Definition of a short trip?
 

With apologies to John Mellencamp…

I am living in a small town. So small that your average trip “across town” is 5 miles.

When I first moved here, I was staying 3 miles from work – not far enough to let the car warm up; so I moved another 4 miles further away.

7 miles is just enough distance to get the temperature indicator to the center of the gauge.

So, how short is too short a drive?
How far do you have to drive to avoid crankcase ventilation problems?
And if you can’t avoid the short trips, what do you need to look for as a sign that your engine is in mortal danger?:stickpoke

Just make sure that in among all those 7 miles drives, you get it on the highway occasionally and get it hot, keeping it there for awhile. Continuous short trips are the death of any car, it just costs more to fix when it is a BMW.

A white solid (like petroleum jelly) under the oil filler cap is a good sign that it isn't boiling off the moisture.