1,500 mile oil change interval

PTinVT · 05-15-2010, 02:21 AM

2007 328xi coupe
In service 12/2006
Purchased CPO 1/2009 with 21.5K miles

Took to dealer 1/2010 with 26K miles (for state inspection and to look at sticky steering wheel buttons). At that time, they changed the oil for free as a factory warranty "Annual Service" which reset the mileage-based service reminder but did not reset time-based service reminder.

I finally get around to having them order new steering wheel buttons and took it back just to get those replaced. Car now has 27.5K miles. In the meantime, my car started calling for service due 4/2010. When I was getting written up, the SA was visibly confused because the BMW system was calling for another oil change - 4 months and only 1,500 miles later.

They admitted this was a flaw in the BMW system, but gladly gave me another free oil change which I believe was completely unnecessary. I hope some tech out back put it together and took my used oil for use elsewhere, rather than put it in the recycling stream. They also said the typical oil change interval can be anywhere from 12-18,000 miles, depending on conditions, so I found it very ironic that their system was telling them to do - and paying them for - a 120 day/1,500 mile oil change on my car. I was hoping for another free oil change in the 12/2010-1/2011 timeframe just before my factory warranty expires, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen now (as this car will probably only get another 5K in the coming year)

VTECaddict · 05-15-2010, 03:13 AM

Yeah, not sure why BMW policy is to not reset the counter for low mileage oil annual changes. Maybe resetting it prematurely throws off the other scheduled maintenance intervals?

John 070 · 05-15-2010, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTinVT

They admitted this was a flaw in the BMW system, but gladly gave me another free oil change which I believe was completely unnecessary.

When they do an oil change based on time, my understanding is that they do not reset anything. But it's quite amazing for the dealership to say it's a flaw in the system, sounds like they are poor in explaining or they don't have an understanding themselves, which is actually par for the course with BMW.

Chriztofor · 05-15-2010, 06:35 AM

I would go back to that SA all the time while the car is still under warranty. Who knows what he will suggest to change!

ie: You: I hear a noise
SA: Well, Maybe you need ____fill in expensive repair here____.
Note: The mechanic would still have to verify it.

PTinVT · 05-15-2010, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John 070

When they do an oil change based on time, my understanding is that they do not reset anything. But it's quite amazing for the dealership to say it's a flaw in the system, sounds like they are poor in explaining or they don't have an understanding themselves, which is actually par for the course with BMW.

I think I'm a bit of an exception in that I put only 4-5K miles a year on the car. I'm guessing the majority of newer BMWs are leased and expected to get 12, 15, or even 20K miles per year.

They must have reset something last time, I was getting a "service in so many miles" indicator before the first oil change, that went away, and it got replaced by "service in this month" indicator a couple months later. So maybe the car's self-diagnostics can't reconcile both? Odd considering their whole "condition based" premise for cars computing when an oil change is needed.

They also did tell me that if it had been less than 60 days since the last oil change, their service system would not be calling for another oil change. So who drives enough in 61 days to warrant an oil change?

I have faith in my dealership staff... I don't have much of a choice since there is only one BMW dealer in the entire state of Vermont and my nearest other choices are 3 hours away. I think they're simply wary of the consequences of NOT doing exactly what their computer tells them to do.

cotmfk · 05-15-2010, 08:53 AM

That is weird. I do oil changes every 5k miles, just out of habit and for personal sanity. I don't think the car should go 15k between oil changes, but whatever, I guess that's just me. When I do reset the light now, it says I can go 20k miles between oil changes! So, I guess that would be one indicator I am changing a bit too early.

roger911 · 04-15-2011, 07:44 PM

I went in for my annual oil change recently at the dealership, as well as for the recall on the fuel pump and injectors. I got the car back, and being the paranoid person I am, I looked into the oil fill hole, and the oil looked dirty. Then I removed the oil filter, and that looked dirty as well. I drained a pint of oil out of the car, and it's BLACK. I only drove it 5 miles after getting it back.

