Anyone do a 1200 mile oil change yet?

[Gill@Tirerack.com]

How'd it go, any issues? What all did you change?


I'd love to hear some stories, boring or not.

Gill

[Dan203]

Is the 1200 mile change covered by the "free" service included with the car? Or is something you have to do on your own?

Dan

[Crowley]

I believe you have to do it on your own. I plan on doing it at that time ..

thanks,
Crowley

[Tom K.]

BMW calls for (and will pay for) a 1200 mile change only on the M models.
Tom

[Dan203]

So is the dealer the best place to have the oil changed? Or would you guys trust your 135 to a place like Jiffy Lube?

Dan

[Tom K.]

My dealer charges about $100 for an oil & filter change. BMW calls for 7 quarts of OEM BMW synthetic 5w30 (ca. $56) and a BMW filter ($14). So (at $115/hr.), they are including about 1/4 hr. of labor which seems reasonable to me. Can Jiffy Lube do better with an equivalent synthetic?
Tom

[silverbullet135i]

why is the first oil change not covered under the 4 year service plan that comes with the car?

[plien69]

Originally Posted by Dan203

So is the dealer the best place to have the oil changed? Or would you guys trust your 135 to a place like Jiffy Lube?

Dan

I would not trust Jiffy Lube or any similar mass-market oil change place. They just take 19 year olds off the street, hand them filter wrenches, and let them loose. I've read horror stories of stripped or broken drain plugs, overfilling, etc.

Find a reputable independent in your area to do interim oil changes. That's what I do.

[plien69]

Originally Posted by silverbullet135i

why is the first oil change not covered under the 4 year service plan that comes with the car?

Because BMW now considers the first oil change to be at ~15000 miles.

See the sticky about real maintenance intervals at the top of this forum section.

[Dan203]

The reason I asked is because the BMW dealer is about a 40 minute drive from my house. So if I could confidently take it somewhere else I would have. However that doesn't sound like the case.

Oh well, after the 1200 mile change you only have to do it like every 6 months or 15K miles right? Given the amount of miles I drive a year I'll more likely be on the 6 month plan, so I'll only have to take it up there twice a year.

Sorry to hijack your thread OP. However if you look around the forum you'll see there are only a handful of people who have even hit the 1200 mile mark yet, so probably not many to respond to your original question.

Dan

[Tom K.]

Again, Dan - where do you get this idea of a 1200 mile change? New BMWs come with synthetic oil from the factory, so there is no "break-in" oil and no 1200 mile change required - or even recommended.
Tom

[Stew]

I just do not buy 15,000 mile oil changes. That goes against what I have been taught or accustomed to when it comes to car maintenance. And from the discussions on this board from people who have owned multiple BMWs, raced or built cars, and have much more experience with this, they seem to agree. The 1200 mile break in service WAS recommended prior to BMW's free maintenance. This is a great thread and I think I will follow that maintenance schedule with my 135.

[ichiban]

I'm doing my oil changes at 1200, and every 5k after that. I'm thinking of getting bmw oem 5w40 (the 40 is more heat resistant than the 30) which bmw uses for vehicles in hotter climates.

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Again, Dan - where do you get this idea of a 1200 mile change? New BMWs come with synthetic oil from the factory, so there is no "break-in" oil and no 1200 mile change required - or even recommended.
Tom

From this forum. I know BMW says to do it every 15K, but most people on here say to do one sooner for the first change. Under normal circumstances I'd probably wait until 3K to do the break-in change, but I plan on going to a track day shortly after getting the 135i so I think I'll have it changed just before that regardless of what the mileage is at that point.

Dan

[raisemyrent]

plus the car is a turbo; it doesn't cost much and whatever you can do to keep that baby pumping healthily for years and years is worth it, IMO.

[UR2SLOW1]

I've done my own oil changes for over twenty years and have a lift in my garage so I honestly can handle simple maintenance like this. That being said, where is the oil filter cartridge housing, I haven't had the car on the lift yet ??

[ManMachine]

if you plan to keep the car for a while (more than 5 yrs), it's a good idea to do the breakin services. Per Mike Miller at Roundel (BMWCCA), the break in service used to be for all models until the free maintenance program started. For manual transmission, the recommendation is to change the oil, transmission fluid, and differential fluid after 1,200 miles. for automatics, do the oil and differential oil change.

Go to http://www.bimrs.org/ to find a shop near you. you'll also get a discount as a BMWCCA member. after this, change oil every 7500 miles. If you love this car, treat it well. BMW dealers can still change the oil for free once a year.

[1for2]

Originally Posted by UR2SLOW1

I've done my own oil changes for over twenty years and have a lift in my garage so I honestly can handle simple maintenance like this. That being said, where is the oil filter cartridge housing, I haven't had the car on the lift yet ??

If it's the same as the 335i, the oil filter cartridge is on the top right front of the engine.

[Mad Dragon]

Originally Posted by ichiban

I'm doing my oil changes at 1200, and every 5k after that. I'm thinking of getting bmw oem 5w40 (the 40 is more heat resistant than the 30) which bmw uses for vehicles in hotter climates.

There is no OEM 5w40 oil; it's either 15w40 dino oil (this should never even come close to a BMW built after 1998) or 5w30 synthetic.

[ManMachine]

To go overboard, use the oil for M3. 5w60 I think.

[plien69]

Castrol TMS 10w60. Selling for $17.25/quart at my local dealer. Knock yerself out.

[Crowley]

Originally Posted by raisemyrent

plus the car is a turbo; it doesn't cost much and whatever you can do to keep that baby pumping healthily for years and years is worth it, IMO.

+1 for sure !

Crowley