Photo: BMW
The guys from Consumer Reports set out to find out exactly what engines from which manufacturer are the most thirsty when it comes to burning up oil. The results sure don’t look good for BMW that, unfortunately, occupied the first three spots in their rankings, the 4.4-liter V8 N63 engine being the main culprit.
If you remember, we broke the news that this particular mill is a headache for the Bavarian company earlier this year. Then BMW issued a customer care package that was supposed to address the issue and owners started reporting that their cars are indeed working better.
However, our report wasn’t about the amount of oil the cars burned but about other issues, mostly related to failing fuel injectors, water pumps and drained batteries. As it turned out, the issue was the cooling system of the cars but oil burning might’ve triggered some alarms in the Munich HQ.
Now the report from CR shows that 43 percent of 2011 550i models needed at least a quart of oil between regular maintenance changes. The number two spot was taken by the 7 Series with 34 percent. The figures vary wildly as we get closer to the 2014 model year versions.
For 2012, 33 percent of 5 Series V8-powered models needed to be refilled while 36 percent of 2013 and 15 percent of 2014 units followed down the same road. The drop for the newer models could point to a fix done by BMW launched with the facelift model or the fact that the new cars just didn’t cover enough ground to start burning oil.
Either way, the problem is serious considering the 7 Series and 6 Series models are also at the top.
The biggest problem is that most of the cars on that list are German. After BMW’s trio comes Porsche’s Panamera, Audi’s A4 with the turbocharged 2-liter petrol engine, and other models from the four-ringed brand. Subaru is also present here with a few models as well as Mercedes and Volvo.
So is the myth of German reliability dead? If you were to ask Consumer Reports, it might very well be.
However, our report wasn’t about the amount of oil the cars burned but about other issues, mostly related to failing fuel injectors, water pumps and drained batteries. As it turned out, the issue was the cooling system of the cars but oil burning might’ve triggered some alarms in the Munich HQ.
Now the report from CR shows that 43 percent of 2011 550i models needed at least a quart of oil between regular maintenance changes. The number two spot was taken by the 7 Series with 34 percent. The figures vary wildly as we get closer to the 2014 model year versions.
For 2012, 33 percent of 5 Series V8-powered models needed to be refilled while 36 percent of 2013 and 15 percent of 2014 units followed down the same road. The drop for the newer models could point to a fix done by BMW launched with the facelift model or the fact that the new cars just didn’t cover enough ground to start burning oil.
Either way, the problem is serious considering the 7 Series and 6 Series models are also at the top.
The biggest problem is that most of the cars on that list are German. After BMW’s trio comes Porsche’s Panamera, Audi’s A4 with the turbocharged 2-liter petrol engine, and other models from the four-ringed brand. Subaru is also present here with a few models as well as Mercedes and Volvo.
So is the myth of German reliability dead? If you were to ask Consumer Reports, it might very well be.
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