been whistling a bit lately. Would have thought that if a turbo had let go, I would have noticed it.

Going to book it into a local specialist on Monday if I can but would really welcome a possible diagnosis here first!

Car has now done 105k, and I bought it on 98k back in April. Had an Oil Service done back in late June.

[AW8]

Well no mention of mayo on dipstick so thats a good thing. I hope the coolant in header is similarly showing no signs of a water/oil thus ruling out gasket issues

Oil could of course be on the upside of under tray though I too would be thinking along lines that it's being burned off.

I wish I had expert advice to give - sadly I don't.

Keep oil, ( & maybe coolant) well topped up & take it easy.

If 1 litre doesn't do it I personally would full to max on the dipstick before journey home.

I am also faced with journey concerns, I need to gently drive mine an hour or so to indy on Tuesday & in full knowledge the leaking water pump is starting to rumble & make odd nosies.........Hopefull will get there without it siezing , throwing the belt & causing more expensive grief.

One bit of advice, ensure your specialist is just that.......Have read/hear of many woes from folk who have taken car to one garage only to be disappointed or unconvinced with diagnostic or repair work carried out. Trust is key - Hence my trip to an indy next week thats not on the doorstep or perhaps the cheapest.

Apologies if any of the above is a bit suck eggs, mentioned because I have seen bad stories in past & after an absence of this obvious advice being given.

[X5Sport]

Don't Panic! BMW officially note that all their Diesel engines of that series - the M57 - have a normal oil consumption of up to 0.5 litre per thousand miles, so there may actually be nothing wrong at all. Mine has used anywhere from around 0.3 to 0.5l per thou depending on journey type. Motorway runs always use more oil for some reason.

Oil level checks need to be done regularly (I do all of ours weekly) It is also possible that your oil change may have been the wrong grade, or was 'short' at the time. Dunno where you had it done. I have certainly had that before, even from a main dealer! I have a 5 litre can of Castrol Edge in the garage for doing the odd top up.

The later N57 engine is much better on consumption and the current N57S uses almost nothing as my E71 is proving. It hasn't used any since the oil change 3,000 miles ago.

If the turbo lets go you'll know all about it. The world will tend to disappear in a blue haze behind you!!

For those who ever want to remember a Mnemonic for these sort of checks, the RAF used to use 'FLOWER', used for the daily MT check.
Fuel
Levels (brake fluid, power steering)
Oil
Water (screenwash, coolant etc)
Electrics (Lights, wipers, demister, heater etc)
Rubber

[Giblets]

Thanks AW8 and X5Sport. You have made me relax a bit!
I have had many cars, petrol and diesel and never seen a car go through oil like mine, but at 105k it may just be that the regular motorway blasts are to blame.
I will keep a close eye on the dipstick from now on and the moment the car starts to misbehave I will get it into my local specialist (the highly regarded Bosch Auto Service of Hitchin) who I trust highly.
Have been using Castrol Edge 5w30 as Mother Munich intended! Just hadn't budgeted for how much I'd need!

Would I be right in thinking that on full power a puff of the black stuff out the rear is fairly normal for a car of my vintage and mileage?

[AW8]

Yes...........Indeed I have yet to see a 3.0d that doesn't smoke when given full throttle.

Possible that at some pont it may have been given an agressive sport map & these can give a little more smoke but no way of telling what map it is running without proper without kit. Even standard mappped cars will smoke on full gas.

My only further advice is to maybe pop to Halfords or other source of oikl befiore trip back rather than relying on the emergency bottle. Many BMW's drink oil.....I recently had to top mine up.

[X5Sport]

[quote=""Giblets""] I will get it into my local specialist (the highly regarded Bosch Auto Service of Hitchin) who I trust highly?[/quote]

Where is that Specialist? I'm only three roundabouts further north up the A1, and it must be the folks who reprogrammed our E53 after it had its gearbox rebuilt in 2010. They recoded the box and loaded the firmware for the Mechatronics Unit.

We use an indy in Bletchley, but a nearer one would be handy to know about

......and yes, our E53 smokes for a moment when given a bootful! It's fuel, not oil, as it takes a little while for the turbo to spool up so the mixture is a bit rich and so smokes momentarily My E71 doesn't do it as it has two dissimilar size hairdryers and a DPF so keeps the soot levels down.

[Giblets]

[quote=""X5Sport""]We use an indy in Bletchley, but a nearer one would be handy to know about
[/quote]

http://www.autoserviceandtuning.boschauto.co.uk/

They don't market themselves as a BMW specialist but you'll see when you get there that they are one! All BMW books and literature everywhere and usually at least 2 classics sitting in the waiting bay. Last visit I saw a 2002, 3.0CS, Maserati Biturbo, and Lambo Diablo waiting for treatment!

Claudio is the owner and deals with all phone enquiries. Very knowledgable guy.

[X5Sport]

Ta muchly

They do have a good reputation so I might pay them a visit ext time around. Only about 20 miles from Sandy.

[Giblets]

Plenty to read in the waiting room too for what it's worth!

Caught up on my Evo's last time I was in!