Excessive Oil Consumption??

[RenaissanceMan]

(sorry for the long post...)

I have an 05 3.0 with 72k on the odometer. I purchased it with 60k on it. I am experiencing what I consider to be excessive oil consumption, and just wanted to compare notes with folks up here in order to get some feedback.

I am having to add at least a quart every 4-5k miles. This is my 12th BMW, and I have never had oil consumption quite this heavy, even with my M cars... The dealer tells me this is completely normal and within spec, but I am having a hard time believing the engine was built to be this 'loose.' Not surprisingly, the situation seems to worsen when I tow. On my last trip to Road Atlanta (about 300 miles one way for me) a few weeks ago, I topped up the oil before I left, and by the time I got down there the dipstick indicated I was half a quart low. I shared this bit of info with the dealer, as well, and once again I was told this was normal. As the car is CPO only until September, I am growing concerned about the issue and am planning on having them do their 'oil consumption test', which I'm told is just an official way for them to log oil consumption. They did go ahead and tell me though that no 'problem' would be logged as long as the oil consumption was still within spec according to BMW.

Another point worth mentioning; While I was at Road Atlanta, I checked the oil on the paddock and there appeared to be a few pinkish/white tiny bubbles on the tip of the dipstick. Of course, when I saw that, I immediately freaked and assumed I had a leaking head gasket. I called a buddy of mine in Atlanta who is a BMW tech at a dealer there. I described the situation to him, also pointing out the oil consumption issue to him, and his reply was that he had seen that before and I probably burned the oil on the way down towing. He also asked if I made short trips on a regular basis. In fact I do, as my work is only 3.5 miles from my house. He also said that short trips can exacerbate oil consumption, as well... He suggested I just change the oil and continue to monitor after returning home... Nervous the entire time, I ended up driving home after my event and stopped to check the oil every hour or so. Interestingly enough, the bubbles disappeared and I had no apparent oil consumption on the way home. (I drove at night; maybe the low temp kept me from burning as much?) Once I got home I changed the oil and have not seen any bubbles since. My buddy's last suggestion was to get an oil temp gauge for the X5 so I can keep an eye on temps. He also suggested if temps continually get high during towing, invest in an oil cooler...

Anyone else experiencing similar symptoms? Thanks in advance for any feedback.