[Fastisfun]

About 2 weeks ago the car service light starts flashing so i called last week and scheduled for maintenance. this by the way is the same sa that tells me no loaner is available - anyway - i drop the car off this morning at 745am and check it in - i just got a call back from the sa telling me they changed the wiper blades, did an inspection, replaced a broken cup holder, BUT I would have to bring the car back in 3 weeks or either an additional 2000 miles for the oil change since BMW would not authorize it to be changed today. I am so pissed - if this is typical customer service then BMW can go to hell.

I asked the sa why did you even schedule me to come in if i wasnt going to be able to get an oil change - the fricking main reason i was going to bring it in???

is this just me or do i need to switch dealerships, or is BMW really this crappy on their customer service?

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Fastisfun

About 2 weeks ago the car service light starts flashing so i called last week and scheduled for maintenance. this by the way is the same sa that tells me no loaner is available - anyway - i drop the car off this morning at 745am and check it in - i just got a call back from the sa telling me they changed the wiper blades, did an inspection, replaced a broken cup holder, BUT I would have to bring the car back in 3 weeks or either an additional 2000 miles for the oil change since BMW would not authorize it to be changed today. I am so pissed - if this is typical customer service then BMW can go to hell.

I asked the sa why did you even schedule me to come in if i wasnt going to be able to get an oil change - the fricking main reason i was going to bring it in???

is this just me or do i need to switch dealerships, or is BMW really this crappy on their customer service?

If the car is telling you you need an oil change, they have to change it. I'm not sure why an oil change wouldn't be included in the regular scheduled maintenance. Change dealerships. It's a shame, but here in MD, I prefer VOB BMW for service rather than Tischer where I actually bought my car. On the flip side, my wife and I were blown off by VOB salesmen, so we bought the car at Tischer. It's nice having more than one option in an area.

[jopa489]

You brought it in too soon. The service light comes on (when you first put the ignition and start the car) a little before you need service. It tells you how many miles until you need service too. No BMW dealer will perform any scheduled maintenance unless the car tells them to do so, that's their policy and just how it works.

Next time, call the dealer when your car is actually ready for service and book it for the next available time they have a loaner to give you. You'll find the experience much more pleasurable. I've been doing it this way for years over many different cars and have yet to have any type of problem.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by jopa489

You brought it in too soon. The service light comes on (when you first put the ignition and start the car) a little before you need service. It tells you how many miles until you need service too. No BMW dealer will perform any scheduled maintenance unless the car tells them to do so, that's their policy and just how it works.

Next time, call the dealer when your car is actually ready for service and book it for the next available time they have a loaner to give you. You'll find the experience much more pleasurable. I've been doing it this way for years over many different cars and have yet to have any type of problem.

In my 528i, I was able to take it in at the first yellow indicator light. I'm not sure about cars with iDrive. But it seems proactive to get things done early rather than later. 2000 miles is a longggggggggggggg time for some people who may not drive far in their cars. So, you could possibly experience an annoying reminder for 3 to 4 months if you don't put many miles on the car. It would be great if the car warned you say 500 miles from the time you need an oil change. Most people don't drive more than 500 miles if they know they need an oil change and it's free.

[JoeyBananaz18]

Originally Posted by jopa489

You brought it in too soon. The service light comes on (when you first put the ignition and start the car) a little before you need service. It tells you how many miles until you need service too. No BMW dealer will perform any scheduled maintenance unless the car tells them to do so, that's their policy and just how it works.

Next time, call the dealer when your car is actually ready for service and book it for the next available time they have a loaner to give you. You'll find the experience much more pleasurable. I've been doing it this way for years over many different cars and have yet to have any type of problem.

yup. i knew the answer before i was done reading. im getting better at this BMW stuff lol.
apparently they are really strict with the 15k oil changes. how many miles do you have between oil changes? was this your first change? if the service light comes on, id think it could be a number of things other than an oil change. with all the electronics in our cars you never know what could be the problem. is the light still on? if they know that you came in specifically for an oil change, and if something happens with your car in the next 2000miles/3 weeks, they have it on record, and you can turn around and say "WTF". i wouldnt get too stressed out.

