1200 Mile Oil Change?

pinmagic · 10-09-2010, 07:26 PM

Today, I asked my SA about changing the oil at 1200 miles, to clear out any possible metal shavings, etc. He told me it was completely unnecessary, and that in all his years there, he'd never done a 1200 mile change for anyone. He said that if I did it, it would make him cry.

Seems like a nice guy - and how can you argue with someone who genuinely wants to see you save $110?

I know there's been a lot of discussion on the proper interval for oil changes, but I can't get a real sense of whether people do an early "break-in" oil change or not.

What about other fluids? Do I need to change my turn signal fluids this soon?

Mikeshot1 · 10-09-2010, 07:28 PM

I was told every 15,000 miles or one year on my 08 135i. My Dad paid $180 on his 2000 328i. What is the price of an oil change? If it's $110.00 thru a dealer I would consider that a good price lol.

gavolant · 10-09-2010, 07:49 PM

I'm about to do mine. Ill have 800 miles on the car by the end of the night.
Pinmagic, are you taking your car to BMW of Alexandria ?

pinmagic · 10-09-2010, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gavolant

Pinmagic, are you taking your car to BMW of Alexandria ?

Do you mean BMW of Arlington? Heck, no! Not a good rep, and I had a lousy experience there when shopping for the car. I'm taking it back to Passport, where I bought it. Great sales experience, and a good reputation all around.

gavolant · 10-10-2010, 01:50 AM

I most certainly did haha. I always associate that dealer with Alexandria for whatever reason. Ill be taking mine to BMW of Fairfax.

Dackelone · 10-10-2010, 03:07 AM

I did a break-in oil change. Someone here did a writeup of his breakin oil change. He cut apart the oil filter showing some metal and silicone bits. He also changed his 6MT tranny and diff oil. Both also had metal bits.

I would change your oil more frequently than what BMW says to. But that is just me. You can decide for yourself. The way I look at it.... an oil change is cheap vs buying a new car.

Evice · 10-10-2010, 07:26 AM

Some might argue that if it is in the filter, your oil is clean and the filter is working as designed. So no need to change

I changed mine at 5k and 5k intervals.

vwrefugee · 10-10-2010, 08:37 AM

Quote:

an oil change is cheap vs buying a new car

I totally agree with the reasoning of this, although I seriously doubt anyone's car is at catastrophic risk from skipping a break-in oil change (BMW could never risk stretching the intervals if that were the case) It's more like why risk even slightly accelerated wear by not doing it? I think its a peace-of-mind thing knowing you're doing all you can to keep the engine running as "healthily" as possible.

m_thompson · 10-10-2010, 08:58 AM

I changed mine at 1,200 miles and sent the oil to Blackstone Labs for analysis. The oil had the usual contaminates that you would expect to see with a new engine. The 5,000 mile change at 1 year showed less contamination, but the engine is still considered new. It will be interesting to see how much the contamination decreases over the life of the engine.

shodanusmc · 10-10-2010, 09:38 AM

I did the first change at 6 months... I change every 6 months or 5,000 ,iles, which ever comes first. I just can't go 1 year. No need to change at 1200 miles unless it makes you feel better.

GMT II · 10-10-2010, 11:26 AM

I just stick to the factory schedule. If my car suffers a mechanical breakdown because the intervals were stretched beyond what is reasonable BMW is getting a breach of warranty suit. The law has a cost shifting provision that will require BMW to pay for your legal representation anyhow.

That being said, hopefully the intervals are reasonable. At 30,000 mi. my engine still seems fine.

DAC17 · 10-18-2010, 08:03 PM

So I don't have my new 128i yet. What viscosity oil for the 3.0 NA engine? Any special brand recommendations?

Thanks.

Dackelone · 10-19-2010, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAC17

So I don't have my new 128i yet. What viscosity oil for the 3.0 NA engine? Any special brand recommendations?

Thanks.

Most people use the BMW oil sold thru the dealers. BMW recommends to use only Castrol oil. Which ever oil you use it MUST say "BMW Long Life 1" on the bottle. BMW says to also use a 0w40 oil. Do a search... you will find tons of threads on this subject.

ZIPNBYE · 10-19-2010, 09:13 PM

Mobil-1 0W40 is the best grade Mobil makes...I use it in all of my cars, past and present.

