Bizarre oil consumption. Ideas?

Hello all! I bought a 1990 535iA 1.5 months ago with 130K miles (already has 136K :uhoh: ). I wonder if anyone has an opinion about two things:

First, the temperature gauge stays glued dead-center when the car is running. It does gradually "warm up" when you first start the car, but it then stays centered between hot and cold for the rest of the time spent driving, regardless of outside temperature, driving speed, A/C usage, etc. Does this sound normal, or should the gauge fluctuate more?

Second, I brought the car to get an oil change right after I bought it. The mechanic is a very reputable independent shop that has been around for a while, and the owner has five BMW's. (He also has the equipment to reset the oil service lights, which work normally in my car). He used genuine BMW oil (though not synthetic) and charged me $130, including the light reset. Also assured me that, with BMW oil and attention to the service lights, the oil generally does not need to be changed more frequently than 7500 miles on average.

A couple days ago, I drove up to Canada for the hell of it (I live in Maryland and was looking for an excuse to drive the car!), and, en route, the dash LED readout said "engine oil low". I thought it odd, because I'd checked the level a few days before and it was fine. Anyway, I added a quart and continued on.

I parked the car overnight in Canada for 10 hours, and saw no puddles whatsoever in the morning. Nevertheless, on the way home, the car again alerted me that the oil level was low. I checked, and this was in fact the case. This was about 1,000 miles after the first instance.

I have heard that M30 engines are oil consumers, but I'm about 4,000 miles out from the original oil change, and three (of 5) oil service LEDs are still remaining. During the previous 3,000 miles, there were no such occurences. Only difference is that on that trip I maintained continuous speeds of 75-85 mph for hours at a time. By the way, the exhaust is normal and does not smoke or anything.

Any ides? (And sorry this post is so long! :banghead: )

hey csieminski, a couple of ideas. on the temp problem, it is ABNORMAL, i suspect a thermostat problem [very common on M-20' & M-30's] if it hasn't been removed trying to 'fix' another problem they actually break and stick open, never allowing full op. temps. on the oil 'consumption' condition. the mileage is quite low for a valve seal or valve guide problem though not unheard of AND @ 75-85 mph the engine is still just 'loping' along, there's a chance too lght an oil was used during that $130 'oil change' [sounds real high to me for just an oil & filter change] also 'genuine BMW' oil while specifically 'formulated' copyright reasons isn't really different from any other high quality oil you can purchase [they're all blended by the major oil companies] a 5W-30 weight oil is on the 'light' side for an M-30 engine and 1,000 miles per quart [while not great] doesn't justify repairs. i'd recommend you return to your technician and discuss the situation and the fact you have no real oil consumption history for the car. I recommend a high quality 15W40 oil, esp. in the summer.

Thanks so much for those suggestions!

The two quarts I've added so far have been 10W-30, so I'll try 15W-40 if the oil gets low again. I did not drive the car at all yesterday, and when I went out this morning, there was absolutely NOTHING under the car, so the oil must be getting burned. The car hasn't complained since I was up in Boston.

I thought $130 was really steep for an oil change also, but this mechanic pointed out that dealers charge $180 for oil changes (I don't know if this is true or not), and $175 for just resetting the lights if you get the oil changed somewhere else. Plus, if the interval really is 7500 miles, it would average out to be almost as inexpensive as normal oil changes every 3,000-4,000 miles.

7,500 miles seems awfully long to me (528e oil was changed every 4,000, and Acura oil every 3,000). Is it bad for the engine at all?

Also the guy at the dealership from which I bought the car owns an immaculate '97 540i 6-speed, and he recommended I use synthetic because it's so much better and that's what he uses. My mechanic poo-poohed that idea. What do you think? By the way, thanks for all your advice!

As far as pricing goes, no matter where it's done, $130 for just an oil and filter is HIGH, S.I. reset or not!, an 'oil service' if properly done [say at the dealer] is a little more. you should receive a check sheet showing the results of a fairly thorough visual inspection of the car, but that's the only real difference and since most quality shops do this anyway to find, if nothing else, possible 'up-sell' opportunities or imminent problems [like serious oil leaks, etc.], the additional charge should only be nominal in my opinion. further, in my humble opinion, 7,500 is far to long an interval unless the car is ONLY and i mean ONLY highway driven [which is quite impossible]. the 3-4K period is excellent for oil changes and although fuel management and oils have improved the last decade, the advertised 'service intervals' are ALL AN ADVERTISING WAR between the manufacturers. they're all doing this and have been at it for 20 years, longer and longer. have you ever tried to get the sparkplugs out of an engine with 100K on them? i could go on & on and may post something in the future. Synthetics are required on +'99 BMW's due to the extended service interval and do quite well [no much emperical stats yet though] but if you change your oil EVERY 3-4 K, quality mineral oils will keep the internals nicely clean..................jb.

Yes, well he does a visual inspection of the various vital components of the car, but I did find the $130 difficult to rationalize, as you said. I looked hard to find a good BMW mechanic after I bought this car, and figured an oil change would be a great way to see how he dealt w/me and the car. In my usual meek fashion, I did not ask about the price before the oil service was performed :rolleyes: . So far only one has been performed.

You appear to represent the voice of reason!--3K-4K sounds much more appropriate--but if I bring the car to him that often and pay $130 each time...

If I take the car somewhere else (or, god forbid, do the oil changes myself), I'll then have to stare at the pesky service lights--or ignore them since they only come on when the car is started.

He also replaced my front brake rotors and pads (so the car would pass state inspection) at $635 parts/labor [about $80/hr]. Sounds fair to me. Overall I think he's a good guy and definitely knows his stuff. A good BMW mechanic seems hard to find, even (especially?) in the Washington, D.C. area.

I'd stick with him for now but, perhaps next time, get an estimate first to show your also concerned with a fair price......sounds like he'll give you what you pay for which CAN BE very hard to find anywhere.............jb.

Yes, that's true--thanks.