question about oil change?

[newbmwfans]

my car shows oil change 12000mil
should I wait till 12000 or just change about 5000mil
how can BMW oil can use so long is that ok for oil use more then 6000 mil

[GMT II]

Originally Posted by newbmwfans

my car shows oil change 12000mil
should I wait till 12000 or just change about 5000mil
how can BMW oil can use so long is that ok for oil use more then 6000 mil

Two reasons:

A. BMW is on the hook for oil changes so they revised the schedules to make the intervals longer.

B. Fully synthetic oil could last an outrageously long time. In fact, they could probably throw the oil back in and you would be fine (for every change but the first due to the metal and rubber that gets thrown around due to break in) but the oil filter itself gets exhausted before the oil does.

[newbmwfans]

so can I ask my BMW dealer to change my oil early?

[marius]

ask for "interim oil change". You will have to pay of course.

[Tom K.]

Right - and make sure you specify "Interim Oil Change" with no other checks or services and it should only cost $100 or so at a dealer (or you can DIY for about $55 using BMW oil & filter).

Or if you won't accumulate the mileage quickly, BMW will give you one free oil change per year.

BTW, if the dash shows Oil change -12,000 miles, I believe that means you will need the change after 12,000 more miles, not at an odo reading of 12,000. At least, that's the way the "countdown" worked in prior BMWs.
Tom

[JME]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

BTW, if the dash shows Oil change -12,000 miles, I believe that means you will need the change after 12,000 more miles, not at an odo reading of 12,000. At least, that's the way the "countdown" worked in prior BMWs.
Tom

Yup. It'll become more obvious when you get to the lower numbers.

Mine is in for service right now. 17000 miles.

Of course I did my own interim oil change.

[Tom K.]

Thanks, JME, for the confirmation. I was unsure as my 128i still shows 13,000 miles to the oil service with 12,500 miles on the odo! Of course 80% of that mileage is highway, but I'm still wondering if there isn't a malfunction in the countdown. (I had a "break-in" change at 3,000 to prepare for a cross-country trip and, as is the case with other BMW's I've owned, have not had to add any oil to the 1er.)
Tom

[one-35]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Right - and make sure you specify "Interim Oil Change" with no other checks or services and it should only cost $100 or so at a dealer (or you can DIY for about $55 using BMW oil & filter).

Or if you won't accumulate the mileage quickly, BMW will give you one free oil change per year.

*** NO LONGER TRUE!!!
I just talked (face-to-face) to my local BMW dealer yesterday, and he said BMW stopped giving no-cost 1-yr oil changes in early 2007. BMW Corporate used to pay the dealers for this service but no longer! Now the ONLY way they'll give your 'free maintenance' is if you reach your service interval (on the car's service computer). However, he did say they will cut some slack and service it if you are within approx. 2,000 miles. ***

BTW, if the dash shows Oil change -12,000 miles, I believe that means you will need the change after 12,000 more miles, not at an odo reading of 12,000. At least, that's the way the "countdown" worked in prior BMWs.
Tom

^^^^^
CORRECT! (above)

[one-35]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Thanks, JME, for the confirmation. I was unsure as my 128i still shows 13,000 miles to the oil service with 12,500 miles on the odo! Of course 80% of that mileage is highway, but I'm still wondering if there isn't a malfunction in the countdown. (I had a "break-in" change at 3,000 to prepare for a cross-country trip and, as is the case with other BMW's I've owned, have not had to add any oil to the 1er.)
Tom

1. Did you accidentally re-set your maintenance interval (computer) during your break-in oil change?

2. If you had the dealer do it, they probably re-set it. So now you won't get your FREE oil service until another 13,000 miles!!!

BTW, my BMW dealer told me if you don't reach the 30,000 mile service by the time your 4 years are up... TOO BAD, you'll have to pay for that service come time. So IMO, the 4 years FREE MAINTENANCE is probably really only worth about $300-$400 ...since my independent BMW specialist/mechanic can do all services that BMW offers for 'free' for less than $500. Now if you happen to track your car... the FREE brake pads (and possibly rotors) is nice!!!

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by One-35

1. Did you accidentally re-set your maintenance interval (computer) during your break-in oil change?

2. If you had the dealer do it, they probably re-set it. So now you won't get your FREE oil service until another 13,000 miles!!!

BTW, my BMW dealer told me if you don't reach the 30,000 mile service by the time your 4 years are up... TOO BAD, you'll have to pay for that service come time. So IMO, the 4 years FREE MAINTENANCE is probably really only worth about $300-$400 ...since my independent BMW specialist/mechanic can do all services that BMW offers for 'free' for less than $500. Now if you happen to track your car... the FREE brake pads (and possibly rotors) is nice!!!

My dealer has been doing interim changes for my BMWs for the last 10 years and knows enough not to reset the computer - so the countdown was not reset. IIRC, the change was at about 3,000 miles and the countdown was around 15,000 at that point - but has only gone down 2,000 since!

It's true that the 4 yr./50k miles free maintenance means whichever comes first - so theoretically, someone who drove 2,000 miles a year would have no free service at all...

Except that on page 6 of the '08 1 series Owners Service Manual, it states in bold that oil should be changed at least once per year. So the dealer who indicated that BMW won't cover time (vs. mileage) based oil changes is still obligated to do so as it is a "scheduled" service - stated by BMW in writing.

I'd also be leery of a dealer who talked about a "30,000 mile service" as what BMW terms "Condition Based Service" doesn't work that way - an oil change might be called for at 30k, 35k, 40k, etc. according to the car's computer.

Tom