High oil consumption in BMW – what is the reason and what is the norm?
BMW driver question
After changing the oil in the engine, I use Castrol 5W-30, I drove about 3 thousand kilometers. Then I added 1 liter and drove the car another 3 thousand kilometers. On the dipstick, the minimum appeared again. I checked the engine and there are no leaks there. My vehicle has a working DPF filter, the exhaust is clean, no smoke while driving. No DPF clogging message is displayed yet, which I’m worried about because I drive a lot in city traffic. I have not found any symptoms of strange engine behavior. What could be the cause of such high oil consumption?
The problem affected a BMW 318D with a 2.0-liter, 122-hp diesel engine, but it can also happen in other models.
BMW 318d Touring | By Eselsmann™[CC BY 2.0]
Response from BM Cars service
The problem of excessive oil consumption is very complex. Consumption at the level of 2. liters at a distance of about 6 thousand kilometers is excessive and rare in this engine. You should carefully check for possible oil leaks and traces of oil in the air intake and charge system.
In 2.0-liter diesel engines, most often there is wear of the air cleaner and oil entering the intake manifold and intake system. Sometimes, oil appears in the air charge system due to excessive wear of the turbocharger. When this happens, the engine burns the oil that appears there, but due to the small amounts of oil, the engine will not smoke. Premature clogging of the DPF may then occur.
It is also necessary to check the intake system and the condition of the turbine.
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Castrol 5W-30 oil | © Castrol Limited
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Example of a turbocharged engine in a BMW 740i | By 根川孝太郎 [CC BY-SA 4.0]
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