2008 BMW 135i Coupe: Plus One Quart of 5W30 Synthetic

Erin - IL Cars only burn oil when you drive them, I swear :)

Seriously though, 26.2k on this car now. Pretty darn good.

Shouldn't there be insulation under the hood?

Why do the ads for JetDry with the talking/glugging dishwasher come to mind when I read this? (and I'm not saying that this car is a dishwasher)

@lowmilelude, the N54 engine in the 135i has double-VANOS (variable valve timing on intake and exhaust).

ha! the funny thing about this post is the paranoia (probably deserved) that IL bloggers have about covering all the minutia of their photos (i.e. temp gauge), narratives, etc... lest some nitpicker (i'm guilty myself) point out something wrong or odd; post lug nut incident...

@adavis2493,

BMW removed the under-hood pad on many '09 models (1- and 3-Series included) as a cost-cutting measure. :(

I'm at about 12k miles on mine, and I've put in 2 quarts.

^^ typo, I meant '08+. Lack of edit, yet again, FTL.

Hey Erin,

The 5W30 or 5W40 synthetic oil must meet the BMW LL-01 standard. The Castrol Syntec 5w-30 does not fulfill that requirement.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/SyntheticEngineOils.aspx

dipstick? we don't need any stinking dipsticks!

Hey Erin,

The synthetic oil must also meet the BMW LL-01 standard. Castrol Syntec 5w-30 does not fulfill this requirement.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/SyntheticEngineOils.aspx

@sodaguy: Although 5W30 Castrol Syntec is not specifically listed as an approved oil on the URL you posted, I think I made a safe and reasonable choice for our 135i.

Page 118 of the owner's manual says, "If BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil is not available, you can add small quantities of other synthetic oil between oil changes. Only use oils with the API SM specification or higher."

The text does *not* say that this "other synthetic oil" must be on BMW's list of approved synthetic oils.

And after the list of approved oils on the link you included, it says, "Use only oils with an API rating of SM or higher," which to me implies that oils other than those listed may be acceptable as well.

The Castrol Syntec 5W30 has that minimum API SM rating, is the correct viscosity, and isn't specifically disallowed by BMW (either in the manual or on the BMW USA link), so I have to think that it is safe to put in a measly quart of it between oil changes.

--Erin Riches

@sodaguy: However, you are right that BMW USA would probably not condone my choice in oil, because the website does have slightly different language than the owner's manual.

This line, in particular is troublesome: "If you need to add oil between oil changes and BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil is unavailable, you may top up the oil level with one of the following approved synthetic oils."

Now it doesn't say you may use ONLY these approved oils, but the inconsistency between the language here and the language in the owner's manual does cast doubt, doesn't it? The owner's manual does refer you to the BMW USA website, you see, but it does *not* stipulate that you *must* visit the site to see which oils are approved for use in the 1 Series.

Thnx for the info bimmerjay.

I asked because my experience has been that mechanics and enthusiasts alike always faulted the VVT for burning oil. Something about the longer cam duration allowing seepage past the seals or some such.

It never bothered me much. If you want to make an omelette...

"Erin - IL Cars only burn oil when you drive them, I swear :)"

It would be interesting to research which staffers lodge which complaints frequently. Maybe Erin is the only one who pays attention to the oil? Maybe some staffer is way more sensitive to squeaks than the others? This could be a cool project for one day when I'm really, really bored.

"I'm at about 12k miles on mine, and I've put in 2 quarts."

That seems odd to me. I haven't had a car since the 80's that required adding oil between changes.

You actually want the Castrol Syntec 0W-30 "European Formula" ... the stuff the oil geeks call "GC" (aka German Castrol or Green Castrol).

It's LL01 certified and ACEA A3 certified , etc., etc. and you can find in most Autozones. At least I can in socal.

The good thing about BMW's website versus, for example, Audi's is that you can actually find the listing of approved oils. I've searched Audi USA a dozen times and come up empty.