Tom K. · 10-20-2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAC17

So I don't have my new 128i yet. What viscosity oil for the 3.0 NA engine? Any special brand recommendations?

Thanks.

Unless it's been changed, my '08 manual recommends 5w30 or 5w40 synthetic. And I've found purchasing BMW branded oil from my dealer to be cost competitive with local auto accessory shops.

Like many others, I do one interim change at roughly 8,000 miles between CBS mandated changes. I gues this works as 4 different BMWs treated this way have never had to have oil added between changes.

BTW, BMW has reinstituted the annual oil change for low mileage drivers over 6k miles.

Tom

Dackelone · 10-20-2010, 05:29 PM

+1 on what Tom said.

I would add that I use German Castrol (since the OE oil at my dealer is $30 per liter!) so I pay about $15 per liter for GC 0w40 LL4. LL4 bc I am over here in Europe and I feel thats better for the low sulpher gas sold over here. IF I were back in the states I would buy my oil from the dealer.

Btw... I really think the German Castrol makes the engine much quieter on cold start. With the Mobil-1 (0w40 LL1), the engine would be ticking away when cold. Now I don't get that at all. I think its like Castrol says on their bottles: Liquid Engineering!

View Poll Results: Should I be doing a "break-in" oil change at 1200 miles?
Yes.	23	62.16%
No.	14	37.84%
Voters: 37. You may not vote on this poll

