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BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

5349 messages,  Last post on Apr 30, 2013 at 3:31 PM

You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 530 of 536

#5286 of 5349 Re: 2011 335i sedan problems [steveaccord] by 2thelimit

Feb 25, 2012 (1:40 pm)

Replying to: steveaccord (Feb 21, 2012 4:33 am)
Steve,
Unfortunately I don't have the car as the engine service soon light went on again and I had to take it back to the Dealer again?!?! The Dealer said it was the catalytic converter that had been damaged by the gas flow when the High Pressure Fuel Pump went out. I don't know where to find the production date ? Is it on the inside of driver door stamp? It was not on the window sticker. I will check the driver door when I get the car back. I leased it in December of 2010 so I imagine the production is November of 2010 but I will confirm once you tell me where to look. The window sticker says Engine and transmission are from Germany and Final Assemble in Rosslyn South Africa. Thank you very much for any help

#5287 of 5349 2006 BMWi, my radio kaputt by lehrer1

Apr 01, 2012 (8:42 pm)

2006 BMWi with 6000 miles on it. My radio is kaputt . What a shame! The screen lights up but it is blank. What is the price to fix the radio?
Best regards, Lehrer

#5288 of 5349 Re: 2006 BMWi, my radio kaputt [lehrer1] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Apr 02, 2012 (3:03 pm)

Replying to: lehrer1 (Apr 01, 2012 8:42 pm)
Might be a good opportunity to upgrade rather than repair the old one. Probably you'll have to pay a good car audio shop a "bench fee" to pull it and test it, and then give you an estimate for repair versus replacement. If your old one doesn't have ipod and USB inputs, maybe it would be worth it for you?

#5290 of 5349 Re: BMW 330xi oil change [ilovebeemers] by steveybarn

Apr 17, 2012 (7:19 pm)

Replying to: ilovebeemers (Oct 06, 2008 7:27 pm)
If you need a better visual, here is my mechanic's site and they have a video on a 3 series BMW Oil Change. They are super skilled and have a lot of great maintenance tips for European vehicles.

#5291 of 5349 Oil consumption by idoc2

May 19, 2012 (7:07 pm)

My 2007 328xi with 111,000 miles is now consuming about a quart of oil every 4,000 miles. When new it consumed about a quart every 8,000 miles. I have always changed my own oil every 7,500-8,000 miles using BMW filters and BMW oil purchased from the dealer. Is this degree of oil consumption common for a car of this age? What are the future implications?

#5292 of 5349 Re: Oil consumption [idoc2] by roadburner

May 19, 2012 (8:08 pm)

Replying to: idoc2 (May 19, 2012 7:07 pm)
Relax; 4,000 miles per quart is nothing to worry about. My 1995 3er has consumed one quart every 2,500-3,000 miles since new. At 130,000 miles it runs strong and smooth. and used oil analysis backs up my subjective evaluation.
I suspect the transfer case will die long before the engine- especially if the TC oil has never been changed.

#5293 of 5349 Re: Oil consumption [idoc2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 20, 2012 (9:16 am)

Replying to: idoc2 (May 19, 2012 7:07 pm)
Not a problem--perhaps even good for your engine.

#5294 of 5349 Re: Oil consumption [Mr_Shiftright] by idoc2

May 22, 2012 (10:23 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (May 20, 2012 9:16 am)
It seems to me that when oil is increasingly consumed or burned it implies piston ring or cylinder wall wear. Its hard to imagine how oil getting around the cylinder heads into the combustion chamber can be a good thing. With that said, my BMW dealer claims that unless a car is using more than a quart per 750 miles(yes one quart per two tanks of gas! - are we talking a two stroke or what?) it is within what BMW considers an acceptable limit. Sounds like CYA nonsense!

#5295 of 5349 Re: Oil consumption [idoc2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 22, 2012 (3:17 pm)

Replying to: idoc2 (May 22, 2012 10:23 am)
A small amount of oil lubricating the valve head and stem (upper combustion area) can be a good thing, yes.
 
Oil loss isn't necessarily due to engine wear. You could have some problem with your "oil separator" (fancy name for a PCV valve, which under certain circumstances, and with certain cars, can allow oil to be sucked into the intake manifold. Porsche Boxsters are notorious for this failure.
 
However, given the tiny amount of oil you are consuming, I wouldn't give it a second thought. If you find, over time, that consumption keeps dropping and dropping, then you should pay more attention--but even then, unless your consumption is even a quart every 2500 miles--the engine will run forever like that.
 
One quart every 750 miles seems extreme. I wouldn't be happy with that, either.
 
But a little oil burning is more than okay. When you see a product called "upper cylinder lubricant", that's actually oil that you add to the gas tank---for upper cylinder lubrication.
 
Modern engines don't really need it, but it can't hurt in those miniscule amounts IMO.

Messages Page 530 of 536

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