[Seattle135is]

My 550 just passed 16K miles - then I got a warning the engine oil was low - it took a pint - the oil was changed at 13K - it doesn't seem normal to consume a pint within 3K miles? - and, definitely no oil leaks on my garage floor, but the 3K period included a summer with some aggresive driving.
Thoughts?
BTW - I had a 2001 M5 a good few years ago - that beast consumed oil like no other - I carried a few pints in the trunk...

[JimmyD]

My 2011 550i used 3 quarts in the first 10,000 miles, my dealer gave me 4 quarts to keep at home and one in the truck, they will fill it for you also for free, since its $11. a quart

[Fantasm]

Normal. I keep 2 pints in my trunk

[zms]

Normal. Consumed 3 quarts over the first 12000 miles

[Tmac]

Would this be something fixed with next year's LCI?

[Fantasm]

Theres nothing to fix, its normal. The engines use up oil...

[dunderhi]

I guess I'm lucky my car isn't normal - I have 14kmi on the current oil and haven't needed to add any oil.

[smoothak]

I just had the same experience with my 2011 550i. Had an oil change around 16k and then needed another qt. in 800 mi. Very strange.

[Arran73]

All my BMW's have used allot of oil, asked the dealer about it quit a few times and they have always told me its normal.

[asp17]

550 is just a guzzler!! Gas and oil. Ive put about 2qts in the last 6k miles

But.... I STILL LOVE HER!

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by Seattle335

My 550 just passed 16K miles - then I got a warning the engine oil was low - it took a pint - the oil was changed at 13K - it doesn't seem normal to consume a pint within 3K miles? - and, definitely no oil leaks on my garage floor, but the 3K period included a summer with some aggresive driving.
Thoughts?
BTW - I had a 2001 M5 a good few years ago - that beast consumed oil like no other - I carried a few pints in the trunk...

BMW claims they will take no action unless oil consumption exceeds 1 quart every 900 miles.

So, it can bleed oil and they will tell its normal.

[1HOT BMR]

Originally Posted by Seattle335

Thoughts?
BTW - I had a 2001 M5 a good few years ago - that beast consumed oil like no other - I carried a few pints in the trunk...

Mine burned about a quart every 3-4K miles at the beginning and now it has gone the last 6K without burning any.

BTW - that "beast" you are referring to is much slower than your current run of the mill and common sedan

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by zms

Normal. Consumed 3 quarts over the first 12000 miles

This should not be normal, it's a design flaw and should be admitted and recalled by BMW. Everyone I know with a 550i is having this issue, yes it should be an "issue." No car I've ever owned consumes oil, at least not at that rate (not even close).

The oil is going somewhere. If it's being sucked into the intake, I suggest investing in an oil catch can to pro-long the engine, intake, turbos, and cat converter. Oil in combustion chamber = decreased in octane level = decreased performance = increase pre-detonation = sticky valves = clogged cat.

One of your guys should throw a couple custom oil catch cans in your car and report back how much oil is being collected per 10k miles. Just my 2 cents.

[Seattle135is]

Just another thought - do Forced Induction cars consume more oil than normally aspirated cars?

Originally Posted by JNoSol

This should not be normal, it's a design flaw and should be admitted and recalled by BMW. Everyone I know with a 550i is having this issue, yes it should be an "issue." No car I've ever owned consumes oil, at least not at that rate (not even close).

The oil is going somewhere. If it's being sucked into the intake, I suggest investing in an oil catch can to pro-long the engine, intake, turbos, and cat converter. Oil in combustion chamber = decreased in octane level = decreased performance = increase pre-detonation = sticky valves = clogged cat.

One of your guys should throw a couple custom oil catch cans in your car and report back how much oil is being collected per 10k miles. Just my 2 cents.

[TheGr8Swami]

Try a Quart of Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer the next time your car displays the low oil warning. I ran a quart in my 2011 550xi and it addressed the issue. Try it!

[dunderhi]

It seems most people think burning oil is normal for the 550. My theory is that the oil burners broke in their cars per the owners manual. I believe in a hard break-in to prevents oil consumption. Did anyone who is burning oil break-in your car hard?

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by TheGr8Swami

Try a Quart of Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer the next time your car displays the low oil warning. I ran a quart in my 2011 550xi and it addressed the issue. Try it!

LOL, that's horrible idea. I used to run an AutoZone a decade ago where I sold this junk, Lucas is bad news. It's just really thick oil additives derived from crude oil (similar viscosity as gear oil - 75w-90 ish). This will thicken your oil, which will lead to premature seal wear, clog sensors, and reducing engine power. If BMW catches you using this, I'm sure it'll void your warranty (I believe the manual frowns on oil additives of any kind).

