N52 3.0 oil consumption

R

RyanB88

Member
Hi

I've done around 1500 miles in my 2006 3.0si and the oil has gone from all bars full to only one bar on the digi meter

How much consumption is this? I've owned many cars before including e46 m3s and never noticed any oil consumption on any car between services?! Although I understand that some cars do ...

So my questions
1) how accurate is the digi oil meter?
2) when there is one bar left, how much should I top it up by?
3) why is my car using so much oil?! And what is the fix? Surely a modern day car that's fully serviced shouldn't be using oil at this rate
 
Mine is the same engine - I tend to use a fair bit, and had been told it's just a characteristic of the n52 and not to worry until it becomes excessive! I'd always been mildly concerned but to be honest just kept on top of the oil and enjoyed it as it is! Don't top it up by the way, wait until the last bar disappears - you should get a yellow oil light and a beep when you turn the car off, that means you need to put in 1litre. If you top it up it tends to confuse the meter and you can end up overfilling...
 
I got my 3.0 in January of this year. In the previous two years it had done 400 miles - I have done 4000 since getting it. The first month the oil level dropped by two bars and I had the same concerns but the meter has not moved since.

Either I have faulty sensors and engine Armageddon is just a little way down the road :o or the rings and seals have expanded a little and are now bedded in better. I remember the advice for a vintage Rolls Royce that was burning oil after an engine rebuild was 'go and plough a field with it' - meaning use it and bed everything in. If yours is a every now and then car - and was such for the previous owner (sitting over winter perhaps) this may be the case for you.

In any event keep checking the levels :thumbsup:
 
Crazy Harry said:
I got my 3.0 in January of this year. In the previous two years it had done 400 miles - I have done 4000 since getting it. The first month the oil level dropped by two bars and I had the same concerns but the meter has not moved since.

Either I have faulty sensors and engine Armageddon is just a little way down the road :o or the rings and seals have expanded a little and are now bedded in better. I remember the advice for a vintage Rolls Royce that was burning oil after an engine rebuild was 'go and plough a field with it' - meaning use it and bed everything in. If yours is a every now and then car - and was such for the previous owner (sitting over winter perhaps) this may be the case for you.

In any event keep checking the levels :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

http://workshop-manuals.com/bmw/z_series_e85/z4_2.5i_m54_roadst/1_service_information/0__maintenance_and_general_data/2_si__arguments_concerning_engine_oil_consumption_bmw_mini/

I've posted this BMW technical doc re oil consumption before, lots of reasons for it most of which are not tragic, for example the drastic drop in your first month which then levelled off was probably fuel/moisture/contaminants being burn off by enthusiastic use :driving: after sitting around and being stop-started for a while.
 
Mine uses up to a litre in 10,000 miles or so, much better than my previous M54 which I had to take oil in the car for if I was doing a trip to France and back!

I like to keep it topped up and as it shows segments I treat each one as about 250ml. Go easy on the amount you put in then check it the next time you're on a decent drive as it takes a while to get up to temperature and give a dependable reading.
 
I've heard a lot of people say it's normal for a car to use oil and heard quotes of 1 litre per 1000 miles is acceptable but i'm not convinced! I've had issues with high consumption on my N52 and fixed a couple of bits and now it seems much better, potentially cured!

First look for external leaks... mine was obvious as it was the oil cooler to oil filter housing gasket (right at the top of the engine), there was a pool of oil sitting op top so didn't take long to diagnose, I'd recommend having a good look around, maybe take off the plastic undertray and look for signs of oil running down your engine block and collecting on the undertray. Clean the engine thoroughly if it's covered in oil and look for where the oil comes from after a run or 2.

The next thing I changed was my CCV (only applicable to N52's with metal rocker cover and external CCV) it was clearly blocked and there was significant amounts of oil getting into the inlet manifold. If you remove the front DISA valve you can check for oil in the inlet manifold, a small amount is fine but if it drips out when you remove the DISA it's probably blocked!

Since doing these I have noticed any oil consumption, admittedly it's only been 1000 miles since changing the CCV but that was previously enough to have used at least half a litre oil.
 
Chris1981 said:
I've heard a lot of people say it's normal for a car to use oil and heard quotes of 1 litre per 1000 miles is acceptable but i'm not convinced! I've had issues with high consumption on my N52 and fixed a couple of bits and now it seems much better, potentially cured!

First look for external leaks... mine was obvious as it was the oil cooler to oil filter housing gasket (right at the top of the engine), there was a pool of oil sitting op top so didn't take long to diagnose, I'd recommend having a good look around, maybe take off the plastic undertray and look for signs of oil running down your engine block and collecting on the undertray. Clean the engine thoroughly if it's covered in oil and look for where the oil comes from after a run or 2.

The next thing I changed was my CCV (only applicable to N52's with metal rocker cover and external CCV) it was clearly blocked and there was significant amounts of oil getting into the inlet manifold. If you remove the front DISA valve you can check for oil in the inlet manifold, a small amount is fine but if it drips out when you remove the DISA it's probably blocked!

Since doing these I have noticed any oil consumption, admittedly it's only been 1000 miles since changing the CCV but that was previously enough to have used at least half a litre oil.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this Chris

Mine is an early, 2006 n52. How do I identify which n52 type I have easily in terms of the ccv?
 
RyanB88 said:
Chris1981 said:
I've heard a lot of people say it's normal for a car to use oil and heard quotes of 1 litre per 1000 miles is acceptable but i'm not convinced! I've had issues with high consumption on my N52 and fixed a couple of bits and now it seems much better, potentially cured!

First look for external leaks... mine was obvious as it was the oil cooler to oil filter housing gasket (right at the top of the engine), there was a pool of oil sitting op top so didn't take long to diagnose, I'd recommend having a good look around, maybe take off the plastic undertray and look for signs of oil running down your engine block and collecting on the undertray. Clean the engine thoroughly if it's covered in oil and look for where the oil comes from after a run or 2.

The next thing I changed was my CCV (only applicable to N52's with metal rocker cover and external CCV) it was clearly blocked and there was significant amounts of oil getting into the inlet manifold. If you remove the front DISA valve you can check for oil in the inlet manifold, a small amount is fine but if it drips out when you remove the DISA it's probably blocked!

Since doing these I have noticed any oil consumption, admittedly it's only been 1000 miles since changing the CCV but that was previously enough to have used at least half a litre oil.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this Chris

Mine is an early, 2006 n52. How do I identify which n52 type I have easily in terms of the ccv?
Click to expand...

If your cam cover (underneath the plastic top cover) is metal, then you have an external ccv.
If your cam cover is plastic, then you have an internal ccv which cannot be changed separately (new engine cover required)
Rob
 
Exactly what smartbear said!

Can also have a look at the inlet manifold, it's underneath it between the runners for cylinders 5 and 6, closest to the cabin!
 
My first one had been serviced a couple of months before I bought it. In 8K miles over 2 years I never had to put any in. :thumbsup:

My current one has used a litre in a year and 4.5K miles, then it had a service 2 weeks ago so I'll see!

Possibly the first one being lower mileage was a factor, but even this one is nothing like my E46 with an M54. :o

I work on the theory each bar is 250ml, so when it gets to one bar I top up with 500ml. Checking it after seems to confirm this.
 
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