1200 Mile Service Poll

[MightyMouseTech]

Is it one year? My car us currently showing next service is in 12000 km, or sometime in 2015?!?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Is it one year? My car us currently showing next service is in 12000 km, or sometime in 2015?!?

The first oil change("service") should be one year from the in service date or 22K kms (15K).

I know over here in der Fatherland... the EU cars are setup for oil changes once every two years or 22K kms. Perhaps someone set your car up that way. ?

Or maybe you are looking at the service icon with the car on the lift/hoist? Thats the big service at the two year mark(for US cars).

IF you have a BT tool you can reset each service manually. Or change the date one service is due. That is a nice thing with the BT tool. But I normally just use my DIY using the BC button.


DIY resetting service "due" lights…
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415111


Dack

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Is it one year? My car us currently showing next service is in 12000 km, or sometime in 2015?!?

Generally it's based on mileage and give or take a lil for the computer to calculate an adjustment something based on your driving conditions, etc. etc.

The one year question is more for people who drive very few miles and the issue is what BMW will cover for free and do as part of the maintenance plan. So, if my computer is saying I don't need to bring it in for 12k miles for my next oil change but I only drive 5k miles in a year, I can take it to the dealer and they'll do 1 oil change per year even though the car isn't telling me to bring it in. I used to think that I couldn't bring it in and they wouldn't cover it unless the car told me to.

Luckily I now know (sorry old 135!) and thus don't need to wait 10 or 12 or 15k miles (2 years) to get BMW to do my oil change at no cost, meaning my free oil changes will take place at service intervals many people on the forum recommend doing, which might be every 5-6k.

[dm135is]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

One of the things I did was to install a magnetic oil drain plug. Frankly I was amazed on how much metal this magnet picked up! I would highly recommend it.

High quality magnetic drain plugs for engine, trans & diff.
http://www.drainplugmagnets.com/bmwautomobiles.php

[IEDEI]

i'm not going to do any service. just crossed 1200. i think you're all paranoid!

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

i'm not going to do any service. just crossed 1200. i think you're all paranoid!

I all depends on how long you want to keep your car. If you plan on only keeping your car 4-5 years and 50,000-60,000 miles, I don't think you need to worry, but I would never buy your used car.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

I all depends on how long you want to keep your car. If you plan on only keeping your car 4-5 years and 50,000-60,000 miles, I don't think you need to worry, but I would never buy your used car.

2 years and 50k miles. (i drive A LOT).

i don't think BMW are going to throw their cars under a bus by not recommending those services. If you think they do to save money, i'm certain that the integrity of their cars are MORE important than saving a few bucks for an oil change. I don't think there's any objective information saying that it is required.

on M cars, it is required......but those cars come with different fluids from the factory---which is why it is required.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

2 years and 50k miles. (i drive A LOT).

i don't think BMW are going to throw their cars under a bus by not recommending those services. If you think they do to save money, i'm certain that the integrity of their cars are MORE important than saving a few bucks for an oil change. I don't think there's any objective information saying that it is required.

on M cars, it is required......but those cars come with different fluids from the factory---which is why it is required.

This has been debated ad nauseum on BMW forums. I believe Mike Miller and his recommendations. You can believe what you want. It is your car, not mine.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

2 years and 50k miles. (i drive A LOT).

i don't think BMW are going to throw their cars under a bus by not recommending those services. If you think they do to save money, i'm certain that the integrity of their cars are MORE important than saving a few bucks for an oil change. I don't think there's any objective information saying that it is required.

on M cars, it is required......but those cars come with different fluids from the factory---which is why it is required.

Well, they have just changed the service intervals on the new cars as of August 2013 to combat all the problems they are having with the older service intervals. The 24000 km service has been replaced with a 15000 km service interval. There must be a reason for that. Unfortunately, my car was built a month too early to get the updated maintenance.

And the 1M uses the same transmission AND fluid as the N55 135i (MTF-LT-5) yet the 1M gets tranny flushes while the 135i is supposed to be lifetime. That does not add up.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

The first oil change("service") should be one year from the in service date or 22K kms (15K).

I know over here in der Fatherland... the EU cars are setup for oil changes once every two years or 22K kms. Perhaps someone set your car up that way. ?

Or maybe you are looking at the service icon with the car on the lift/hoist? Thats the big service at the two year mark(for US cars).

Just checked it again last night.

We picked up the car in 05/2013 in Munich. Currently car is at 8000 km.

Next oil change is showing as due in 12000 km or 05/2015!

I guess the Canadian programming is every two years with limited mileage. Eeek!

[morningscifi]

In the shop now at 1466 miles for new oil, trans fluid, diff fluid. And to fix the excess glue they used to put on the spoiler. My dealership has been extra terrible recently and I've raised enough hell about it so at least I'm getting a price break on the service.

[TheSt|G]

I did engine, trans, and diff. Diff was extra frustrating as there is no proper drain bolt. On the eventual retrofit list when I pop the LSD in there.