Lucas is for old cars that have lost engine compression and/or leaking oil. I wouldn't put this junk in my BMW.

[TheGr8Swami]

I must disagree with your assessment! I've rebuilt multiple Audi race engines for clients have used both the regular and synthetic oil stabilizers by Lucas with much success to address seal/gasket based consumption. It only took 1 use of the oil stabilizer in my case and I didn't receive another low oil warning on my car even after the free dealership oil change.

Oil consumption on turbo charged cars occurs mostly in two places, from the seals in the block or the turbos if they are oil cooled. Not being sarcastic, but since you ran an AutoZone, I'm sure you understand how consumption is addressed on race engines during break-in. Should every dealership lift your engine to rebuild the block and reset every seal and gasket to find a small leak or use a product in the crank which could help?

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by TheGr8Swami

I must disagree with your assessment! I've rebuilt multiple Audi race engines for clients have used both the regular and synthetic oil stabilizers by Lucas with much success to address seal/gasket based consumption. It only took 1 use of the oil stabilizer in my case and I didn't receive another low oil warning on my car even after the free dealership oil change.

Oil consumption on turbo charged cars occurs mostly in two places, from the seals in the block or the turbos if they are oil cooled. Not being sarcastic, but since you ran an AutoZone, I'm sure you understand how consumption is addressed on race engines during break-in. Should every dealership lift your engine to rebuild the block and reset every seal and gasket to find a small leak or use a product in the crank which could help?

Lucas Oil Stabilizer is just really thick oil derived from 100% petroleum. This is a product used car salesmen would pour into a car with questionable engines so it can temporary stop leaking and repair internal seals to pass compression tests. It is still a "temporary" fix and should not be considered a permanent solution to the problem, especially for a brand new BMW, that's crazy talk. What happened to your 550 might just be a coincidence, where your seals finally broke in and no longer consumes oil. This occurrence "may" have happened if you didn't add any Lucas at all. Of course, we can't repeat this theory in a controlled test, but plausible.

I'm no longer in the automotive business; I put all my focus into healthcare now. I did spend a lot of time at the track, engine shops, and building engines in my last life. I think of Lucas sticky additives as deposits in the arteries, if it can seal O-rings and seals it can also clog electronic sensors which modern engines now have (but you probably know that).

I may not know everything about lubricants, but I do know BMW OEM oil is one of the best synthetic oil out there (pure synthetic Castrol, not blended as the version found on the shelves at Autozone and Walmart). Adding any additives will screw up what the factory has intended.

My point is BMW should catch the oil level issue and fix the problem through design. Some of the oil is likely burning through the piston rings and turbos as you indicated, the rest is likely being sucked through the breather vacuum hose into the turbos, intake, and compression chambers where it is burnt and sent to the cat/exhaust to do more damage. I would highly recommend oil catch cans for the 550s.

I have 2 BMWs with the N55s, neither of them has oil drop issues. They're both turbo charged and only produce 100HP less than their V8TT cousin. This makes me reach my hypothesis that the oil dropping on the 550s is not "normal." It's poor engine design and should be going back to the drawing board for assessment.

Good day.

[dunderhi]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

I have 2 BMWs with the N55s, neither of them has oil drop issues. They're both turbo charged and only produce 100HP less than their V8TT cousin. This makes me reach my hypothesis that the oil dropping on the 550s is not "normal." It's poor engine design and should be going back to the drawing board for assessment.

How is N63 a poor design if only some N63s burn oil? My 550 has 511hp, has been down the dragstrip dozens of times, and will go 17kmi without an oil add. Seems like great design to me.

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by dunderhi

How is N63 a poor design if only some N63s burn oil? My 550 has 511hp, has been down the dragstrip dozens of times, and will go 17kmi without an oil add. Seems like great design to me.

You're the few lucky ones who ended up with a well built N63 or you know how to break-in your car correctly. A lot of N63 owners I've talked to has oil drop issues, going through at least 1qt between oil changes.

Don't get me wrong, my next car will have an N63 (either a 550i or 750i LCI) and I'm very excited about the next trade-up. However, BMW should take a serious look at the inconsistency of the engine production or apply a factory break-in process.

I own 3 cars with N55s in the past 2yrs, one of them having 40k miles. I haven't experienced any oil drop issues (knock on wood), but I may have been either blessed with 3 good production runs or know how to break-in my cars appropriately. We can't scientifically test either theories in a controlled environment so the world may never know.

Note: I do an oil change between the factory recommended intervals. I don't believe in the 15k mile oil change intervals, not when I'm pushing those poor engines at high RPM often.

511HP to the wheels? Impressive!

[dunderhi]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

511HP to the wheels?

Unfortunately, only at the crank. I can get to 60mph in under 4 seconds, so I can't really complain.