[Ximian]

Originally Posted by The Nerd

Yeah, you should probably have been bringing this in for more frequent oil changes than what BMW recommends. These engines start showing these wear issues earlier than normal because customers wait all the way until the computer says to change the oil. And over time, these engines just can't take that."

Add this to the book of "Shit Service Advisors Say That is Made Up"

Acidity can build up in engine oil and that could be damaging the gaskets. Replacing oil is going to remove that acid build up which could help.

However, I have a car that gets 3 oil changes a year over 6 or 7k miles and that still has leaky gaskets. Age and temperature (extremes, high or very low) are the biggest contributors.

[M4CompConv/X7]

Originally Posted by modat

Just wondering why. I thought the BMW systems monitor how you drive the car and adjust your services intervals based on that. I think doing it every 5k might be a overkill and a waste

True... Anything less than 10K miles is just throwing money away, unless you are constantly beating the car up. Hell, if I went easy, my previous M3s gave me recommended 14-14.5K mile intervals.
Today's oils are so much better. Amsoil use to advertise 25K for oil changes.

[davidmct-M3]

I am puzzled as to why in the UK the oil change interval is ~19k miles or computer says so. We have no yearly change nor a 10k mile one.

Any ideas why so different to USA??

[Ximian]

Originally Posted by davidmct-M3

I am puzzled as to why in the UK the oil change interval is ~19k miles or computer says so. We have no yearly change nor a 10k mile one.

Any ideas why so different to USA??

Probably has to do with emissions and similar regulations and maybe what the car manufacturers are allowed to recommend in the UK. In our manuals, they don't recommend idling even for a little bit after a cold start due to to idling laws differing around the country - but they'll still sell you remote start.

Also, a basic "US recommendation" for maintenance has to be good enough for the people who see extremely hot temperatures (e.g. 115F in summer in the south) along with those in extremely cold temperatures (-20F in the northern states and Alaska). You don't have to worry about that in the UK.

[davidmct-M3]

Not often anyway 🙂

[forcefed]

Originally Posted by davidmct-M3

I am puzzled as to why in the UK the oil change interval is ~19k miles or computer says so. We have no yearly change nor a 10k mile one.

Any ideas why so different to USA??

What oil are you using there, is it some extended mileage oil? Definitely sounds high.

[davidmct-M3]

Originally Posted by forcefed

What oil are you using there, is it some extended mileage oil? Definitely sounds high.

From the uk manual …

Suitable engine oil grades
Up to 1 litre, approx. 2 pints of an engine oil with the following oil specification can be top- ped up:
Petrol engine
BMW Longlife-12 FE.
BMW Longlife-17 FE+.

Alternative engine oil grades

If suitable engine oils are not available, up to 1 litre, approx. 2 pints, of an engine oil with the following oil specification can be used for topping up:
Oil specification
ACEA C2.
ACEA C5.

Viscosity classes
When selecting an engine oil, make sure that the engine oil belongs to one of the following viscosity classes:
Petrol engine
SAE 0W-20.
SAE 0W-30.

[Adler11th]

Just my 0.2 c on old thread. I do 5k changes on all my cars for 2 reasons:
DI engines run dirty on oil;
Viscosity seems to degrade with miles even on newer oil formulas;

Perhaps I’m overthinking this but oil replacement also cleans any shavings and other garbage that is normal result of operating engine.

I plan to keep doing this since I don’t see any downside to this procedure. Time and money investment is small enough to have it as extra insurance ( I do it myself)

[christianb5s4]

Originally Posted by Adler11th

I plan to keep doing this since I don’t see any downside to this procedure. Time and money investment is small enough to have it as extra insurance ( I do it myself)

Same. $200 ish for an oil change and peace of mind is worth every penny. It's not a Prius, it's a high performance car. I'm all for not wasting money but in this case, it's not a waste.

[geko29]

Originally Posted by The Nerd

For those who are questioning why we wouldn't just "trust" what BMW is suggesting…..here's two comments:

1) As someone brought up earlier….they want to sell you more BMWs down the road when yours doesn't last forever.

This is completely counter to my experience with high-mileage BMWs serviced according to the factory/computer schedule. I had an E46 that was still in mechanically perfect condition when I sold it at 158k miles, on a ~17k OCI. Only engine repairs that entire time was a crank position sensor, and the VANOS seals, neither of which is "damage" caused by insufficient lubrication. Likewise, my E90 335d is currently at 120k on ~13k OCI. Only engine work has been carbon cleaning (diesel with EGR...never would have expected that ), fuel injectors, and vacuum lines. Again, nothing related to oiling.

Planning to follow the schedule on my G80 as well, which in my case will amount to annual changes at 3-4k mile intervals. If I drove it more, I'd have no concerns about going 10k.

Additionally, this logic doesn't make sense at all. If your engine blows up after 5 years (or whatever) of following the manufacturers' recommended maintenance, what idiot is running out to buy another one?

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by Indo Rider

BMW engineers don't want your engine to last a "lifetime". They want you to buy another BMW as soon a possible. "Lifetime" fluids are a joke. 10k OCIs are questionable. Either go conservative or base your OCI on Blackstone analysis for your actual car, driving habits, etc. Oil changes are so cheap in the grand scheme.

