Oil consumption '06 BMW 530, when does the light come on?

[X72]

Agree with windnsea00. Just pick up a quart of the BMW motor oil and add it. Just look at the owner's manual to know what amount to add when that indicator light turns on. We have an 03 E320 with about 61k miles. At first, I was doing a mid-cycle oil change. But a UOA I did has made me trust the oil life monitor. Here is my UOA ( I apologize for the wide margins). http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003217 Some of the MB models don't have a dipstick just like BMW. You can buy a dipstick, which is more like a measuring tool. The car has a dipstick tube that is used to suction the oil out through. I also agree with Bryanccfshr; what you owners of older BMW's thinking of moving into a one of these newer cars should be afraid of is the not the engine being sludged up, but the expense of repairing the costly electronics. The expense of repairing the climate control system or the transmission is what you should be concerned about outside of warranty.

 

[X72]

By the way, the E320 tells you on the dash to add 1/2 quart or 1 quart if it is low. The only time I got a message in the instrument cluster was after an oil change when they added 9 quarts and the dash light told me the crankcase was overfilled. I drained out 1/2 quart and all was well. The large sumps and the specified synthetic oils are the reasons that they can confidently recommend these long OCI.

 

[Huhwhye]

IMO Electronics can fail, it's a neat trick to monitor electronically but a dip stick as a back up sounds like a good idea.