Is It Okay For Your BMW to Consume Excess Oil In Bellingham?

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Carson Wileman

If your BMW is consuming more oil than it needs to, then you have a problem. Today we’re going to talk about a few existing conditions that can lead to over-consumption of oil (and potentially worse down the line!).

Let’s take a look at these issues and what needs to be done to get your BMW back to performing at its best!

Valve Stem Seals

One common issue that we see at Mint Automotive is valve stem seals that have been compromised. It makes sense when you know about valve stem seals. What they are is essentially O-rings, but made of rubber instead of metal, and they’re designed to keep oil out of your engine’s combustion chamber.

A high performance vehicle like your BMW is going to have a lot of heat and vibration in the engine, and so the valve stem seals need to be checked regularly to ensure that they are always up to the task. If this is ignored, oil can end up traveling all the way to your exhaust pipes and then they’ll need to be removed and drained. Otherwise, your car might start smoking and you definitely don’t want that!

Get The Piston Rings Tested

One of the most common reasons for a suddenly oil-hungry BMW is your piston rings. Designed so that they will seal combustion pressure gasses in order to use that pressure with your pistons, thus turning the crankshaft, they are under a tremendous amount of heat and pressure.

Wear and tear can damage them or completely ‘fry’ them out and that rapid use of oil is the first symptom you’ll see. Thankfully, a quick test can determine if this is the issue and you can get it fixed before it gets worse and your BMW starts shuddering or even completely stalling out!

The Gasket Might Be Cracked

Internal combustion engines utilize a number of different gaskets, although the most important are your head, manifold, and valve cover gaskets. That’s because if any of these gaskets become cracked or otherwise compromised, coolant and oil can start ending up in your engine’s combustion chamber.

When that happens, you’ll start running out of oil and coolant with a quickness and if this is not addressed, the damage to your engine could be catastrophic. Check your coolant levels along with your oil to see if both are affected – if they’re both draining, then a cracked gasket is the likely culprit.

Check The Crankcase Emission Control System

Your crankcase emission control system functions as a ventilation system that helps to ease the pressure on your intake manifold. This, in turn, prevents those gasses from building up too much and compromising valves and seals in your engine.

Higher oil consumption is the first sign of this and it’s something that needs to be addressed right away. With the building pressure, the potential for multiple valves and seals becoming compromised is raised and should it become too much, the damage to your high-performance engine could be immense.

BMW’s aren’t just chosen for their good looks – these are sophisticated, performance-driven machines, and whenever fluid consumption issues arise you’ll want to get them looked at immediately by someone who knows BMWs like Mint Automotive of Bellingham, WA.

While a ‘general-knowledge’ mechanic somewhere else might identify the issue, without an intimate familiarity with how BMWs are designed that’s not something that you want to gamble on.

At Mint Automotive, German-Engineered Vehicles Are All We Do!

At Mint Automotive we specialize in BMWs and other fine German vehicles, such as Audis, Minis, Mercedes, and Volkswagens. German-engineered vehicles are designed for precision and power, and they have a lot of working parts that need to be maintained in order to give you that legendary performance that these vehicles are known for.

At Mint Automotive, we deal with BMWs and other German-engineered vehicles day in and day out, which means that you have your specialized expertise at your disposal for repair work and preventative maintenance that is custom-fit for your BMW’s exact requirements.

Contact us or come in today and you can see what a difference it makes to have specialists on your side who know your vehicle and exactly what it needs to run at its best.

* White BMW E92 M3 Car image credit goes to: Brandon Woyshnis.