Change Oil after 2,000 miles/1yr?

[Kayven128i]

I bought my 11' 128i in June 2010. I've only put 10,000 miles on it in 4 years. The first 4 years I had the dealer do the oil change. It's been 12 months since my last one and in that 12 months I've only drove about 2,000 miles.

Most of the miles have been from trips between 30 min and 20 hours, with sometimes driving only 5-15 minutes to the local store.

Am I good for another 6 months or a year? Could I just change the filter?

If I need to add oil, can the oil I put in be different than what the dealer put in? I'm planning to use 5W-30 LL1 Castrol or Mobil. Not sure what the dealership used.

Thanks for your time.

[owen2001]

I change mine every 6 months, regardless of miles.

Granted, I've only had the car a year. But I've had 2 oil changes already and I plan to stick with this plan.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by owen2001

I change mine every 6 months, regardless of miles.

Granted, I've only had the car a year. But I've had 2 oil changes already and I plan to stick with this plan.

+1.

At a minimum, changing your oil once per yer regardless of miles is a good plan. This is what BMW recommends too.

I think I would change it more than just once per year if it were my car. Lots of short trips puts a lot of fuel and condensation into your oil. I bet you have +1 liter of just water and fuel mixed in with your oil right now. Not good for bearings and all the other metal internal bits.

[vivanapoli806]

I put less than 2000 miles on a year and change my oil at least once a year. While under warranty the dealer did what they called a low mileage oil change. I also switched to Mobil 1 0w40

[owen2001]

Originally Posted by vivanapoli806

I put less than 2000 miles on a year and change my oil at least once a year. While under warranty the dealer did what they called a low mileage oil change.

Yep. I have the dealer do 1 oil change per year in June. I pay out-of-pocket for the other one in December. I figure I'm getting 2 for the price of 1. Kinda.

[Olgeezer1]

Kinda in the same boat. Put about 7K km.(about 4200 miles) on since last year, but since mine goes into storage for the winter it gets clean oil before storage regardless of mileage. If your car's not sittting for extended periods and most of the time it gets a good run when you do drive it, it's doubtful you'll do it any harm by extending your interval, however a once a year change isn't that great an expense. If you have to add (I'd be surprised in a 128) LL1 Castrol 5/30 will match what your dealer uses. I like German Castrol 0/30 but that's another discussion already well covered.