Oil Capacity

[quiett]

I recently bought a 2008 135i convertible and want to do an oil change. No where that I can find does the owners manual give the oil capacity. Can some one tell me the requirement for an oil/filter change?

[bmw1racer]

About 7 quarts.

[quiett]

Thanks a lot.

[fboutlaw]

Don't have it on me right now, but I remember Bentley manual saying 6.8L. Fill to just about 7L, run the car and check, then add. Buy an extra liter just in case to re-fill if your motor does burn oil quickly.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by fboutlaw

Buy an extra liter just in case to re-fill if your motor does burn oil quickly.

If your car is burning oil quickly, you've got a bigger problem than knowing what the oil capacity is...

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by fboutlaw

Don't have it on me right now, but I remember Bentley manual saying 6.8L. Fill to just about 7L, run the car and check, then add. Buy an extra liter just in case to re-fill if your motor does burn oil quickly.

I would NOT recommend filling to 7L. What I have read is 6.5L (6.9Q) oil capacity. If you add 7L, you would have overfilled the engine. It is better to underfill, then add as needed, rather than overfill the engine.

[jafo1701]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

I would NOT recommend filling to 7L. What I have read is 6.5L (6.9Q) oil capacity. If you add 7L, you would have overfilled the engine. It is better to underfill, then add as needed, rather than overfill the engine.

I always just put in 7 quarts. Sensor always reads full. I do let it drain for at least 20 minutes though so I get as much as I can out. I figure the .1 quart extra won't matter much. Have never had any problems.

[135Pats]

54s take 6.9 on the nose IIRC. I do 6.5 an oil change and monitor a day later to see if it needs a touch more. Always better to underfill by a touch rather than over fill.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by jafo1701

I always just put in 7 quarts. Sensor always reads full. I do let it drain for at least 20 minutes though so I get as much as I can out. I figure the .1 quart extra won't matter much. Have never had any problems.

+1. Officially the 135i/128i both hold 6.9 quarts or 6.5 liters of oil when also changing the oil filter.

I also let the oil drain a long time from the pan.... then I remove the oil filter(cap) and more oil comes rushing out of the drain pan. I also suck out the small amount(200ml) of oil from the oil filter housing.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by jafo1701

I always just put in 7 quarts. Sensor always reads full. I do let it drain for at least 20 minutes though so I get as much as I can out. I figure the .1 quart extra won't matter much. Have never had any problems.

I agree, 7 quarts is fine. But 7L is 7.4 quarts, so you would overfill the engine by 1/2 a quart.

[jafo1701]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

I agree, 7 quarts is fine. But 7L is 7.4 quarts, so you would overfill the engine by 1/2 a quart.

Well all my bottles are quarts. I'm sure of that. No I would not overfill my engine by 1\2 quart. Just make sure your oil bottles are quarts, if they are litres adjust accordingly.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by jafo1701

Well all my bottles are quarts. I'm sure of that. No I would not overfill my engine by 1\2 quart. Just make sure your oil bottles are quarts, if they are litres adjust accordingly.

Yes, I was agreeing with you. I was disagreeing with fboutlaw.

[JimD]

My standard practice is to add 1/2 to 1 qt less than the manufacturer recommends, put the car on the ground, and recheck the oil. But without a dipstick, that is a challenge. I just drove my 128i with 6 qts after the first oil change and it read completely full. Maybe I didn't drain it all. But the same thing happened after the second oil change. Now I add a little more than 6, maybe 6.5 qts (I'm using 5 qt containers). Regardless of how much I put in, it reads completely full (not overfull). I asked the dealer to check the oil level measurement system and he said it is fine (I have it on the ticket).

I agree with Dack, the right time to change the filter is while the engine oil is draining out. There will be some oil in the housing that you want to drain. It is also something you can do while you're waiting for the oil to drain.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by JimD

There will be some oil in the housing that you want to drain. It is also something you can do while you're waiting for the oil to drain.

I always use an old turkey baster to suck out the oil inside the housing.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

I always use an old turkey baster to suck out the oil inside the housing.

+1. I do as well.

[Dackelone]

@jafo1701
Iron Man
@JimD

Not trying to split hairs but... one bottle of Mobil-1 bought in the USA is one quart or 949ml(less than one liter!).


For my 135i I always use German "Castrol RS Edge" bought at a German auto store. This comes in a 5L jug. The Mobil-1 I buy on Base here, and comes in a 1qt / 949ml bottle.

[NGEE]

Searched N55 oil capacity, resurrecting an old thread...

The fact that BMW doesn't list oil capacity in the owner's manual is beyond silly.

Anyway... am I the only one that buys BMW oil? 83-21-2-466-454. $7.43 per liter at getbmwparts.com. Buy it two cases at a time.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by NGEE

Anyway... am I the only one that buys BMW oil? 83-21-2-466-45. $7.43 per liter at getbmwparts.com. Buy it two cases at a time.

Amazon is currently selling a 5-quart jug of Castrol Edge 0W-40 Synthetic for $22.48.

[JimD]

Wal-mart sells it for about that price too and if you put another item on the order to get to $35, two day delivery is free.

My electronic dipstick still shows I am at max fill after adding 6 quarts.

[Thunderguts]

Originally Posted by JimD

My electronic dipstick still shows I am at max fill after adding 6 quarts.

I thought that "Max" was overfilled and "OK" was the acceptable range. I don't think you would be at Max with only 6 quarts.

[JimD]

Maybe I did not describe well enough. With 6 quarts added after drain and filter replacement, I am well past mid-way on the electronic gauge, at the point of the next line. I am at the high end of the acceptable range.

I believe if I add 7 as everybody seems to think I should, I would be overfull and have to pull the plug and drain some.