I realize oil can become discolored from residual old oil in the engine, so I sent off the oil for analysis to determine if it's old (5000 miles) oil.
The work ticket clearly states that the oil was changed under "Warranty".
So, assuming the analysis proves the oil wasn't changed, what would you do? Go to the dealer first or take it directly to Corporate? Are they defrauding customers as well as BMWUSA by charging for work that wasn't performed? Due to the lack of a dipstick, the average Joe will never know the oil wasn't really changed. How can I be assured that ANY of the work over the past three years was really performed? I'm LIVID and am deciding on a course of action.

ceb · 04-15-2011, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger911

I went in for my annual oil change recently at the dealership, as well as for the recall on the fuel pump and injectors. I got the car back, and being the paranoid person I am, I looked into the oil fill hole, and the oil looked dirty. Then I removed the oil filter, and that looked dirty as well. I drained a pint of oil out of the car, and it's BLACK. I only drove it 5 miles after getting it back.

I realize oil can become discolored from residual old oil in the engine, so I sent off the oil for analysis to determine if it's old (5000 miles) oil.
The work ticket clearly states that the oil was changed under "Warranty".
So, assuming the analysis proves the oil wasn't changed, what would you do? Go to the dealer first or take it directly to Corporate? Are they defrauding customers as well as BMWUSA by charging for work that wasn't performed? Due to the lack of a dipstick, the average Joe will never know the oil wasn't really changed. How can I be assured that ANY of the work over the past three years was really performed? I'm LIVID and am deciding on a course of action.

Do NOT go to the dealership. Once you get the analysis send a letter along with a copy of the analysis to BMWNA. They will send a few tes cars through to see what the dealership does.

Back in the '90's I closed down a couple of garages based on an initial customer complaint and a handful of doctored cars. Last I heard, one of the managers was still in jail (there were other issues as well.)

roger911 · 04-16-2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceb

Do NOT go to the dealership. Once you get the analysis send a letter along with a copy of the analysis to BMWNA. They will send a few tes cars through to see what the dealership does.

Back in the '90's I closed down a couple of garages based on an initial customer complaint and a handful of doctored cars. Last I heard, one of the managers was still in jail (there were other issues as well.)

Thanks CEB!

ceb · 04-16-2011, 08:25 PM

There are two possibilities assuming the analysis comes back as being old oil:

The tech is cheating the dealership and is stealing the oil and filters (unlikely)

The dealership is committing fraud.

If you go to the dealership then they'll apologize, say it was an error and stop doing it for a while.

BMWNA has a vested interest in stopping this type of fraud. Manufacturers has offices dedicated to ferreting out this type of illegal behavior.

roger911 · 04-17-2011, 06:18 PM

Yeah, I'm not expecting to make any headway at the dealership except another oil change and maybe even a little bit of attitude.

I can't wait for the results!

