Oil burning above normal in BMW 3 – what is the reason?

BMW driver question

I am an importer of cars and I have a problem with one customer who bought a BMW 3 from me. Namely, the customer claims that the car burned 1 l / 1000 km of oil. The car has been used since 2007.

I have read that the oil burning norm for this engine new is 0.7 l / 1000 km. So what could be the oil burning norm of this engine used for about 13 years already?

The problem was with a BMW 3 E91 with a 129 hp N46B20 2.0 gasoline engine, but it may also occur in other models.

Response from BM Cars website

BMW does not officially publish oil consumption standards for individual models. In N46 gasoline engines, the problem of oil consumption is well known and still not solved by design. The manufacturer recommends in cases of consumption of more than 1 liter of oil per 1,000 km to assess the technical condition of the engine – measuring compression, checking for leaks.

In cases where there are no leaks and the compression is correct (above 13 bar), it is recommended to replace the valve seals and scraper rings. However, given the age of the vehicle and its probable mileage, the condition of this engine will not indicate that the above repair measures should be taken. Then, for economic reasons, the only thing left is to replace the engine with another used one.

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