BMW 316 leaking oil, about 1 litre every 2 weeks

V8 BMW engine 4.4L and 4.8L have a common problem in drying after burning the valve steam seals in cylinder head, witch cause internal oil leak from the valves to the top of the pistons then the oil burns throw the exhaust valves explain the smoke from the tail pipe.
the issue will continue and will get worse with time until you replace the valve steam seals, $1500-$2500 mostly in labor, a BMW mechanic most have a special tool to do the job with out removing the cylinder heads, it's time consuming.

Common oil leaks on a 3 series are:
1) Power steering hoses. If you have not yet replaced any power steering hoses on a 2002 I can almost promise you that one or more of them are leaking.
2) Valve cover gasket. Same comment as above. This tends to leak on the exhaust manifold side and stink like burned plastic as the synthetic oil burns on the manifold.
3) Oil line to the VANOS.
4) Oil filter housing.
Oil from any of these leaks will tend to move rearward as it makes its way to the ground.

good day, you may have problem on your valve cover gasket, you may need to buy a new one for you to prolonged the engine life. hope this helps, have a nice day

might be drain plug washer or could be a leak from higher up the engine. get it cleaned off using some gunk remover and low pressure hose then watch for easier indication of actual leak.

if there no leaks , now those older excels had problems with the rear main seals leaking with high milage, but you will see it under the car. also bad valve seals will cause a large oil consumption issue,but often you will see blue/ white smoke out the tailpipe esp on start up.

hi, this consumption seems high, i would take it to a dealer and ask them to check the oil sensor.......
P.S. is there a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust, if so, it may be burning a little oil, ask dealer to check it

hello there

The problem is with the gear oil. To keep ahead of the rest BMW started what they call life time oil for their gear boxes, though that sounds great it doesn't really work in reality, they have now gone back to recommending a gear oil change every 60k miles.

In short you need to change your gear oil and soon, the oil in your gear box is no longer effective and will damage the gear box. You'll need about 5 litres for your car and costs around £15 a litre, expensive stuff!! I had the same problem with my 328i auto, the dealer was clueless and kept quoting the lifetime oil, I changed the oil and the problem has gone and it's so much smoother.

Hope this helps, please don't forget to rate me.

Take it to a service center and have them put it o o lift and check it out.

Hi, it doesn't sound like you have a problem as BMW's can use up to 1 litre of oil per 1000 kilometers, are you using the correct grade of oil?
it should be 5 W 30 fully synthetic

Look for Castrol TWS 10W60 Motor Oil. This car should not burn so much oil, you need to use a different kind. It is recommended by BMW as well. I also heard the VANOS isnt an issue anymore, can be fixed with a different MAFF. Good luck!