[NaTuReB0Y]

as i remembered....here were my schedule maintenance for the 4/50k warranty:

20k+ miles = free oil change
35k+ miles = Inspection I(nothing changed or replaced...just inspection - wasted half a day)
45k+ miles = second free oil change

[crazed792]

Originally Posted by jopa489

You brought it in too soon. The service light comes on (when you first put the ignition and start the car) a little before you need service. It tells you how many miles until you need service too. No BMW dealer will perform any scheduled maintenance unless the car tells them to do so, that's their policy and just how it works.

Next time, call the dealer when your car is actually ready for service and book it for the next available time they have a loaner to give you. You'll find the experience much more pleasurable. I've been doing it this way for years over many different cars and have yet to have any type of problem.

Does this mean that if your car doesn't think it needs a service until way past 15k miles, they won't perform the change at 15k? I've noticed my car thinks it can go much further since I've been putting on a lot of freeway miles, but I still want it done under warranty after 15k. OP, sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, but the above statement made me curious.

[NaTuReB0Y]

Originally Posted by crazed792

Does this mean that if your car doesn't think it needs a service until way past 15k miles, they won't perform the change at 15k? I've noticed my car thinks it can go much further since I've been putting on a lot of freeway miles, but I still want it done under warranty after 15k. OP, sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, but the above statement made me curious.

i had like 17k miles on mine and they won't change the oil when i took it in for warranty work......

i had to wait until the onboard computer said it was time(around 20k miles).....

[crazed792]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

i had like 17k miles on mine and they won't change the oil when i took it in for warranty work......

i had to wait until the onboard computer said it was time(around 20k miles).....

Blah. My next oil service will be outside the warranty then (will hit 15 at about 47k overall). Hooray for another way to gouge people! I'm going to give the dealer a call when I hit 15k anyway just to see. Thanks for the info.

[catcher22]

If you've had your car a year, they should have given you the Annual oil change for free....that's about all they would do though (although they would fix anything else that's broken covered under warranty, as they did with you). They might not have given it to you because you're so close to the 15,000 mile service, which would also include a free oil change. They probably didn't want to give you 2 free oil changes within 2000 miles. Sounds like the SA was trying to save a buck.

Personally though, I would have scheduled a time when a loaner car is available, if possible. Often when I drop off my car on a Friday and pick up the loaner, the loaner dude tells me I'm lucky because there will be no loaners available for others the following Monday morning. Understandable. A lot of loaners are returned on Mondays during the evening, so my guess is Tuesdays are your best bet to obtain a loaner.

Either way, your SA is in the wrong for not telling you they wouldn’t be able to do the oil change up front. He could have told you to wait 2,000 miles to get everything done or get the other stuff done now then in 2,000 the oil change. Or they could have done the right thing and given you your free Annual oil change and still allow you to bring it in for the 15,000 mile maintenance.

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by crazed792

Does this mean that if your car doesn't think it needs a service until way past 15k miles, they won't perform the change at 15k? I've noticed my car thinks it can go much further since I've been putting on a lot of freeway miles, but I still want it done under warranty after 15k. OP, sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, but the above statement made me curious.

Yes, the car monitors how you drive and adjusts when it needs the oil change. My E90 is my primary daily driver and sees mostly highway miles, and is currently estimating I'll need my first service around 17k.

They will do anything the car requests for the first 4 years or 50k miles. That's about all there is to know.

[am_ver]

You guys are telling me that you don't get the free annual oil change - the car never tells u of that oil change????!!!! Call your dealer and ask them for the annual oil change - your engine will thank you for it!

[MuchMoore]

OP, was the dealer "Performance BMW"?

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...erformance+bmw

[iheartsole]

damn. i would feel the same way

[seanl]

Originally Posted by catcher22

If you've had your car a year, they should have given you the Annual oil change for free....that's about all they would do though (although they would fix anything else that's broken covered under warranty, as they did with you)

Last week I got my free annual oil change done at 11,500 miles. I have owned the car 11 months, 3 weeks.

it's called the low mileage annual oil service per 00 04 001

I believe they don't reset the service indicator either, so I'll get the next oil change sooner rather than another year from now.