[owen2001]

Just got a reply from my local BMW service advisor. I know that many members have been given conflicting info about the 1,200 break-in maintenance, especially for the 1 series (not the M). Here's what my advisor had to say when I asked for an estimate for engine oil/filter, transmission, and diff at 1,200 miles for my 2013 135is:

"It's certainly not a bad idea to have these items done at this interval. The oil change is $99.95+tx, the transmission is $192.52+tx and yes it does take the MTF-LT5 fluid, and the differential would be $166.86+tx and that takes a synthetic gear lube 75W90."

Just thought I would share, especially since I've seen posts about dealer quotes as high as $900 and read other posts where dealers have suggested that you don't need to get this done at all.

[owen2001]

I had my fluids changed yesterday at 1,200 miles. I changed the engine, transmission, and diff.

Here's some crummy photos of the samples I collected. I'm going to send the engine oil sample into Blackstone for analysis.

Anyway, the samples are labeled (obviously) in the first photo. But in the second photo the order is reversed. The second photo is diff on the left, transmission in the middle, and engine oil on the right.

These are both photos of the samples taken from my car, just taken in two different lights so you could see them accurately.

Anyway, just thought you'd be interested to see what the fluids look like after 1,200 miles of babying the car.

[IEDEI]

i did my first oil change at 3500 miles and there was literally no metal in the oil....nothing on the magnet. it's all BS!!

:P

[owen2001]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

i did my first oil change at 3500 miles and there was literally no metal in the oil....nothing on the magnet. it's all BS!!

I'm sending in the sample today, so we'll see what they find. I'll post again when I get the results back. I'm very interested to see the results.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

i did my first oil change at 3500 miles and there was literally no metal in the oil....nothing on the magnet. it's all BS!!

:P

Pff, don't listen to the guy doing donuts in the snow in parking lots all morning long.

Originally Posted by owen2001

I'm sending in the sample today, so we'll see what they find. I'll post again when I get the results back. I'm very interested to see the results.

You just sending in the oil sample or do they also run tests on the other two? Will be interesting to see what the results look like, especially since I only did the oil, figuring for $80, it obviously couldn't hurt and was worth the peace of mind. I also believe doing the other two fluids on the DCT are much more of an ordeal and not worth the money. So, thanks for sending these in for all our sakes/knowledge.

Now let the thrashing begin! Even though you have the winters on.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by owen2001

I'm sending in the sample today, so we'll see what they find. I'll post again when I get the results back. I'm very interested to see the results.

My UOA after 1,550 miles showed metal levels (Fe, Cu, Al) to be higher than the N52 average on oil with 7,500 miles of usage (based on Blackstone averages for my engine), so I would say the "break-in" change is real.

It is not like people are making this stuff up. It is a well known and PROVEN fact that as brand new engines break-in, they have elevated levels of metals in their oil. The debate is whether you think the higher metal levels will cause your engine any problem if you leave them in for thousands and thousands of miles.

Now Honda engines used to (might still do) come with break-in oil (high in Mo), and they instructed owners to leave the oil in for as long as possible (per the MM). Of course BMW does not do that, so I choose to remove the elevated metal levels early.

[owen2001]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

You just sending in the oil sample or do they also run tests on the other two?

Blackstone is just going to test the engine oil. I took samples of the trans and diff for my own benefit. I just wanted to see what they looked like.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by owen2001

Blackstone is just going to test the engine oil. I took samples of the trans and diff for my own benefit. I just wanted to see what they looked like.

I ended changing my diff fluid as well. The indy shop I went to only charged around $58 to do it, so I figured why not. I might even start having it done every 15,000 miles for that price.

[owen2001]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

My UOA after 1,550 miles showed metal levels (Fe, Cu, Al) to be higher than the N52 average on oil with 7,500 miles of usage (based on Blackstone averages for my engine), so I would say the "break-in" change is real.

It is not like people are making this stuff up. It is a well known and PROVEN fact that as brand new engines break-in, they have elevated levels of metals in their oil. The debate is whether you think the higher metal levels will cause your engine any problem if you leave them in for thousands and thousands of miles.

I've seen other lab results posted here (and on other forums) that showed similar results to what you've described. And for the price (about $250 total for all 3 fluids), it was a no-brainer for me to just have it done.

Originally Posted by Iron Man

I ended changing my diff fluid as well. The indy shop I went to only charged around $58 to do it, so I figured why not. I might even start having it done every 15,000 miles for that price.

I agree. What fluid did you use in the diff? My indy shop charged me about $70 (including the fluid) for the rear diff. Cheaper than an oil change at the dealer. For that price, I will seriously consider changing all 3 fluids at more regular intervals.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by owen2001

I've seen other lab results posted here (and on other forums) that showed similar results to what you've described. And for the price (about $250 total for all 3 fluids), it was a no-brainer for me to just have it done.



I agree. What fluid did you use in the diff? My indy shop charged me about $70 (including the fluid) for the rear diff. Cheaper than an oil change at the dealer. For that price, I will seriously consider changing all 3 fluids at more regular intervals.

I could have had them use Liqui Moly or Redline (same price either way). I went with Redline.