10-09-2010, 07:26 PM	#1
pinmagic The Only Sane One Here 61 Rep 1,135 Posts Drives: 135i Convertible Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Arlington, VA iTrader: (1)	1200 Mile Oil Change? Today, I asked my SA about changing the oil at 1200 miles, to clear out any possible metal shavings, etc. He told me it was completely unnecessary, and that in all his years there, he'd never done a 1200 mile change for anyone. He said that if I did it, it would make him cry. Seems like a nice guy - and how can you argue with someone who genuinely wants to see you save $110? I know there's been a lot of discussion on the proper interval for oil changes, but I can't get a real sense of whether people do an early "break-in" oil change or not. What about other fluids? Do I need to change my turn signal fluids this soon? __________________ 2011 135i VERT SGM/SB/MOONLIGHT - ED - with every single friggin' option they offered.
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10-09-2010, 07:28 PM	#2
Mikeshot1 Private First Class 11 Rep 105 Posts Drives: 2008 Sedona Red 135i Coupe Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: New York iTrader: (0)	I was told every 15,000 miles or one year on my 08 135i. My Dad paid $180 on his 2000 328i. What is the price of an oil change? If it's $110.00 thru a dealer I would consider that a good price lol.
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10-09-2010, 07:49 PM	#3
gavolant Second Lieutenant 20 Rep 212 Posts Drives: 2011 AW 135i M-Sport Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Falls Church, VA iTrader: (0)	I'm about to do mine. Ill have 800 miles on the car by the end of the night. Pinmagic, are you taking your car to BMW of Alexandria ? __________________ 2011 AW 135i Coupe\|6MT\|Savanna Beige\|M Sport\|Navi Order Placed: July 26 \| Production Started: Aug 09 \| Production Complete: Aug 17 \|At Port: Aug 19 \| In Transit: Sept 02 \| At Prep Center: Sept 15 \| At Dealer: Sept 25
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10-10-2010, 01:50 AM	#5
gavolant Second Lieutenant 20 Rep 212 Posts Drives: 2011 AW 135i M-Sport Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Falls Church, VA iTrader: (0)	I most certainly did haha. I always associate that dealer with Alexandria for whatever reason. Ill be taking mine to BMW of Fairfax. __________________ 2011 AW 135i Coupe\|6MT\|Savanna Beige\|M Sport\|Navi Order Placed: July 26 \| Production Started: Aug 09 \| Production Complete: Aug 17 \|At Port: Aug 19 \| In Transit: Sept 02 \| At Prep Center: Sept 15 \| At Dealer: Sept 25
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10-10-2010, 03:07 AM	#6
Dackelone European Editor 10528 Rep 22,992 Posts Drives: N54 e82 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bayern, Germany iTrader: (1)	I did a break-in oil change. Someone here did a writeup of his breakin oil change. He cut apart the oil filter showing some metal and silicone bits. He also changed his 6MT tranny and diff oil. Both also had metal bits. I would change your oil more frequently than what BMW says to. But that is just me. You can decide for yourself. The way I look at it.... an oil change is cheap vs buying a new car. Last edited by Dackelone; 10-20-2010 at 05:24 PM..
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10-10-2010, 07:26 AM	#7
Evice Major 194 Rep 1,457 Posts Drives: E92M3 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere here iTrader: (1)	Some might argue that if it is in the filter, your oil is clean and the filter is working as designed. So no need to change I changed mine at 5k and 5k intervals. __________________ My Track Videos
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10-10-2010, 08:58 AM	#9
m_thompson Major 133 Rep 1,416 Posts Drives: M-Sport 128i, 328xi, 3.0CS Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New England, USA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2009 128i [0.00] 1972 3.0CS [10.00]	I changed mine at 1,200 miles and sent the oil to Blackstone Labs for analysis. The oil had the usual contaminates that you would expect to see with a new engine. The 5,000 mile change at 1 year showed less contamination, but the engine is still considered new. It will be interesting to see how much the contamination decreases over the life of the engine. __________________ '09 128i - Black Sapphire Metallic\Coral Red\Glacier Silver\N51 DISA\6MT\Navigation\Premium\M-Sport\Heated seats\Xenon\Headlights\iPod\Smartphone\Euro Delivery
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10-10-2010, 09:38 AM	#10
shodanusmc Captain 20 Rep 774 Posts Drives: 09 135 Vert Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chicago burb iTrader: (0)	I did the first change at 6 months... I change every 6 months or 5,000 ,iles, which ever comes first. I just can't go 1 year. No need to change at 1200 miles unless it makes you feel better.
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10-10-2010, 11:26 AM	#11
GMT II Second Lieutenant 12 Rep 290 Posts Drives: I ride the bus. Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NYC/Staten Isl. iTrader: (0)	I just stick to the factory schedule. If my car suffers a mechanical breakdown because the intervals were stretched beyond what is reasonable BMW is getting a breach of warranty suit. The law has a cost shifting provision that will require BMW to pay for your legal representation anyhow. That being said, hopefully the intervals are reasonable. At 30,000 mi. my engine still seems fine. __________________ 2009 135i Coupe Sedona Red/Beige Boston Leather 6MT / ZPP / ZSP / Nav / Prem. Hi-Fi / Sirius / CA / Heated Seats (you keep the ski bag) / Park Dist. / HD Radio (because it was free)
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10-18-2010, 08:03 PM	#12
DAC17 Long live BMW M's! 171 Rep 368 Posts Drives: 2023 CT5-V Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: CT iTrader: (0)	So I don't have my new 128i yet. What viscosity oil for the 3.0 NA engine? Any special brand recommendations? Thanks.
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10-19-2010, 09:13 PM	#14
ZIPNBYE Let's save military ranks for those who earn it! 45 Rep 1,161 Posts Drives: ...on the Ragged Edge Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada iTrader: (6) Garage List 2013 BMW e92 M3 Cou ... [7.50] 2013 BMW e84 X1 xDr ... [7.00]	Mobil-1 0W40 is the best grade Mobil makes...I use it in all of my cars, past and present. __________________ Richard 2013 BMW M3 Individual -- Fire Orange (sold) 2013 BMW X1 xDrive35i M-Sport -- Valencia Orange (sold) 2011 BMW 1-series M Coupe (#205/220) -- Valencia Orange (sold) 2009 BMW 135i M-Sport Coupe -- Space Grey (sold)
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10-20-2010, 05:29 PM	#16
Dackelone European Editor 10528 Rep 22,992 Posts Drives: N54 e82 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bayern, Germany iTrader: (1)	+1 on what Tom said. I would add that I use German Castrol (since the OE oil at my dealer is $30 per liter!) so I pay about $15 per liter for GC 0w40 LL4. LL4 bc I am over here in Europe and I feel thats better for the low sulpher gas sold over here. IF I were back in the states I would buy my oil from the dealer. Btw... I really think the German Castrol makes the engine much quieter on cold start. With the Mobil-1 (0w40 LL1), the engine would be ticking away when cold. Now I don't get that at all. I think its like Castrol says on their bottles: Liquid Engineering!
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