05-15-2010, 02:21 AM	#1
PTinVT armchair enthusiast 221 Rep 1,018 Posts Drives: 18 340xi, 02 325Cic, 93 850Ci Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Burlington, VT iTrader: (3)	1,500 mile oil change interval - by dealer 2007 328xi coupe In service 12/2006 Purchased CPO 1/2009 with 21.5K miles Took to dealer 1/2010 with 26K miles (for state inspection and to look at sticky steering wheel buttons). At that time, they changed the oil for free as a factory warranty "Annual Service" which reset the mileage-based service reminder but did not reset time-based service reminder. I finally get around to having them order new steering wheel buttons and took it back just to get those replaced. Car now has 27.5K miles. In the meantime, my car started calling for service due 4/2010. When I was getting written up, the SA was visibly confused because the BMW system was calling for another oil change - 4 months and only 1,500 miles later. They admitted this was a flaw in the BMW system, but gladly gave me another free oil change which I believe was completely unnecessary. I hope some tech out back put it together and took my used oil for use elsewhere, rather than put it in the recycling stream. They also said the typical oil change interval can be anywhere from 12-18,000 miles, depending on conditions, so I found it very ironic that their system was telling them to do - and paying them for - a 120 day/1,500 mile oil change on my car. I was hoping for another free oil change in the 12/2010-1/2011 timeframe just before my factory warranty expires, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen now (as this car will probably only get another 5K in the coming year) __________________ '18 340i xDrive EB/Dakota, 6-speed manual, M-sport '02 325Cic vert AW/Montana leather, 5-speed manual, premium/removable hardtop '93 850Ci Oxford Green/Parchment, auto '71 Buick Riviera, 455 V8 land yacht
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05-15-2010, 03:13 AM	#2
VTECaddict Where'd my VTEC go? 479 Rep 6,067 Posts Drives: 06 330i 6MT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (4)	Yeah, not sure why BMW policy is to not reset the counter for low mileage oil annual changes. Maybe resetting it prematurely throws off the other scheduled maintenance intervals? __________________ AW/Terra \| ZSP \| ZPP \| ZCW \| iDrive \| CA Mods: BC BR coilovers \| Blacklines \| M-tech rear \| dual exhaust \| M3 steering wheel \| BMW SSK \| ZHP shift knob \| High-kick CF spoiler \| NBT Retrofit M3 front control arms \| M3 rear guide rods \| Manzo rear toe and camber links \| Monroe rear shock mounts \| Varrstoen ES1 19x9.5+20 Front, 19x11+25 rear
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05-15-2010, 06:35 AM	#4
Chriztofor Colonel 103 Rep 2,783 Posts Drives: '06 325i and '13 X5 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Chicago Burbs iTrader: (1)	I would go back to that SA all the time while the car is still under warranty. Who knows what he will suggest to change! ie: You: I hear a noise SA: Well, Maybe you need ____fill in expensive repair here____. Note: The mechanic would still have to verify it.
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05-15-2010, 08:53 AM	#6
cotmfk Major General 2039 Rep 6,103 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Somewhere between DC and FL iTrader: (12)	That is weird. I do oil changes every 5k miles, just out of habit and for personal sanity. I don't think the car should go 15k between oil changes, but whatever, I guess that's just me. When I do reset the light now, it says I can go 20k miles between oil changes! So, I guess that would be one indicator I am changing a bit too early. __________________ When you say impact instead of affect/effect, you are communicating that you don't understand the difference between the two words, and are too lazy to learn.
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04-15-2011, 07:44 PM	#7
roger911 Lebenskünstler 7 Rep 37 Posts Drives: E92 335i, sparkling graphite Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Paso Robles, CA iTrader: (0)	I went in for my annual oil change recently at the dealership, as well as for the recall on the fuel pump and injectors. I got the car back, and being the paranoid person I am, I looked into the oil fill hole, and the oil looked dirty. Then I removed the oil filter, and that looked dirty as well. I drained a pint of oil out of the car, and it's BLACK. I only drove it 5 miles after getting it back. I realize oil can become discolored from residual old oil in the engine, so I sent off the oil for analysis to determine if it's old (5000 miles) oil. The work ticket clearly states that the oil was changed under "Warranty". So, assuming the analysis proves the oil wasn't changed, what would you do? Go to the dealer first or take it directly to Corporate? Are they defrauding customers as well as BMWUSA by charging for work that wasn't performed? Due to the lack of a dipstick, the average Joe will never know the oil wasn't really changed. How can I be assured that ANY of the work over the past three years was really performed? I'm LIVID and am deciding on a course of action.
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04-16-2011, 08:25 PM	#10
ceb NHTSA Nazi 28 Rep 1,983 Posts Drives: 335ix Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MD iTrader: (1)	There are two possibilities assuming the analysis comes back as being old oil: The tech is cheating the dealership and is stealing the oil and filters (unlikely) The dealership is committing fraud. If you go to the dealership then they'll apologize, say it was an error and stop doing it for a while. BMWNA has a vested interest in stopping this type of fraud. Manufacturers has offices dedicated to ferreting out this type of illegal behavior.
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04-17-2011, 06:18 PM	#11
roger911 Lebenskünstler 7 Rep 37 Posts Drives: E92 335i, sparkling graphite Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Paso Robles, CA iTrader: (0)	Yeah, I'm not expecting to make any headway at the dealership except another oil change and maybe even a little bit of attitude. I can't wait for the results!
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