[thenew3]

Originally Posted by Opie55

That's a nutty price. At the dealer in Denver is like $11 - and that's too much. I wonder why they give 5W30 here and 0W20 there.

Dealer goes by what the manual and the sticker under the hood says.

[richardodn]

In the US and most other regions
LL-01 and LL-01 FE are specified for the N52 and N55.
LL-01, LL-01 FE, & LL-17 FE+ are specified for the N20.
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...engine/1PSryV8

The FE versions are Fuel Economy versions and are typically lower viscosity oils. All the LL-01 FE approved oils are 0W-30. All the LL-17 FE+ are 0W-20. All the LL-01 dealer oils are 5W-30. Aftermarket LL-01 viscosity varies a bit.

It's not surprising the dealer brings out 0W-20 by default for an N20 engine. You can ask for LL-01 5W-30 or LL-01 FE 0W-30. If the dealer won't use those, find another dealer or indie as those are all BMW approved for the N20.

As for the OP's original question about oil consumption, 1 qt/1000 miles is high for a modern, normally aspirated (non-turbo) engine. This may have been allowable in the olden days, but modern engines are built with much better tolerances. As long as there are no leaks, I'd suspect the turbo is burning a bit of oil. I would definitely move to a LL-01 oil to see if that improves consumption. As stated earlier, Wal-Mart carries Castrol EDGE 5W-40 U.S. at $25/5qt. Note this is the U.S. formulation and will show SAE 5W-40 U.S. on the front. On the back should be type approvals including LL-01.

[thenew3]

Originally Posted by richardodn

In the US and most other regions
LL-01 and LL-01 FE are specified for the N52 and N55.
LL-01, LL-01 FE, & LL-17 FE+ are specified for the N20.
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...engine/1PSryV8

The FE versions are Fuel Economy versions and are typically lower viscosity oils. All the LL-01 FE approved oils are 0W-30. All the LL-17 FE+ are 0W-20. All the LL-01 dealer oils are 5W-30. Aftermarket LL-01 viscosity varies a bit.

It's not surprising the dealer brings out 0W-20 by default for an N20 engine. You can ask for LL-01 5W-30 or LL-01 FE 0W-30. If the dealer won't use those, find another dealer or indie as those are all BMW approved for the N20.

As for the OP's original question about oil consumption, 1 qt/1000 miles is high for a modern, normally aspirated (non-turbo) engine. This may have been allowable in the olden days, but modern engines are built with much better tolerances. As long as there are no leaks, I'd suspect the turbo is burning a bit of oil. I would definitely move to a LL-01 oil to see if that improves consumption. As stated earlier, Wal-Mart carries Castrol EDGE 5W-40 U.S. at $25/5qt. Note this is the U.S. formulation and will show SAE 5W-40 U.S. on the front. On the back should be type approvals including LL-01.

Thanks for the info. I do have a turbo engine (N20 2.0T) and have experienced high oil drain/burn in every turbo engine I've ever owned. My other vehicle (MB E350) is naturally aspirated and doesn't burn any oil between changes.

I've spoken to several independent mechanics and all say turbo engines will burn some oil. They don't all agree on what would be considered normal amount though.

The manual does say 1qt every 850 miles or so is considered within their margins.

I had an VW/Audi 2.0T once that would sometimes burn 1qt every 400 miles and at other times not burn any at 6k miles.

I'll see if I can use some higher weight oil in the next service. Hopefully the dealer will agree to using a higher weight oil. It doesn't get very cold or hot here so no real need for a 0W weight oil.

[richardodn]

The dealer (your service adviser) should agree to using an LL-01 oil even if the car is still under warranty as that is an oil approved by BMW. Just tell the adviser that you want an LL-01 oil and that you understand it may have an impact on fuel economy.