Serious Oil Consumption Issue *HELP!*

Bought a 2002 325i about 4 months ago. I drive approximately 400 miles to and from work on a weekly basis. Around the 350 mile mark, my low oil light comes on and I have to add 2 quarts of oil.

So basically, I'm burning through 2 quarts of oil every 350-400 miles. There is no oil puddling anywhere underneath the car when parked in my garage.

However, if I start the car in the morning (40 degrees F to 50 degrees F) and let it warm up for 10 minutes prior to driving it, I will notice a spot of oil at the tail pipe on the ground approx. 3"-4" in diameter.

With this much oil consumption, could this be more than just a possible Oil Separator or CCV issue?

Originally Posted by Alki

Bought a 2002 325i about 4 months ago. I drive approximately 400 miles to and from work on a weekly basis. Around the 350 mile mark, my low oil light comes on and I have to add 2 quarts of oil.

So basically, I'm burning through 2 quarts of oil every 350-400 miles. There is no oil puddling anywhere underneath the car when parked in my garage.

However, if I start the car in the morning (40 degrees F to 50 degrees F) and let it warm up for 10 minutes prior to driving it, I will notice a spot of oil at the tail pipe on the ground approx. 3"-4" in diameter.

With this much oil consumption, could this be more than just a possible Oil Separator or CCV issue?

Your oil is collecting in the undertray and blowing on the freeway as you drive. That's why you don't notice it dripping.

Replace the oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket for starters. Your oil filter housing gasket is definitely completely failed.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Your oil is collecting in the undertray and blowing on the freeway as you drive. That's why you don't notice it dripping.

Replace the oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket for starters. Your oil filter housing gasket is definitely completely failed.

Thanks for the quick reply, Mango. My OFHG has absolutely no signs of oil anywhere near it. Motor is clean. The same can be said about my valve cover gasket.

I will check closer this weekend and take your advice. However, what could be causing the oil to be coming out of my exhaust when I warm the car up in the mornings?

Thanks again for the reply.

Sounds like oil is getting into the intake tract, not leaking out. An oil leak that bad would definitely leave spots.

Hopefully it's the CCV, and not a blowby/ring issue.

Originally Posted by Alki

Thanks for the quick reply, Mango. My OFHG has absolutely no signs of oil anywhere near it. Motor is clean. The same can be said about my valve cover gasket.

I will check closer this weekend and take your advice. However, what could be causing the oil to be coming out of my exhaust when I warm the car up in the mornings?

Thanks again for the reply.

Are you sure about that? If those gaskets haven't been touched by now at this mileage and age then I would say there's a 95% they're both leaking. when you say oil in the exhaust, do you mean smoke? if so, what color is the smoke?

Oh and "warming up your car in the mornings" is just about one of the worst things you can do to your car. People think they're babying their car when in fact they're doing the exact opposite. it's also relatively destructive to the environment.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Are you sure about that? If those gaskets haven't been touched by now at this mileage and age then I would say there's a 95% they're both leaking. when you say oil in the exhaust, do you mean smoke? if so, what color is the smoke?

The vehicle has 115k miles on it and I see no oil anywhere on the engine, but I will take an even closer look this weekend. The oil is seen on the ground, right below the tailpipe. I don't see any smoke at all and the car runs fine. No idling issues or anything to make me think it wasn't. Any ideas?

Oh and "warming up your car in the mornings" is just about one of the worst things you can do to your car. People think they're babying their car when in fact they're doing the exact opposite. it's also relatively destructive to the environment.

I was doing it mostly to get the cabin warmed up so it's not so damn cold in the morning when I sit down to drive to work, lol. I was born and raised in Florida, so these 40 degree mornings are still something I haven't gotten used to here in Tennessee.

Originally Posted by lcoleman

Sounds like oil is getting into the intake tract, not leaking out. An oil leak that bad would definitely leave spots.

Hopefully it's the CCV, and not a blowby/ring issue.

I wouldn't think that a car with 115k miles would have any type of blow-by issue. Then again, anything is possible. I wouldn't think that a CCV issue would have that kind of oil consumption associated with it ... well, I hope not!

Any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Alki

I was doing it mostly to get the cabin warmed up so it's not so damn cold in the morning when I sit down to drive to work, lol. I was born and raised in Florida, so these 40 degree mornings are still something I haven't gotten used to here in Tennessee.

LOL, 40 degree mornings. Tennessee is going to kick your ass if you think that's cold. It'll settle into the teens for most of January at night/early morning (I'm from Nashville). The people up north are still laughing at that temperature though, haha. If you're freezing at 40 degrees my advice is to put some pants and a shirt on.

Take off the plastic cover under the car and see if it has oil all over it. All you need is a phillips screw driver. I did it once without even using ramps, but you need long arms and a short screw driver.

Originally Posted by WDE46

LOL, 40 degree mornings. Tennessee is going to kick your ass if you think that's cold. It'll settle into the teens for most of January at night/early morning (I'm from Nashville). The people up north are still laughing at that temperature though, haha. If you're freezing at 40 degrees my advice is to put some pants and a shirt on.

Take off the plastic cover under the car and see if it has oil all over it. All you need is a phillips screw driver. I did it once without even using ramps, but you need long arms and a short screw driver.

I know it gets colder and I'll get used to it ... someday. LOL!