The BMW engineers want your engine to last a lifetime. They're the ones designing an engine.

The BMW marketing team and executives don't want your engine to last a lifetime.

Still, there's a good middle-ground that they agree to based on EPA requirements (extending oil change intervals to reduce waste) and actual testing. The engineers would probably like it if you changed your oil every 5,000 miles, but the EPA doesn't like it so much.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by BGM-M3COMP

I just had my 1200 mile break in service done today. I asked the service person about customers doing their own oil changes and he said, "lots of owners do however if there is an issue they'd have a tough time proving they did the oil change without having a dealer do it so it's on record".

Then he said some stuff about the oil changes are free (once per year, for the first 3 years) and said why would you want to do your own when it's free and covered?

So what am i going to do?

Change my own oil half way (for instance summer time), then bring the car to the dealer by winter so they can do it again and have it recorded in the system that it's done.

Seems like a win win.

When has this actually been an issue for someone whose powertrain is stock, engine is not sludged up (doing oil changes every 5k miles), and under warranty?

Every time I do my own own changes (5,000 mile OCI for regular driving and every 2,500 miles if it involves both track and street driving), I reset the CBS using ISTA.

[beamlord]

Sorry, seems to be a NA only mass "paranoia" with frequent oil changes.

In Europe we run 25k KM (or 15k miles) OCI without anybody questioning BMW mechanics advice, and I spoke to different ones including at BMW Welt. Never heard anyone having an issue due to that, either.

I ran my m2 with a lot of hard track use on a factory OCI for 5 years and 80k KM. Zero issues.

I am sorry but I tend to trust the opinion of BMW techs, both at my dealer and at HQ in München, over forum wisdom on this one.

I am confused as to what "cheap insurace" some of you are talking about. Insurance against what exactly? There is nothing measurable you're preventing, rather paying several hundreds per year for no good reason.
That money over a few years would be better invested in a good post-warranty insurance. Now THAT is actual insurance 😉

[Seanhfx]

Originally Posted by beamlord

Sorry, seems to be a NA only mass "paranoia" with frequent oil changes.

In Europe we run 25k KM (or 15k miles) OCI without anybody questioning BMW mechanics advice, and I spoke to different ones including at BMW Welt. Never heard anyone having an issue due to that, either.

I ran my m2 with a lot of hard track use on a factory OCI for 5 years and 80k KM. Zero issues.

I am sorry but I tend to trust the opinion of BMW techs, both at my dealer and at HQ in München, over forum wisdom on this one.

I am confused as to what "cheap insurace" some of you are talking about. Insurance against what exactly? There is nothing measurable you're preventing, rather paying several hundreds per year for no good reason.
That money over a few years would be better invested in a good post-warranty insurance. Now THAT is actual insurance 😉

What? 25k kms? That's 9000 kms over the manufacturer recommendation in NA. You can say NA is paranoid, but going 25k oil changes is well, just stupid.

[beamlord]

Originally Posted by Seanhfx

What? 25k kms? That's 9000 kms over the manufacturer recommendation in NA. You can say NA is paranoid, but going 25k oil changes is well, just stupid.

I am sure you are better at engineering and maintaining BMW than people who, well, make it.
Also, we have 5 year full factory warranty here. If this was stupid, BMW would be risking engine issues during that period.
Paranoid, I say. The LL oils are fine and work absolutely great. There are scientific articles on that topic.
To me, stupid is changing oil every 5k and wasting money you can use for post warranty insurance.

P.s. unless you're actually racing the car or tracking heavily i.e. 80% of the miles. That's a whole other regime.

[forcefed]

Originally Posted by beamlord

Sorry, seems to be a NA only mass "paranoia" with frequent oil changes.

Better quality fuel in europe.

[kgelfen360]

For those who are doing it every 5k miles. Do you also change oil filter each time?

[beamlord]

Originally Posted by forcefed

Better quality fuel in europe.

Good point, forgot to mention it indeed.
The worst it can get is 98 (in Super+), and my car only gets 100/102. Never any other.

[eugenebmw]

Originally Posted by beamlord

I am sure you are better at engineering and maintaining BMW than people who, well, make it.
Also, we have 5 year full factory warranty here. If this was stupid, BMW would be risking engine issues during that period.
Paranoid, I say. The LL oils are fine and work absolutely great. There are scientific articles on that topic.
To me, stupid is changing oil every 5k and wasting money you can use for post warranty insurance.

P.s. unless you're actually racing the car or tracking heavily i.e. 80% of the miles. That's a whole other regime.

In Canada, we only get coverage for 3 years or 60,000 kilometres (whichever occurs first) for gas-powered vehicles.

[beamlord]

Originally Posted by eugenebmw

In Canada, we only get coverage for 3 years or 60,000 kilometres (whichever occurs first) for gas-powered vehicles.

Well, to be fair I should say we also get 3 years (no KM limit) by default, but extendable to 5 for a grotesque amount of a couple of thousands, which is basically peanuts compared to the benefits it obviously gives you.

[forcefed]

Originally Posted by eugenebmw

In Canada, we only get coverage for 3 years or 60,000 kilometres (whichever occurs first) for gas-powered vehicles.

Its 4 years warranty, 3 years complimentary service.