Oil consumption and smoking

P

peartreeproductions

Member
Hi guys,

I have an '06 2.5si with 16,000 miles on clock. Since i have had it occassionally smokes on start up. Definately smoke rather than steam but doesnt happen every time. Dealer read the codes last time the car was in and couldnt find anything.

Also I have put 6,000 on the car since buying it and, assuming it was full of oil when I got it, it has used 2.5 litres of oil. To me it seems like a lot. I know these engines use more oil than others but is this normal and if not could it be linked to above?

The car is an AUC but just wanted your thoughts and experiences before I go back to the dealer.

Thanks
 
The delaer will say oil consumption is with spec so wont do anything, I had this issue with mine a few times, will see if I can dig out the video so you can compare.
 
Thanks for the reply guys. I wonder if the fault codes arent showing anything as it only happens for a few seconds on start up once in a while. However I dont believe the start up alone is enough to cause that level of oil consumption even if the two issues may be linked.

Engine runs really well thats the funny thing. My first thoughts were valve seals - but then my knowledge of engines is a bit antiquated!
 
I have owned five BMW's. 2004 2.5 Z4; 2006 330i; Currently have 2000 M Roadster; 2006 Z4m and 2006 M3. Have not had oil consumption problem with any of them. I would say your problem is not normal.
 
How long have you had it?

Sounds like very low mileage/short journeys for it's age/miles, and that can impact oil consumption quite alot.

Dave
 
Hi,

I have had the car for 6 months. Had 10,500 mls on it when i bought it (average of 4,000 miles a year) and I have put 6,000 miles on it in 6 mths.

2nd owner and it was a demo car for the first few thousand of its life :( .
 
I don't think that level of oil use is excessive <0.5 l per 1000 miles. As said above the dealer will just tell you it's normal, especiallly if it throws no codes. Can't recall the tolerence but it's a lot higher.

Look at your driving. Do you do lots of short runs. Do you drive it hard from cold, etc. Do you like to take it to the high end of the revs.??? All drink oil.
 
The efect of smoke when starting the engine (especially if this happens when the car is used after several hours) together with such oil consumption is not very good news.

You could check the spark plugs if they are oily.

I would check also if there is coolant consumption.
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the interest. I do do lots of short journeys typically around 8 miles or less. Never drive hard until its been running 10 mins, not just up to temp on the gauge as that is just water temp, and by hard i mean 1/2 throttle and 3000 revs ish would be my limits.

When the road is open I do like to give it some beans but dont very often go past 5k, very very rarely have i touched 6k.

No coolant consumption, checked over the weekend.

Another thing I remember is that the smoking has only ever been from stone cold i.e. not driven for 4 hrs +.

Re the oil consumption - I guess I have driven all my previous cars in the same way and have typically used about a litre every 10-12k miles.

Re the smoking - that cant be right :(
 
peartreeproductions said:
Hi guys,

Thanks for the interest. I do do lots of short journeys typically around 8 miles or less. Never drive hard until its been running 10 mins, not just up to temp on the gauge as that is just water temp, and by hard i mean 1/2 throttle and 3000 revs ish would be my limits.

When the road is open I do like to give it some beans but dont very often go past 5k, very very rarely have i touched 6k.

No coolant consumption, checked over the weekend.

Another thing I remember is that the smoking has only ever been from stone cold i.e. not driven for 4 hrs +.

Re the oil consumption - I guess I have driven all my previous cars in the same way and have typically used about a litre every 10-12k miles.

Re the smoking - that cant be right :(
Click to expand...

Sounds like you havent run it in yet. :poke: , These cars are meant to be driven hard, when the dealer was trying to sort out my Hydraulic Adjuster issue they went through TIS and found an article that didnt actually relate to my car but similar problem on another and the remedy was to "Ask the customer to drive the car harder"
 
I had that problem on start-up on a car once. It ended up being a valve seal. When left over night the oil would seep from the head past the valve into the engine, hence the oil burn when it was first started. I wouldn't have thought it was that on your car though looking at the mileage, but you never know.
 
Hotdog the colour of the smoke is blue :cry:

It managed to smoke twice on start up today (doesnt do it everytime), so I think it is getting worse. It is due for a service in 800 miles so dealer can look at it then. But have little confidence I will get any sortof satisfaction at all due to previous experience.

Breaker i wondered about valve seals as it is only on start up and only occassionaly, so it may depend on the amount of oil in the head when switched off or the parking angle.

Will let you know how i get on.
 
Hi all,

Just a quick update as the car had a service today. The car hasnt been smoking the last few weeks as the oil level has been pretty low but the consumption level has remained the same at about 1ltr per 2,000 miles. Dealer produced a service bulletin that said BMW were happy with about 0.7 ltr per 1,000km (1ltr per 900 miles) as a maximum. Now to my mind that is ridiculously high but for the moment I am putting that to one side.

After the service I parked up in the car park for 1.5hours and when i restarted I got the all to familar blue smoke behind. This fits in with my theory of the low oil level being low over the last few weeks tieing in with the fact that it hadnt been smoking. Anyway i popped back in to the dealer and he was very helpful and it booked back in the start of July for 2 days, they will also check the oil consumption at that point as well.

I have also experienced some pinking in the last few weeks around 1,800 to 2,200 rpm which the dealer knows about but couldnt replicate.

This is all a bit painful i believe primarily down to the commercial battle (which I dont blame them for) that the dealer has on investigating problems that may or may not be a warranty issue. Will let you know what i think in due course.
 
Might be time to move the car on - I know this gives someone else the problem, but at least if they buy from a dealer they are covered to a certain extent.
 
For the pinking have you tried running it on super unleaded fuel? My M54 can pink sometimes under low rpm and high load conditions.

The oil consumption figures quoted about are rediculous, the engine in your car is supposed to be economical and clean burn - hardly the case if its eating oil at a rate akin to a wankel rotary.
 
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