2006 e90 320 low oil warning

[streetculture]

**[Sorry in advance i do seem to remember a similar thread here just cant find it.]**

So my car was serviced on 102k km's and is currently on 108k, (had an oil change and brake flush) anyway yesterday afternoon when i got home my 'low oil warning light came on' so i checked my oil level and it said +1, threw in a litre just to be safe as auric are fully booked till end of next week.
Being overly paranoid i took the car to Yusuf (car lab) just to be checked out for any oil leeks in the meantime. the engine bay is dry as a whistle and so is the under carriage. car not smoking (reved it up repeatedly.) and oil level is perfect since throwing in the 1ltr.

So i know i read previously that this seems to be a trait of some of these e90 320's 2006/2007???
should i just buy a litre of oil by auric and keep in boot??

 

[mk1-fan]

**[Sorry in advance i do seem to remember a similar thread here just cant find it.]**

So my car was serviced on 102k km's and is currently on 108k, (had an oil change and brake flush) anyway yesterday afternoon when i got home my 'low oil warning light came on' so i checked my oil level and it said +1, threw in a litre just to be safe as auric are fully booked till end of next week.
Being overly paranoid i took the car to Yusuf (car lab) just to be checked out for any oil leeks in the meantime. the engine bay is dry as a whistle and so is the under carriage. car not smoking (reved it up repeatedly.) and oil level is perfect since throwing in the 1ltr.

So i know i read previously that this seems to be a trait of some of these e90 320's 2006/2007???
should i just buy a litre of oil by auric and keep in boot??

I bought a E90 335i new in 2007. At 12000km it needed one liter of oil, so yeah it seems normal.

 

[abmi0000]

Did you actually check the oil level after the service?

I had the idiot agents fill up just till slightly over the minimum during a service but fortunately I caught the doos out. Then the prick had the nerve to tell me that the sensor is faulty and I must book the car in.

Needless to say that the conversation got pretty colorful of which he ended up topping up until the max mark.

 

[streetculture]

Did you actually check the oil level after the service?

I had the idiot agents fill up just till slightly over the minimum during a service but fortunately I caught the doos out. Then the prick had the nerve to tell me that the sensor is faulty and I must book the car in.

Needless to say that the conversation got pretty colorful of which he ended up topping up until the max mark.

i did not! should have, last months ago a buddy of mine who also bought one came to ask me how to check the oil levels on these cars so i showed him on my car and it was just less than half...

Mental note to check that on next service.

 

[abmi0000]

:thumbs:

 

[Philip Foglar]

No a bad idea to keep a litre in the boot. These engines are known to use some oil, varies from engine to engine it seems. :thumbs:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

seems they all need a top up between services, don't know why

 

[Niju06]

I bought 1 litre from Auto Atlantic yesterday for 90 bucks after i noticed that my oil level showed just above the min mark.

A few weeks back i had to go to Sutherland again and had to do some 'spirited' driving. Once I got there and then later got back in the car, noticed that the distance to next service dropped by 1000km and my oil level had dropped. That's after just one long distance trip! First time its happened for me... other long trips have been fine no drop in oil levels. Maybe the oil quality is deteriorating hence burning quicker.

 

[Funky Toyz]

Car shouldn't be burning oil that quickly. If all checks out (no oil leaks, no smoking) then I only suspect that the dealer did not top up correctly.

There is though a something call a vacuum pump that sits at the back of the engine and is not visible unless you've stripped the engine bay. This part is proned to leak oil aswell.

 

[mk1-fan]

seems they all need a top up between services, don't know why

It's common on a lot of modern engines. My GTI V needed oil between services, as does my Lumina.

 

[freakazoid]

Car shouldn't be burning oil that quickly. If all checks out (no oil leaks, no smoking) then I only suspect that the dealer did not top up correctly.

There is though a something call a vacuum pump that sits at the back of the engine and is not visible unless you've stripped the engine bay. This part is proned to leak oil aswell.

