Burning Oil/Exhaust Smoke
 

I know the topic of burning oil has been discussed ad nauseum, but I was hoping you could give me direction on my specific situation.

I have a 2005 4.4i non-Sport with 95,000 miles and have been adding oil at the rate of about two quarts per month. That's not a problem; I know these vehicles burn oil. The problem is, for the past several months I have been bowing out white (or blue/white) exhaust in copious amounts, particularly after the car has been idling. I passed mandatory emissions, but it's gotten so bad that strangers have flagged me down at stop lights to let me know how much smoke is coming out of the tailpipe. That has to stop; not only is it embarrassing, but soon the police will pull me over as well.

I know this problem may have a number of different causes, but I'm interested to know what it's likely to cost to diagnose and fix. I don't care if I need to continue to top off the oil; I am concerned only with the visible emissions. I will take it to an independent shop, not the dealer (I cannot DIY). I need to figure out of this is a problem worth fixing or if it's time to move on to a new vehicle. Thanks in advance for any input.

Type the following phrase into a google search box: bmw e53 n62 engine ccv

I believe this is the dreaded Valve Stem issue which happened to me. You can read my posts about it. I was losing oil and after idling, huge plume of exhaust smoke. Had the repair done and its been fine ever since.

valve stem seals... almost 100% guarantee it

Valve stem seals. Been there done that. And my oil consumption was through the roof. 1qt/400Km (1qt/250miles).
And it's not "normal" to for these engines to burn oil. After I tackled the issue, no more smoke, no more burnt oil. Haven't added a drop in almost 7 k miles, which reminds me I have to do an oil change.

Just rub that salt in all of our wounds Doru... not all of us are fortunate enough to have it accomplished. I am only burning 1qt/2000-3000 miles tho.

First, is your idle steady and no choppyness? If so good, that means your ccvs are most likely leak free, but it is a very simple check. Lookup how to access n62 ccv, in a nutshell you just need to remove the plastic engine covers and pop off the plastic caps, inspect the orange rubber for any tears.

Next if you want a cheap and quick fix that costs zero until you figure out you want to sell it or repair...

Disconnect the exhaust vanos connector on the passenger side of the engine (if your standing in front of the car looking at it), it will disable exhaust vanos...

You will lose a mpg or 2 in heavy city driving, but highway is unaffected. It will also lose some tq at low rpm, but not really noticeable and if you mash the pedal all power is there.

Reason for pass side connector is it is easiest to access, take off the 4 clips holding the air intake in the middle under the hood, pull it out and easy to access.

Mine was smoking like yours after i did this i can hot idle the car for 10 minutes and get the smallest amount of smoke. If you pull away very easy on the rpms though you will get none. Before 1-2min and much bigger cloud.

Have the shop do a leakdown test. Should verify if there is a valve seal issue.

Actually it's not that bad of a job. If I would compare it for example to a rear end total suspension overhaul, or front end suspension overhaul (incl control arms, etc), I would rather do the valve stem seals.
The most important thing is to STOP when you're getting tired, because it's more detailed oriented, and small mistakes with big issues could ensue. But the job is not too hard, just lots of stuff to remove and replace afterwards. And I would do the coolant pipe as well while in there, which is almost trivial (did that too, and 1/2 of the front seal was already loose, but I didn't experience coolant loss - matter of time I guess). The point is, many of us did change the valve cover gaskets. To change the stem seals is just one more step, not much stuff has to come off. All you need is the AGA tool set a couple long reach needle nose pliers and a skinny long reach magnet. Compressed air is a plus, but not 100% necessary if you are certain where the TDC is. Actually if you don't know this, you better not attempt the repair, and leave it to a qualified indy.

Cost of Repair/Reccos
 

A sincere thanks to everyone who answered this. The cost of a valve stem replacement is pretty scary. Is there a consensus for a fair price for an indy shop to do this? Anyone with a recommendation for such a shop near Chicago?