BTW, I paid for the first oil change @ 5000 miles as I was uncomfortable leaving the original oil in the car for a year/12K miles.

[Fortyb]

[QUOTE=seanl;5664342]Last week I got my free annual oil change done at 11,500 miles. I have owned the car 11 months, 3 weeks.

it's called the low mileage annual oil service per 00 04 001

I believe they don't reset the service indicator either, so I'll get the next oil change sooner rather than another year from now.

Same here just got mines done also with the low milage service no reset until the next service.

[jopa489]

You guys need to drive your cars more.

[NaTuReB0Y]

Originally Posted by seanl

Last week I got my free annual oil change done at 11,500 miles. I have owned the car 11 months, 3 weeks.

it's called the low mileage annual oil service per 00 04 001

I believe they don't reset the service indicator either, so I'll get the next oil change sooner rather than another year from now.

BTW, I paid for the first oil change @ 5000 miles as I was uncomfortable leaving the original oil in the car for a year/12K miles.

that might be true....but my dealer wouldn't do it when i took it in at 17k miles at one year....

i had to wait until 20k....a month and a half later.....

they said...they only go by the onboard computer....

[rambalu80]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

that might be true....but my dealer wouldn't do it when i took it in at 17k miles at one year....

i had to wait until 20k....a month and a half later.....

they said...they only go by the onboard computer....

The low mileage oil change is covered in at least three different ways in BMW SIBs. No BMW center should insist on any mileage limit under the "ANNUAL" coverage.

1) SI B11 08 98
Engine June 2006
Technical Service

This Service Information bulletin supersedes S.I. 11 08 98 dated October 2005.

(New) designates changes to this revision

SUBJECT
BMW Engine Oils


MODEL
All E-Series from MY 1999 to present.


SITUATION
Starting with the introduction of the 1999 3 Series (E46), BMW introduced an extended oil change interval of approximately 15,000 miles depending on engine operating conditions.

The engine oil change interval of approximately 15,000 miles has been carried over to all 2001 BMW models. However, engine oil should be changed at least once a year. This revision (annual oil change) is retroactive to earlier model years and is included in the BMW Maintenance Plan.

To coincide with the increased oil change interval, BMW also introduced "BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil" SAE 5W-30.

2) SI B 00 01 07
Maintenance and General Hints February 2008
Technical Service

This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI B00 01 07 dated December 2007.

designates changes to this revision

SUBJECT
New Vehicle Preparation and Maintenance Requirements
.
.
.
All Referenced Models: Engine oil should be changed at least once per year. The BMW Maintenance Program allows for this operation if a vehicle does not travel enough to have a BMW Engine Oil Service performed. This detail is listed in the respective Service/Warranty booklet. Please make customers aware of this important fact when you review an upcoming Service Appointment.

3) SI B01 02 03
Warranty September 2003
Warranty

This Service Information Bulletin supersedes S.I. B01 02 03 dated February 2003.

SUBJECT
BMW Maintenance Program 4 Years - 50,000 Miles
.
.
.
MAINTENANCE PLAN DEFECT CODES
1ST Engine Oil Service
85 99 00 89 MP

2nd Engine Oil Service
85 99 00 91 MP

(1) Annual Low Mileage Oil Service
85 99 00 87 MP

[NaTuReB0Y]

^

if that's the case....i should have at least 3 free oil changes?

it seems like every dealer is different...........

[rambalu80]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

^

if that's the case....i should have at least 3 free oil changes?

it seems like every dealer is different...........

The bulletins apply to all BMW service centers. I guess yours is just screwing people who are ignorant of the free annual oil change. Every dealership I have spoken to in Houston does the free annual oil change as long as it has been at least 365 days since the last free oil change.

[jimjim]

....Bought new 2008 535 year ago. Was familiar with 4yrs everything service. Wiseguy contract salesman suggested increasing 50,000 mile guarantee to 100,000 for $2500. Because car for wife i ok'd. Got extended contract in mail...NO MECHANICAL FIX INCLUDED...told them to cancell an was told no way...Thieves and liars...got rid of BMW got new Lexus...$20,000 lesson