I have had a series of BMWs, E28 525e, E28 M535i, E32 730i, E34 525i, E34 540i, E38 740i, Z1, and none of them have ever used any oil between services; even with mileages of 150,000 plus on the clock.

I now get an 2001 E39 M5 with 48,000 on the clock and find it uses a litre of SLX 0w-30 every 2,500 miles or so, even when cruising on the motorways.  Why??? - since the S62 engine is a derivative of the M60/M62 which uses no oil at all.

Is there a technical reason, or is the motor knackered??

STEPHEN B

Thanks for the comments so far.  I'm beginning to think mine's not all that bad for oil consumption then!!!.

What is clear though is the diversity of views on the correct oil to use!  After much badgering, BMW GB has last week finally clarified the oil issue for the S62 engine thus:-

E39 M5 up to and including Feb 2000 production - Castrol TWS 10w-60;

From March 2000 production - Castrol SLX 0w-30.

I presume the same applies to the Z8 which has the same engine.

I don't know what changed in Feb/March 2000 (less rattley Vanos??), because the face lift (angel eyes etc) wasn't until 2001 model year.  My M5 has the extended service intervals - 15,000 or more between services, and so needs the Longlife LL-01 oil (SLX or equivalent), wheras the TWS is not a longlife oil and is not recommended to last as long as 15,000 miles.

Maybe Feb 2000 and earlier M5s had more frequent service intervals.  If any other owners are able to verify this, I would be most interested.

Lastly - the Oilman who advises on the General Forum is a mine of common sense about oil as well as a source of competitively priced good quality stuff!  I now buy all my oil for my 4 BMWs from him and I am noticing the improvement by moving from Semi- to Fully Synthetic on my older cars.  He's worth a visit!!

Hope to hear from more members - I'm still a Newbie so learning all the time from the vast amount of experience and knowledge of other club members.

All the best.

STEPHEN B

Hi J7,

Your E34 has 3 times the mileage of mine and uses about half the oil my E39 does (a litre being about 2 pints)!

I seem to recall that the owner's manual states Maximum acceptable oil consumption, not what you should expect!  It quotes something like 1.5 litres to 1,000 km (1 litre per 416 miles) or something ridiculous like that!!

Is there a technical reason for this high oil consumption compared to other BMWs?

Anyone know what the known problem with the S62 engine is, as per PJSM3's post?

I have looked at the unofficial M5 board and apart form on or two isolated failures, the engine seems to be pretty bombproof.  It should be though, being based on the well tried M62 4.4 litre V8!

It seems that in March 2000 the pistons and rings in the S62 were changed to allow the use of the high performance, longlife Castrol SLX 0w-30 FS oil; hence the change in BMW's recommendation of TWS 10-60 to SLX 0w-30 for all post March 2000 M5s.

Regards

STEPHEN B