04-24-2023, 10:45 AM | #1 |
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Bit of oil consumption...
Well, to be honest maybe.
Checked oil after 200+ miles from new and it was down some. Pics below. However, I failed to check the oil level before I left the dealer with the car but I assume (!) it was ok. At any rate the level of consumption does not bother me and I will add I have checked it just today with 460 miles (so around 250 miles since I drove it home on the 14th) and the level is not down any more. I have booked the car in May 1 for an oil/filter service not part of the free 3 year 36K mile scheduled maintenance but just an early -- between 500 and 600 miles -- oil/filter service. But curious I added 6 oz of BMW 0w-30 oil and checked the level again and it is up. |
04-24-2023, 11:11 AM | #2 |
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"Down some?" Down from where?
I'm confused by this thread. Are you saying there is oil consumption or not?
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04-24-2023, 01:20 PM | #3 | |
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'course, that assumes it was at the MAX level when I left the dealer. I failed to check the oil level. After another approx. 250 miles the oil level didn't drop any more so if there was any oil consumption it was in the 1st approx. 250 miles. |
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04-24-2023, 01:35 PM | #5 |
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Brand new motor, and might not even be down at all. Nothing to be concerned about at all.
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04-24-2023, 07:47 PM | #6 | |
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04-24-2023, 08:14 PM | #7 |
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I think the thread title should be edited as to not lead people to think there's a problem.
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04-25-2023, 12:00 AM | #9 |
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You always need a starting reference point for a before/after analysis.
The only other real talking point here is: did you measure this oil when the engine was cold or did you drive it with a hot engine before taking the reading? If you checked the engine while cold, then topped it off to MAX, your oil level is now above MAX as oil expands. You should only be checking oil and topping off when it's hot and expanded. |
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04-25-2023, 11:46 AM | #10 | |
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04-26-2023, 08:34 AM | #11 | |
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I'm still on my factory fill on my 2022 M240ix purchased new last August, it's still at the top line, don't know if 1/4 quart on the S58 in less than 500 miles may be something of concern, but it seems like that would be an outlier on a modern engine. |
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04-28-2023, 05:23 PM | #12 |
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Topping off motors right to max oil is just not a great idea, ever. Too much risk of screwing that up, and overfilling can damage your car.
Modern oil sensors are very precise, motors don't leak oil like they used to. Anywhere between min and max is fine, including right in the middle. There's no reason to risk being at either extreme. |
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04-30-2023, 08:52 AM | #13 |
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04-30-2023, 09:03 AM | #14 | |
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04-30-2023, 09:07 AM | #15 | |
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Just the first time with any of my cars with this style of oil level measuring/display that I've seen the oil level less than Max. To be sure I will monitor oil level going forward because oil level is just one of things a conscientious owner monitors. Oil level. But fuel level, tire pressure, and other vital fluid levels. But I don't for a second suspect the engine will manifest excessive oil consumption as I continue to drive it. |
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04-30-2023, 09:12 AM | #16 |
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Yeah, those things have some static electricity I think. I carry a natural bristle paint brush (in a protective wrapper when not in use) in the car to use to brush the dust off of the screen and instrument cluster. I can brush the dust off and drive the car some and the dust is back. Even with the windows up and with all the air coming through the cabin filter.
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04-30-2023, 09:19 AM | #17 | |
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But when picking up the M2 I forgot to check the oil level. While the level was down from MAX it wasn't down a scary amount. I added oil to bring the level up as I prefer to run the oil at its max level but not over this. When the engine is running that level drops and by how much depends upon how fast the engine is spinning. With the level at Max with the engine level and with no g-forces in play and the engine running at ~1K RPMs I feel the level is as good as it can be without being too high to ensure the engine has plenty of oil at all times and under all operating conditions. |
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04-30-2023, 07:29 PM | #18 |
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There's some oil consumption...
Just over 600 miles on the car. Phase 1 of the break in is complete. And as an aside the engine is coming alive!
Checked the oil level today (pic below) and it is down by about the same amount as it was the other day. So the approx. 6 ounces of oil I added at 460 miles is gone. Back of the envelop 6 ounces in approx 160 miles (heck call it 200 miles) is 30 ounces in 1000 miles. That's nearly a quart in 1000 miles. Looked at my digital copy of the M2 owners manual and there is no worst case oil level consumption. (Another brand of car the factory set the worst case oil consumption at 1 liter/1000km or approx. 1qt/600 miles.) I'm not panicking. Some oil usage especially during break in is normal. And break in is only half over with. Also, the oil is undoubtedly contaminated with blow by -- this is normal but a turbo charged engine can be especially bad about contaminating the engine oil -- and my experience is as oil accumulates miles and experiences an increase in contamination the engine can manifest some signs. One sign is the engine becomes a bit noisier. Another is a brief puff of oil smoke at cold start. This is from oil vapor being routed from the engine to the intake and this vapor ends up as oil on the intake manifold walls. What this means is while the engine is running there can be an increase in oil vapor and this vapor being removed from the crankcase and if the air/oil separator is not that efficient -- the oil vapor is not removed and returned as oil back to the crankcase -- this loss of oil vapor is oil consumption. The amount of oil vapor at any one being burned is very small so one almost certainly will not see any oil smoke at other times. At cold start it is visible because the oil on the intake walls will run down and collect on top of a closed intake valve or if the valve is open will drip into the cylinder. Upon cold start combustion is not sufficient to burn all the oil completely and the converters are cold so the unburned oil shows up at the exhaust as bluish/white smoke. (Too early I think for the air/oil separator to be bad but with another car I had to replace the air/oil separator 3 times over 317K miles. The AOS lasted from between 80K to 100K miles. The thing was a wear item. When it failed the engine smoked like a coal power plant. Pic below.) The M2 is scheduled for an early oil/filter service tomorrow. This is my doing not the scheduled break in oil/filter service. I'll bring up the oil consumption and see what the service advisor (or maybe even I'll get a chance to speak to the tech) has to say. However, absent any specific instructions what I'll do is note the oil level before I leave the service drive and then check the oil level periodically and see if the oil consumption stays the same, gets better or gets worse. What it does or doesn't do determines if anything needs doing. As an aside while the pic of the M2 oil level display shows lots of what appears to be dust on the display in real life it is not that bad at all. In fact with the memory of someone commenting on the amount of dust in another pic I posted I was prepared to brush the display off first but really I didn't see any need to dig out the brush. Guess I'll go back to the car and brush off the display then take another pic to see if maybe the camera somehow makes the dust stand out. |
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05-12-2023, 07:55 AM | #19 |
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An update...
May 1st had car in at just over 600 miles for an early oil/filter service.
Checked oil level after service. Was OK and right at the MAX level. Put just over 400 miles on the car since and last night after a 30 mile drive and on the way home stopping and filling the gas tank checked the oil level. The oil level was *unchanged* from what it was right after the oil/filter service. The bit of oil consumption the engine manifested before the ~600 mile oil/filter service has not continued. Oh, and as per the owners manual after 600 miles I'm using 6K RPMs as the break in red line but of course only once the engine is up to full operating temperature. (Oil temperature at/over 200F.) I don't hit 6K before every up shift but I am driving the car a bit more aggressively to complete or at least advance the break in. So it is not like I'm driving the car easy. Best as I can recall this is the first engine of 14 or 15 new vehicles I have driven to break in (most 2000 miles, but a few were 1200 miles) that used any oil during this break in phase. Next week I'll schedule the car to have its post break in oil/filter and diff fluid services done. I'm anxious to see if I can detect any change in performance from the engine after this scheduled post break in service. |
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