Service Engine Soon low oil

[phathom]

So I got the X5 at 121k miles one month ago. I did an oil change on it right away. I filled it up with Mobile 1 full synthetic to the middle of the fill indicator on the dip stick. New filter, crush ring, o-ring, etc.
Between driving in town and now a road trip I'm on, it now has about 124k.
It has driven great, but I just went to the store and on the way back to our in-laws, the service engine soon light came on. We don't have a lot of things to check on these without a code reader, but I did check the gas cap and the oil level. The oil is only up to the ball on the end of the dip stick, not the indicator bar itself. With that it looks like down 1 to maybe 2 quarts at most.

I'm obviously going to fill it up with more oil. I looked underneath and didn't see any signs of leaking. When I changed the oil, I degreased and detailed the skid plate so it's spotless. Other than some normal road grime, it looks the same. No oil marks. I don't think I'm leaking, but it's possible, maybe burning a bit. It's about 1.5qts over 3k miles so it's not a fast leak, it could just be consuming some.
Normally in my other cars using conventional oil I would have changed the oil again at 3k miles and normally would see about 1/2-1qt low by that point in all my cars, EXCEPT my E46 I had. That I would run around 10k and have zero consumption.

My question, would the low oil level cause a SES for just that, or possibly low oil pressure? Also is this level of consumption fairly normal for a M54? If not and it is a leak, what is the most likely culprit?

Edit:tried to search, but the search function is broken and throwing 404 errors at the time of posting this.

[RFaber]

most likely cause of "disappearing oil" is the CCV system. it can magically turn oil into smoke! if its plugged it can turn ALOT of oil into a hydrolocked engine, and usually that renders a rather expensive piece or garage art in the form of a destroyed block (or at minimum a bent connecting rod!)
look for the tell tale "mayo" on the inside of the oil fill cap.

[phathom]

Originally Posted by RFaber

most likely cause of "disappearing oil" is the CCV system. it can magically turn oil into smoke! if its plugged it can turn ALOT of oil into a hydrolocked engine, and usually that renders a rather expensive piece or garage art in the form of a destroyed block (or at minimum a bent connecting rod!)
look for the tell tale "mayo" on the inside of the oil fill cap.

Took a pic of the oil cap, definitely had some build up on it. More info on the ccv system? Change pcv valve? Charcoal canister? Only had to deal with a torn pcv boot on my m52 in my e46 that triggered the light, but it didn't eat oil.
Here's the pics.
oil cap. ccv issue? - Album on Imgur

Also, with a ccv issue, will I be good to fill it up with oil, keep an eye on it, and fix it when I get back home? I have about 1k miles to go before I get home. If not, how much of an intensive repair is it? Something I can do on the road, away from my garage?

[Joshdub]

It's a quart low and likely doesn't have anything to do with the SES light.

It could be burning oil from the CCV, or leaking from either the oil filter housing gasket or the valve cover gasket. Those are all common issues on the m54. Also the m54 has been known to be oil hungry. Mine does consume a good amount of oil and I have new gaskets and CCV.

[phathom]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

It's a quart low and likely doesn't have anything to do with the SES light.

It could be burning oil from the CCV, or leaking from either the oil filter housing gasket or the valve cover gasket. Those are all common issues on the m54. Also the m54 has been known to be oil hungry. Mine does consume a good amount of oil and I have new gaskets and CCV.

Brother in law got here. He happened to have a bluetooth obd2 scantool he just got. We scanned it and it's pulling a P1093 code. Precat fuel trim too rich bank 2. Could a richer fuel trim be caused by a malfunctioning ccv system dumping too much oil back into the intake system ?

Edit: I also still have the option to add on a powertrain warranty that covers engine and drivetrain 100% with no deductible and accessory stuff like alternstor, power steering, etc. At 50% with no deductible . I have always done all my work myself, but if this has the potential to turn into a more serious issue, I would be inclined to get the warranty. Any thoughts on this? It's a 3 year warrsnty and would cost me around ~$50/mo, paid up front.

[Riggodeaux]

That code, if accurate, could be something as simple as a dirty MAF. You will find that the emissions systems on M54s generate lots of SES lights, sometimes difficult to diagnose but not hard to fix if you are comfortable servicing your car. I have replaced my O2 sensors, will replace my smog pump [secondary air pump] soon, give a recurring SES light, having already replaced the smog pump valve, etc. And burning a quart or so of oil per 3-4k miles is common - even without the oil filter housing or valve cover gasket leaks. Again, a CCV issue. Whether to buy a warranty [like any insurance] is a personal decision, and dependent on cost, what your copays are in the future, who does the work [honors the warranty], etc. If you are prepared to do regular maintenance and DIY stuff yourself, educated from sites like this, I personally have never seen an 'extended warranty' that made sense. But you need to analyze and decide that yourself.

[tmv]

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...93-code-2.html

Exact same code. Not sure of the same fix.

Originally Posted by Joshdub

It's a quart low and likely doesn't have anything to do with the SES light.

[phathom]

Normally I run seafoam through the gas tank, in the oil right before a change, and through the vacuum booster line as soon as I get a car and once a year thereafter. I just haven't got around to it yet on this. I think it may be worth a shot here if a fuel additive to clean stuff out cleared the code there. I've been meaning to do it anyway.
I'll pick up some seafoam with the oil today and give it a shot. Good point in that thread too. Code only throws for one bank, so not going to be something in the intake stream.
Also this doesn't seem like a huge, brick the engine type issue, so I'll just leave the warranty alone.

[phathom]

Well got oil in it. It took exactly 1qt from the bottom of the stick to max on the indicator. I also remembered that when I filled it during my oil change, it was in my driveway. My driveway has about a 6" elevation change between the front and rear wheels, so when I checked the oil level with the back of the car downhill, it is possible it read higher than it really was. I believe the dipstick picks up from the rear of the pan. With that, it was likely lower than half way on the indicator, where I filled it, when it was done. That said, I don't think I'm going through nearly as much oil as I originally thought. Maybe half a quart per 3k, which seems fine IMO.

I put half a can of seafoam in the gas tank, at half a tank of gas. I also ran the other half through the break booster line. There wasn't a ton of smoke out of it, but a decent amount, kinda what I expect from an engine with 124k on it that likely hasn't been seafoamed before.

I had my BiL clear the check engine light when he read the code. We'll see if it comes back after this.

I've also put about 25 miles on it since resetting the light. All good so far.

Edit: spoke too soon. About 35 miles in and a 10 miles after seafoaming, the light came back. I'll let it run through this tank of gas to get the cleaner through the inectors and reset kt again to see if it helps.

[phathom]

Just wanted to update. I didn't do anything besides drive it about another 50 miles to put about 3 gallons of gas mixed with seafoam through the system so far. The light cleared itself now. It still has about 1/3 tank left that has seafoam in it. I have my drive back home on Sunday. I guess that will be the test if it comes back on or not.