Anyways, I'll be sure to pull off the cover and take a peak at it this weekend. I'm not seeing ANY oil under the car though in the garage other than at the tailpipe in the back. That's why I figured it might be a CCV/Oil Separator issue. To see this much oil loss makes me think it's something much more severe, which worries me.

This happened gradually, or suddenly? That is pretty severe oil loss...generally, that is a CCV issue. If something is clogged or not draining properly, all of the oil is pulled from the valve cover into the intake by the vacuum (ahem, absolute pressure lower than atmospheric to make the forum happy) of the engine.

Afaik, oil only gets into the combustion chamber via the CCV system, piston rings, or valve stem seals. No external engine oil leak is going to come out the exhaust, and 2qts in 350 miles is going to fill the belly pan and leave a huge puddle sooner rather than later. You're burning, not leaking.

After moving to NoVA...TN winter is nothing, and I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg. I hear the weather there is nice right now, be glad it isn't 50 like it is here!

if there is anything i can do to help please don't hesitate to email me. i have BMW certified master technicians on staff to answer any questions.
info@bmwpartssource.com

I will check more into it this weekend when I have time to look at it more thoroughly. Another BMW owner friend of mine said that he's not seeing any oil on the engine and thinks it's the CCV, but is concerned because 2 quarts in so few miles is pretty substantial.

I'm pricing all the hoses and the CCV, etc. now. Looks like I'll probably start with that and hope that it fixes the issue. If not, the car is gone and I'll buy something else.

Is it common to see this kind of oil loss with a CCV problem? So much oil has me concerned about the Cats.

Do a search, it's certainly possible. I think the common assumption is the dipstick guide tube clogs, so be sure to read up on that. And yes, your cats probably aren't liking that much oil...the sooner the better on fixing it.

theres nothing at the back of the car that can leak engine oil unless its running down the exhaust pipes. whens the last time you had the engine stripped of its parts? you can't really see leaks unless everything is stripped down. and if everything was stripped down, you would have replaced the parts that cause this leak in the first place.

this leads me to believe you haven't thorougly checked your engine for wetness down below where you can't see.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

theres nothing at the back of the car that can leak engine oil unless its running down the exhaust pipes. whens the last time you had the engine stripped of its parts? you can't really see leaks unless everything is stripped down. and if everything was stripped down, you would have replaced the parts that cause this leak in the first place.

this leads me to believe you haven't thorougly checked your engine for wetness down below where you can't see.

I'm certain that the oil is coming out of the exhaust.

I had the oil pan gasket replaced 2 weeks after I bought the car and I got under there to see it personally. 2 weeks later, I took it back so that we could get another look under there and everything was dry.

However, the oil he used was Castrol Edge 5W30. Once the oil consumption started about a month ago (which was much lower than it is now), I started putting 0W30 Edge (European Blend) and it got worse. 2 weeks ago, I put 10W30 in there and it's been using the same amount. This week, I went back to 5W30.

Maybe it's me switching oils, but I doubt it.

I just want a fix and I will start with the CCV and a fresh oil change. If this doesn't fix the problem, I'll move on to another vehicle and ditch this one.

Burning 2 qt/400 miles has nothing to do with the type of oil you use.

You need to trace the oil that is coming from the exhaust area. I would think you would smell the hot oil on the exhaust if it was running all the way down the headers and to the tailpipe. You also need to determine if that is actually engine oil, or another problem in itself. If you have no leaks, then you are burning that oil. I'd do my CCV and hope that fixes it, otherwise you need new rings. You want this to be a leak, but like lcoleman said, there would be massive amounts of oil spilling out everywhere if this was just a leak.

Originally Posted by WDE46

Burning 2 qt/400 miles has nothing to do with the type of oil you use.

You need to trace the oil that is coming from the exhaust area. I would think you would smell the hot oil on the exhaust if it was running all the way down the headers and to the tailpipe. You also need to determine if that is actually engine oil, or another problem in itself. If you have no leaks, then you are burning that oil. I'd do my CCV and hope that fixes it, otherwise you need new rings. You want this to be a leak, but like lcoleman said, there would be massive amounts of oil spilling out everywhere if this was just a leak.

The oil is coming out of the tailpipe, it's not running down it. There's no leaks on the ground when the car isn't running. None at all. It's only when I start the car and let it idle do I see the oil on the ground at the tailpipe exit.

If the rings are gone in this car, after only 115k miles, this will more than likely be the first and last BMW I own.

at the back of the engine is a small torx screw that caused massive oil loss for someone. He tightened it and the oil loss went away. It's in the middle of the head.

Originally Posted by Alki

The oil is coming out of the tailpipe, it's not running down it. There's no leaks on the ground when the car isn't running. None at all. It's only when I start the car and let it idle do I see the oil on the ground at the tailpipe exit.

If the rings are gone in this car, after only 115k miles, this will more than likely be the first and last BMW I own.

There is no way oil is making it all the way out the tailpipe. Anyway, your car is either leaking oil or it is burning it. With oil loss this high there has to be a pool of oil or a lot of blue smoke when you rev it. It is just not possible for it to be anything else.

This is not typical of a BMW, so don't let that put you off. BMW engine mechanics are usually flawless. Just the rubber parts tend to fail.

Originally Posted by WDE46

There is no way oil is making it all the way out the tailpipe.

But it's more likely that it's defying gravity and running horizontally down the hot pipes, without burning off, and dripping off at the tip?