"Jim" wrote
It's very excessive considering other BMW's I've owned that didn't take any oil between services after the first one. It takes more than my 1986 Landrover 90 and that has a total loss lubrication system, pour it in the top and it drips out the bottom. :-) Yes, I have to keep it at Max level or, if it starts to drop, it drinks more and more, if I didn't keep it topped up it would certainly be outside BMW tolerance. The oil BMW recommend here is Castrol SLX LL-04, a 0W-30 Longlife so perhaps it's too thin/light. It's why I'm thinking that it's overheating and evaporating, recent exhaust gas analysis for the MOT shows no sign of it burning oil although the inside of the exhaust pipe is black not grey.