[Spitfire007]

So I bought a 2009 328i manual in April with 52000 miles on it.

Last scheduled maintenance on it was June 2012, at 48000 miles, oil change, all filters (cabin/oil) and whatnot.

I check the oil level and it's always OK. Always. Haven't touched a thing maintenance-wise since I bought the car (thank goodness)

Now at 58000 miles
Do the N52 motors not burn oil?

Had a 135i before and it burned a quart every 7k...

[toniostyle]

Originally Posted by Spitfire007

So I bought a 2009 328i manual in April with 52000 miles on it.

Last scheduled maintenance on it was June 2012, at 48000 miles, oil change, all filters (cabin/oil) and whatnot.

I check the oil level and it's always OK. Always. Haven't touched a thing maintenance-wise since I bought the car (thank goodness)

I'm on the same boat as you..... My Oil level is always at the same place.... I wish we had a dipstick.

[GoRomeo]

They leak oil before they burn it. Ive gone service intervals in the past without adding any oil.

So back to your question, no they dont burn oil....which is why N52 are great armor engines.

[Dark_Knight_335]

All engines will burn oil if you push them hard enough- as a matter fact I would go so far as to say it's completely normal to consume oil on the N52, N54 & N55 engines, although not really common.

[pits200]

Originally Posted by Dark_Knight_335

All engines will burn oil if you push them hard enough- as a matter fact I would go so far as to say it's completely normal to consume oil on the N52, N54 & N55 engines, although not really common.

I agree based on the majority of reviews on here but my 09 n54 with 73k miles never even burns through a quart in it's 8k mile oil changes. I have about 75 dragstrip passes and so I push it pretty hard.

Overall, I agree with you and definitely expect to see it burn oil but for some reason my car always drains about 6-6.5 quarts during an oil change... Pretty lucky.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by pits200

I agree based on the majority of reviews on here but my 09 n54 with 73k miles never even burns through a quart in it's 8k mile oil changes. I have about 75 dragstrip passes and so I push it pretty hard.

Overall, I agree with you and definitely expect to see it burn oil but for some reason my car always drains about 6-6.5 quarts during an oil change... Pretty lucky.

Oh yeah brother- I've actually been pretty lucky with my N55 except for one time it went down a quart and I can't really explain why.

As far as my 328 before it, I think it only burned oil once in the 3 1/2 years I had it.

[Spitfire007]

Good to know.
Thanks people.

[hongsc]

I had to add a quart at 23K on a 2011 328i sedan. Also before my 15K service I had to add a quart. Just went to dealership to top off.

[paddy335]

I notice (N54) only very small amounts of oil consumption on the road, even with spirited driving, but it burns a lot at the track.

Which is kind of what I would expect at the track with everything running much hotter and the oil working a lot harder etc.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Which leads me to my next recommendation for all my N54 and N55 brothers and sisters. I would strongly recommend investing in an oil catch cam from burger motor sports.
So very worth it to keep all that oil overspray and vapor from going into your intercooler and even your engine parts.

[roadkillrob]

I have never had to add oil to my N54 in 6 years of street driving, when I put my upgraded intercooler on 2 years ago I propped up my stock oil cooler over a pail and let it sit overnight and couldn't get a drop of oil out of the intercool either.

[rubber]

I have the same car with fewer miles. The car only burned oil one time (1 Qt.), but I drove the car between 100 and 120 mph for two hours straight. It has never burned oil other than that one road trip. I love this car.

[Antetokounmpo]

Shouldn't burn oil. As far as I know only the higher performance BMW engines burn oil like the S65.

On a side note... I got off an off ramp today which is downhill and the light turned red so I did a brake check (nobody around) and for a second the red oil light on the dash lighted up then went away. Checked the oil and it was perfect. I'm assuming this is just because of the nosedive and the downhill off ramp making it think the oil was low or something? I just changed the oil about 2000 miles ago. Can anyone chime in?

[kunal_d]

I haven't added a drop of oil in my car (N54) between oil changes. I'm currently sitting at about 74K miles. I have always wondered about this as well, as I've never fully trusted this e-dipstick and it always shows the oil level at MAX.

My E46 330i on the other hand would burn about a quart every 2K miles give or take.

[Three_thirty_I]

This has been posted and discussed before here and on many other sites/forums, but it seems to vary from car to car and I am sure owner to owner. For example I have often read about E90 320i engines using lots of oil, but in most cases also smoking. The E90 petrol 6's are somewhat knowing for using some oil. The 335i engines are also known to use some oil and with the carbon problem it is therefore essential to have an oil catch can fitted. As with any engine, oil consumption is dependant on how it is driven, and of course tolerances, i.e. if there is any wear etc. Most manufacturers claim 1 ltr per 1000 km is within spec - I would freak!!!

My 330i used 1 ltr of oil when I first bought the car with 46k km on the clock and had done roughly 6500 km based on when it was serviced last. I topped up and then 8100 km later it asked for another top up. A month or so later it went in for its next scheduled service and after almost 11 000 km it asked for a top up - changed oil and filter instead. The car has now got just over 70k km on the clock, so it seems like its oil consumption continues to decrease. No oil leaks, and there has never been any traces of smoking etc. I can only see this as being some blow-by especially when the engine is worked a bit harder than normal.

From my observations with other E90's, some don't use a drop of oil while others have their owners buying shares at their local oil supply depots! And then there are ones like mine that either use a more moderate amount or not worth mentioning. And in these above cases, it makes no difference as to how their cars are driven.

The killer issue is that our stupid cars DON'T have an actual proper dipstick!

[Chris_506]

enjoy it while it lasts lol

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by SCSRe92

enjoy it while it lasts lol

?? Meaning?

[GoRomeo]

[Chris_506]

Originally Posted by Three_thirty_I

?? Meaning?

Meaning as seals start to go and gaskets start to wear you will start burning more oil. Bmws tend to burn oil specially as the miles go up, n52s not as much and n54s but it will.. Sooner or later

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by SCSRe92

Meaning as seals start to go and gaskets start to wear you will start burning more oil. Bmws tend to burn oil specially as the miles go up, n52s not as much and n54s but it will.. Sooner or later

No I get that. I think in most cases it's as you say, seals and gaskets start to fail causing leaks and/or burning of oil, and sadly with the general lengthy service intervals (I don't care how good they claim modern oils are), sludge build up becomes a problem and prevents proper lubrication leading to premature wear.

[Chris_506]

Originally Posted by Three_thirty_I

No I get that. I think in most cases it's as you say, seals and gaskets start to fail causing leaks and/or burning of oil, and sadly with the general lengthy service intervals (I don't care how good they claim modern oils are), sludge build up becomes a problem and prevents proper lubrication leading to premature wear.

yes, the sludge build up caused by direct injection doesn't help either. They should stop advertising shit that ends up damaging the drive train, lifetime guaranteed transmission fluid my

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by SCSRe92

yes, the sludge build up caused by direct injection doesn't help either. They should stop advertising shit that ends up damaging the drive train, lifetime guaranteed transmission fluid my

Yep, the lifetime statement is very misleading, what lifetime, how is it defined? Well it isn't really. If anything, maybe the expected warranty period is their idea of lifetime... Thankfully my 330i is not DI, but sludge build up affects all engines when it comes to extended oil service intervals, or of course if an engine missing a services in its "lifetime", but with DI it's also the carbon build up issue.