Changing fluids after break in period

[gregthegr8]

I changed my windshield washer fluid at 1200, too, post break-in.

[Bama335]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

it's a total MYTH they need replacement. There are no facts to support it. These myths are propagated from people who did this 20 years ago. times have changed and you do not need to change the fluids at 1200 miles.

Owen2001 I believe did a full analysis of his oil after 1200 miles and found NO metal shards or abnormalities as the myth propagates.

Myth or not, fluids are cheap insurance. Times might have changed, but they still machine cylinder heads and transmission gears, and machined parts still rub against each other during the run-in period. If the 1200 mile service is recommended by BMW for M cars.....that tells a story in itself.

You'll likely have an M235 or M2 in your garage in 3 years, my garage will still have the 135is - I'll err on the side of caution, thanks

To each their own.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Bama335

Myth or not, fluids are cheap insurance. Times might have changed, but they still machine cylinder heads and transmission gears, and machined parts still rub against each other during the run-in period. If the 1200 mile service is recommended by BMW for M cars.....that tells a story in itself.

You'll likely have an M235 or M2 in your garage in 3 years, my garage will still have the 135is - I'll err on the side of caution, thanks

To each their own.

i WILL NEVER HAVE AN M235i in my garage!! take that back!!!

an M2 maybe....but an M235 never.....lol.

how dare you.....

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

i WILL NEVER HAVE AN M235i in my garage!! take that back!!!

an M2 maybe....but an M235 never.....lol.

how dare you.....

I got you pegged as more of a fwd 2 series active tourer kinda guy without even the ironical m sport package to carry on the spirit of the Mazda 5.

[edisapimp]

I just lol'ed

[ulrichd]

Here is the maintenance schedule I follow on my 09 128. Has served me well on this and past cars.

[jkoral]

FWIW, here is the blackstone oil analysis for the following mileage intervals:

5 , 430, 9K, 14K and 19K.

(Oil changes were also performed at 1500, 3684 and 4370 miles but no samples were taken. Diff and tranny changed at 2K).

[02rsxpilot]

Originally Posted by Allencic

I know most of you won't believe this but I've found that over nearly sixty years of driving the designers and engineers who made your car (even the sacred BMW) actually know what they're doing and their recommendations for maintenance are sound and reasonable. I've done all the usual mods over the years when I was younger and more stupid and gullible and whether it's tire size, exhaust systems, air filters, etc. none of those mods have ever made the car better. Louder maybe, poorer handling maybe, more intake noise, etc but otherwise they were just a waste of money. But it is very easy to convince yourself that you know more than the factory engineers. You don't.

This is one of my favorite posts of all time, especially the bit about doing all the mods and never making the car better.

I have never seen anything but anecdotal evidence that accelerated maintenance schedules have prolonged the life of a modern vehicle. After all, correlation does not imply causation. The fact anyone's car ran "great" for as long as they owned it cannot be attributed solely to changing the oil every 5K miles instead of 10K, or whatever special maintenance schedule they used.

I also have to reject the idea that prolonging oil change intervals was a BMW money-saving plan coinciding with the free maintenance perk. The dollar amounts in question wouldn't even blip BMW's radar. More likely to me, free maintenance was a marketing idea to help prospective buyers overcome the idea that BMWs are expensive to maintain and therefore they'd be better off buying an Accord instead of a 3-series.

Bottom line to me: If you drive like a normal person, do normal maintenance intervals. If you drive like a maniac or track your car, do them a bit more often. If you like wrenching on your car or just the peace of mind of knowing you have fresh fluids in the car, change it as often as you want. If anyone disagrees, I'd be thrilled to see empirical and statistically significant evidence that can help put an end to this discussion that seems to exist on every car forum on the web (including those without free maintenance. )