[wotnot]

My 11 month old car with just 7.9k miles is requesting a top up of 1 litre engine oil at minimum. Is this normal considering the car shows first service is due in 4200 miles or 09/15 whichever comes first?

I am aware short journeys do impact on the service cycle as the car has never done any motorway miles only short journeys within London, however the idea of topping up engine oil before service baffles me…

[teaston]

What engine is it?

Mines done 11k in 5 months and the fancy idrive oil level test (which takes fookin ages to complete!) says it's still full to the brim!

[Tengocity]

Sounds likes your engine is getting a tough life if it's needing an oil service at 12k mikes. Most will go to high teens before needing one. Under those circumstances, presumably lots of short drives on a cold engine, then using a bit of oil is no big deal.
If you have a service pack then the dealer will top you up for free.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by teaston

What engine is it?

Mines done 11k in 5 months and the fancy idrive oil level test (which takes fookin ages to complete!) says it's still full to the brim!

Ditto taking like foreva.

It's simpler just popping the bonnet - that and I so don't trust self monitoring systems that much

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Ditto taking like foreva.

It's simpler just popping the bonnet - that and I so don't trust self monitoring systems that much

Our cars don't have a dipstick though do they?

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by teaston

Our cars don't have a dipstick though do they?

Well there is a thing that pulls out

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Well there is a thing that pulls out

Wow this is a revelation! It says nothing about that in the manual!

[wotnot]

It's a 2.0i engine.

I got an all inclusive free 5yrs BMW warranty/service pack including tyre and windscreen cover, so maintenance cost doesn't bother me now. But I'm worried this short mileage oil top up could turn out to be an expensive frequent visit to the dealer once the warranty is up.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by wotnot

It's a 2.0i engine.

I got an all inclusive free 5yrs BMW warranty/service pack including tyre and windscreen cover, so maintenance cost doesn't bother me now. But I'm worried this short mileage oil top up could turn out to be an expensive frequent visit to the dealer once the warranty is up.

Either find a good independent, do it yourself, or equally look at how you are driving the car.

Or get a 328i

Changing your driving can add extra miles to your oil changes.

Admittedly I do prefer annual oil & filter changes.

[DickieGibbo]

Originally Posted by wotnot

My 11 month old car with just 7.9k miles is requesting a top up of 1 litre engine oil at minimum. Is this normal considering the car shows first service is due in 4200 miles or 09/15 whichever comes first?

I am aware short journeys do impact on the service cycle as the car has never done any motorway miles only short journeys within London, however the idea of topping up engine oil before service baffles me…

Mine had done 17200 and not had an oil warning. Not had first service yet either. Booked in though.

Maybe a faulty sensor?

Dickie

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by DickieGibbo

Mine had done 17200 and not had an oil warning. Not had first service yet either. Booked in though.

Maybe a faulty sensor?

Dickie

Or run in slowly and stop start journeys.

[bmnut]

My 435i required a one litre top up at 8000miles, which I'm happy is quite normal. Mate of mine has my old E46 330Ci (now with about 70k on the clock), it runs perfectly yet still persists in requiring a litre of oil about every 7000 miles or so....does a lot of short journeys all year long mind you!

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by wotnot

My 11 month old car with just 7.9k miles is requesting a top up of 1 litre engine oil at minimum. Is this normal considering the car shows first service is due in 4200 miles or 09/15 whichever comes first?

I am aware short journeys do impact on the service cycle as the car has never done any motorway miles only short journeys within London, however the idea of topping up engine oil before service baffles me

Why would the thought of topping up the oil baffle you? Don't you expect an engine to use some oil? Especially when it's new and still bedding in and you state you do short journeys in London which I'm guessing means you aren't getting above 50mph and it's all stop/start driving?

I'd be more baffled if it HADN'T used oil in that time..

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

Why would the thought of topping up the oil baffle you? Don't you expect an engine to use some oil? Especially when it's new and still bedding in and you state you do short journeys in London which I'm guessing means you aren't getting above 50mph and it's all stop/start driving?

I'd be more baffled if it HADN'T used oil in that time..

+1
Engines use oil, it's what they do.

Some more than others, there is also the fact for short journeys, when it does do a dpf clean you end up 'diluting' the oil.

If you do lots of short and not fast journeys - carry out regular oil changes.

Also don't just rely on the on board check system.

Manual checking the oil can tell you more information.

[davethefish]

Originally Posted by wotnot

It's a 2.0i engine.

I got an all inclusive free 5yrs BMW warranty/service pack including tyre and windscreen cover, so maintenance cost doesn't bother me now. But I'm worried this short mileage oil top up could turn out to be an expensive frequent visit to the dealer once the warranty is up.

my 2.0i doesn't use much oil,
no top ups needed so far between services... currently at 20k
i have the 5 year service inclusive too, btw oil top ups are free...

i don't trust electronic based oil level sensors either.
and i don't think my engine has a dipstick... think that would be 6 pots only?

[johno]

Originally Posted by davethefish

my 2.0i doesn't use much oil,
no top ups needed so far between services... currently at 20k
i have the 5 year service inclusive too, btw oil top ups are free...

i don't trust electronic based oil level sensors either.
and i don't think my engine has a dipstick... think that would be 6 pots only?

I can't find one on mine either, maybe it's diesel only.

[Carjack]

Originally Posted by wotnot

It's a 2.0i engine.

I got an all inclusive free 5yrs BMW warranty/service pack including tyre and windscreen cover, so maintenance cost doesn't bother me now. But I'm worried this short mileage oil top up could turn out to be an expensive frequent visit to the dealer once the warranty is up.

I had an E90 320i engine for 3 years and I suppose over that time I topped up with rather more than 2 litres of oil. But no worries, its a nice engine and what's a few litres of oil on a good BME motor that costs thousands?
You should have stuck to your Ford man!
My current F30 320D is now 2 years old and I hav'nt topped up once. I put that down to the fact it has no valve guides etc to lubricate.
With a petrol engine I always like the fact that they use oil and that must be a good thing!

[Deimos]

omg a dipstick, definately going to check that out later, sad but i am a little bit excited by this

[shane_hants]

Just top it up yourself. God knows why you would go to a dealer for this. Even if I had a service plan, I would top it up myself to save the hassle of driving in and booking the car in. It's a 2 min job.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by DickieGibbo

Mine had done 17200 and not had an oil warning. Not had first service yet either. ....

We can check the oil level status via iDrive, so no need to wait for a warning to know if the engine is consuming oil or not.

HighlandPete

[HighlandPete]

I'm a bit surprised by the comments that it takes forever to get a oil level reading.

Don't you guys wait until the engine is running hot and THEN check it, it is immediately displayed as soon as you select the menu.

Doesn't check when cold, so that is why you are waiting.

HighlandPete

[HighlandPete]

BTW, N55 petrol engine doesn't have a dipstick.

HighlandPete