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      01-05-2012, 09:45 AM   #16
AW128i
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Drives: E82 N51
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Southeastern, PA

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Just about to cross 50,000 miles and therefore my free maintenance is coming to an end. All maintenance will be DIY from here on out, which has me trying to decode BMW's condition-based servicing.

I know a lot of people wear tinfoil hats when it comes to the extended oil change intervals, but I'm not one of them. I trust that BMW isn't conspiring to make its engines fall apart over the long-term. And, I've yet to see compelling evidence that the extended intervals are actually bad. Lots of hearsay and disbelief, but very little - if any - actual evidence. Not to mention, many European cars (in Europe) have been using extended OCIs for years now so really, it's only new for the U.S. So, I'll defer to the BC to tell me when an oil change is necessary.

The BC will also monitor my brakes, but it doesn't monitor things like air filter, pollen filter, and other fluids like brake, coolant, transmission, or diff.

My understanding from Dackel's post above is that BMW recommends brake fluid to be replaced every two years, regardless of mileage (I think this is the norm in the U.S., no matter the make of the vehicle). And, BMW doesn't recommend coolant, transmission, or diff fluid changes at all or not until 100,000 miles. Is this correct? In the interest of not wanting to replace the auto tranny in my car, I'll probably do a fluid/filter change on that in the near future. What about the coolant or diff fluids?

As for the air and pollen filters, I understand from Dackel's post that the air filter is replaced every second oil change. I guess I'll have to check the service records for my car to find out when it was last changed to know when it needs to be changed next. In regards to the pollen filter, that's changed when the brake fluid is changed, so every two years? That seems like an awfully long time for a pollen filter, no?

Anything else I'm missing? Thanks in advance!!
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