I just had my first oil change on my 335cic, 370 days of ownership, 4,800 miles, oil check registered at the full mark before the changeout. My previous 335i sedan used a half quart of oil every 10K miles. Seems ok to me.

brn: I drive mine largely for pleasure, as it is not a daily commuter/driver. In fact, there are times where, aside from the occasional grocery store run, it gets no "normal" driving at all. In short, when it does see the road, it is flogged.

Our local BMW dealer uses Castrol Synthetic for oil change services - it spells it out right on the "invoice" (no charge - of course :-) ).

I continue to be shocked that just about every car Edmund's owns burns oil like this. I've owned five different cars, with as many as 186,000 miles and never had a car burn a drop of oil, nor have any engine problems. I would love to see Edmunds research it's long term cars and provide a summary of all the cars and the oil they burned or didn't burn.

"I've owned five different cars, with as many as 186,000 miles and never had a car burn a drop of oil"

That's impossible, have you measured the exact quantity coming out of the engine when you change the oil? All engines will lose some oil to evaporation and even the tightest engine will burn SOME oil. I've never had a car that didn't lose some oil between changes. BMWs and other cars that go 10-15k miles between changes will exaggerate the natural oil loss that wouldn't be nearly as noticeable with 3-5k mile or even 7.5k mile intervals.

A direct injected engine needing a bit of oil is not unheard of. Audi DI V8s have this problem in particular. Iam actually surprised this car hasn't asked for oil more often.

'88 thunderbird turbo coupe - Burned oil
'97 Jeep wrangler - Burned about .25 quarts every 3000 miles
'94 eagle talon - Did not burn oil
'95 volvo 850 turbo - burned a bit of oil
'05 Saab 9-2x Aero - burned a little oil
'06 Civic SI - Burns the most oil
'03 Saturn Ion - Did not burn oil
'08 Subaru Legacy GT - No noticeable oil burn

8 cars, 3 did not burn any noticeable oil with 3-5k oil changes.

Joe

CaptainChaos, so you're saying I shouldn't come to you when looking for a used car? :)

"@sodaguy: Although 5W30 Castrol Syntec is not specifically listed as an approved oil on the URL you posted, I think I made a safe and reasonable choice for our 135i."

I would disagree. A safe and reasonable choice would be to understand that oil weight has absolutely no meaning at all. It is purely marketing. The only thing European manufacturers (and car owners) consider important is approval. Those strange symbols like VAG 505.01, MB 229.51 and BMW LL-01.

Did you know that 5W-30 oil outside on North America is more like 10W-40 or 15W-40 oil in North America? It used to be exceedingly rare in Europe, too. There is a new wave of 5W-30 oils for newer European cars that started to appear due to more stringent emissions rules like Euro-3 and Euro-4. It used to be that the 5W-30 was impossible to find and 10W-30 was cheap heavy oil for very old cars (more like 20W-50 in your neighborhood Wal-Mart). Motor oil market outside of North America is very different. The most important thing to understand is that if you have a European car, forget about oil weight. Pay attention to manufacturer approval listed on the bottle -- nothing else. NOTHING. Synthetic, synthetic blend, conventional -- does not matter. All this is marketing and has no real meaning. If your car requires BMW LL-01, that's what you should look for.

Too bad BMW USA does not make an effort to make this abundantly clear.

1973 BMW Bavaria- 3.0 1 qt./1500 miles
1975 BMW 2002A- we'll see...
1984 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe- 1qt./3000 miles
1987 Merkur Scorpio- did not burn oil
1987 BMW 535is- 1 qt./3500 miles
1988 BMW M6- burned oil above 3500 rpm(primarily on the track and above 80 mph cruise)
1991 Volvo 740 Turbo- did not burn oil
1993 Nissan Pathfinder SE- did not burn oil
1995 BMW 318ti- 1 qt./2500 miles
1997 BMW 528iA- .5 qt/8,000 miles
1998 BMW 318ti- did not burn oil
1999 Jeep Wrangler- does not burn oil
2004 BMW X3 2.5- does not burn oil
2007 Mazdaspeed 3- does not burn oil