Yep, mine leaked at the vacuum pump. You don't see any oil under the car or floor as it drips onto the exhaust and burns away. My leak was only picked up when my crankshaft sensor had to be replaced and the mechanic spotted the leak.

 

[abmi0000]

You need a MAJOR leak to lose an entire litre of oil.

Wanna see what it looks like? Take a litre of oil and throw it all over your floor. Then you can figure whether a possible leak can cause so much of sudden loss.

 

[Philip Foglar]

I think in most cases the oil is "lost" by some form of blow-by through the combustion process, and since the oil is pretty thin it most likely burns fairly cleanly, plus it is a relatively small amount over a period of time. When I first got my 330i it had 46k km on the clock and at the time the oil level was on the 50% mark - a few months later it had dropped to the 25% mark and then closer to the end of the year it asked for 1ltr of oil. So had Forsdicks add a litre and was on my way. A year and 8100 km later it was asking for another litre, and then a few months later went in for it's last motorplan covered service. The oil level as far as I remember was still sitting on 100% at that stage. Now 6 months down the line and 4k km done, the oil level is still sitting on 100%, so if it (and I expect it will eventually) starts to drop then I reckon it is well within being reasonable.

Never smell or see any smoke, only thing that I have noticed on the very rare occasion is a slight heat haze or puff of condensation steam on start up - maybe the cats coughing...

Now with my Wife's E46 there is an oil leak (I believe) hidden at the back of the engine at the valve cover gasket which is a known issue, and every so often you get a really horrible burning oil smell - terrible, because immediately you think stinky stuffed engine! But what's happening is that some oil is gradually leaking out and then spilling onto the hot exhaust pipe and immediately burning off - was lucky to actually see a puff of smoke coming from underneath the car just behind the front wheel, and could smell this burnt oil. So valve cover gasket is going to be done very soon.

Now there is another interesting point. I gather that my car had Castrol SLX in it just like my Wife's car, and they both seemed to use oil. Mine has Castrol Magnatec Professional in since the service and so has my Wife's car, and despite the oil leak the level seems to be near the max mark on the dip stick, and also 3 - 4k km later.

But yes, if you have an oil leak, you are going to know about it! Has to go somewhere and chances are you would see traces of it on the garage floor and driveway, or most definitely smell oil that has burnt off a hot exhaust pipe!

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Funny my E90 323i never used oil.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Funny my E90 323i never used oil.

And they were "known" to use oil! But, some do and some don't... :thumbs:

 

[H8 it or luv it]

Did you take your car to a BMW dealership for service or a BMW specialist? Reason I'm asking, my E90 323i was using oil and I used the wrong oil which in turn, turned into sludge? Is this not happening to your car as well? Maybe get your mech to take the tappet cover off and check for sludge build up....and remember to only use specified oil for those cars....I bought from BMW A R75 p/liter.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Just an update - my car's oil level on the electronic dipstick has now dropped to 75%, so roughly a quarter of a litre drop from max. Based on my calculation the car has done around 5200 km since the service, so not too bad going... Assuming it continues in this fashion, it will be asking for a litre top up after doing more than 20k km which is very reasonable for engines known to use some oil.

 

[streetculture]

Did you take your car to a BMW dealership for service or a BMW specialist? Reason I'm asking, my E90 323i was using oil and I used the wrong oil which in turn, turned into sludge? Is this not happening to your car as well? Maybe get your mech to take the tappet cover off and check for sludge build up....and remember to only use specified oil for those cars....I bought from BMW A R75 p/liter.

it went to auric atlantic.

---

so this morning im driving down the R300 and the oil level is still on the max mark. then two hours later i checked the oil again just out of paranio and its about -+ @ 75%



i threw in the litre oil last week and wedn aft.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

that's a bit of a worry, drops to quickly

 

[Philip Foglar]

Wow, that is dropping fast! Maybe have someone follow behind you to see if there are any traces of smoke - a good idea is to find a long hill and go up and down to see if and when it is maybe smoking. What oil is Auric using?