[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Eazy-e

Chris is not a liar. He has been professionally working on BMWs for 11 years. He is highly respected for all of the work he does. All of his work is top notch and his prices are fair(80 dollars for oil change) I will take his advice over some random dude on forums any day.

I'm sorry but that photo is the same one of about 4 (of the same engine) that I have seen floating around the internet since 2003 (5 yrs ago). He may think it was from a BMW which was maintained in accordance with BMW maintenance intervals using synthetic oil, but it's not. Look do a search yourself. Search "BMW sludge" and hopefully you'll get linked onto some old bimmerfest posts and such. You have to dig deep because the initial posts were "oh look at all the sludge". I'm not saying a BMW engine will NOT develop ANY sludge, but it won't develop sludge like what you see in that photo. It's been awhile and always gets dug up on BMW forums when people start talking about extended service intervals.

[NaTuReB0Y]

Free Maintenance = BMW recommends oil change every 20,000 miles

No Free maintenance = BMW recommends oil change every 3,000 miles

[JRZFresh]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

Free Maintenance = BMW recommends oil change every 20,000 miles

No Free maintenance = BMW recommends oil change every 3,000 miles

Come on now....20k? You cannot be serious. Why come on and post ignorant sh#$ like that?

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by JRZFresh

Come on now....20k? You cannot be serious. Why come on and post ignorant sh#$ like that?

LOL..he's not entirely off base. My first oil change was at 18k miles (1 yr 3 months).

[NaTuReB0Y]

Originally Posted by JRZFresh

Come on now....20k? You cannot be serious. Why come on and post ignorant sh#$ like that?

yeah......20k miles for first free oil change......but i did my own at 5k, 10k, and 15k.

got my 2nd and final free oil change at around 45k miles...........

imagine if i didn't do my own oil change........

2 oil changes in the first 45k miles of ownership.....

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

Free Maintenance = BMW recommends oil change every 20,000 miles

No Free maintenance = BMW recommends oil change every 3,000 miles

That's BS. Mid 80's 3-Series were calling for oil changes at 9000 - 12,000 miles. They didn't start to offer free maintenance until 1997.

[hasrice]

I just went in for a check and my SA told me my computer is reporting based on my driving that I should be schedule for a oil change at around 22k miles. I told him I thought that was crazy and was just going to change it myself. He also told me I could just wait 2 months because that was my 1 year date. I'll just do it now though, 11k miles is already too much.

70 bucks + sweat + time is worth knowing that down the road it'll be better for the engine, especially since I plan on keeping it well over its standard warranty period. Unless if I strike it rich, in that case I'll sell the damn thing and buy a Porsche as my daily driver.

[NaTuReB0Y]

Originally Posted by hasrice

I just went in for a check and my SA told me my computer is reporting based on my driving that I should be schedule for a oil change at around 22k miles. I told him I thought that was crazy and was just going to change it myself. He also told me I could just wait 2 months because that was my 1 year date. I'll just do it now though, 11k miles is already too much.

70 bucks + sweat + time is worth knowing that down the road it'll be better for the engine, especially since I plan on keeping it well over its standard warranty period. Unless if I strike it rich, in that case I'll sell the damn thing and buy a Porsche as my daily driver.

15k...to 17k.......to 20k......to 22k miles.....

soon it's going to be stretched to 25k miles before first oil change....

[Ryan323i]

I was reading this thread today and it got me thinking about my car which I just got on July 29th of this year as a CPO. It has 33,000 miles and was a lease trade in. Apparently, the only time the oil was changed was at 18,500 miles in November 2007!! My oil service indicator says I still have 7,000 miles to go or by 11/2009, exactly 2 years from the first oil change. I checked the oil today and it was dirty as hell of course. I really wanted to believe that the oil service indicator would tell you exactly when you needed the oil changed but I guess not. Right in the service manual it says to change oil when indicated by the service indicator or once per year.

Question: Does the dealer "reset" the oil service indicator when they change the oil or does the CBS actually detect when there's new oil in there and up the remaining mileage?

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by DarkRyan323

I was reading this thread today and it got me thinking about my car which I just got on July 29th of this year as a CPO. It has 33,000 miles and was a lease trade in. Apparently, the only time the oil was changed was at 18,500 miles in November 2007!! My oil service indicator says I still have 7,000 miles to go or by 11/2009, exactly 2 years from the first oil change. I checked the oil today and it was dirty as hell of course. I really wanted to believe that the oil service indicator would tell you exactly when you needed the oil changed but I guess not. Right in the service manual it says to change oil when indicated by the service indicator or once per year.

Question: Does the dealer "reset" the oil service indicator when they change the oil or does the CBS actually detect when there's new oil in there and up the remaining mileage?

The service technician resets the oil change indicator.

[dnifong]

OK, all that being said. I change my own oil. It is 2 hours to the nearest dealer. How the heck do i reast the oil change interval lights? thanks, dale

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by dnifong

OK, all that being said. I change my own oil. It is 2 hours to the nearest dealer. How the heck do i reast the oil change interval lights? thanks, dale

Check the DIY section.

[mylydiamy]

Originally Posted by davig

Not if you plan to keep the car after the warranty expires. All BMW cares about is getting these cars past warranty at the lowest possible cost. The "free maintenance" is essentially a marketing gimmick.

Couldn't have been said any better. But unfortunately many people fall for "free maintenance" thing while the only thing they are getting is 3 oil change which would cost you $50 DIY or $70 at an independent shop.

I don't thing there is a single car out there with scheduled oil change interval is 15K miles, espicailly the first oil change.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by mylydiamy

I don't thing there is a single car out there with scheduled oil change interval is 15K miles, espicailly the first oil change.

Some new VW's are now hitting that mileage for 1st change. As more manufacturers move to synthetic you're going to see longer and longer intervals.

[DPritchett]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

The service technician resets the oil change indicator.

In my experience here, the oil change indicator is NOT reset when the dealer does the (free) annual oil change. My car is just over 3 years old now, with 25k miles. I've had 3 oil changes done, 2 annuals and one at 15k miles. The 15k was the only one after which the dealer reset the indicator.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by DPritchett

In my experience here, the oil change indicator is NOT reset when the dealer does the (free) annual oil change. My car is just over 3 years old now, with 25k miles. I've had 3 oil changes done, 2 annuals and one at 15k miles. The 15k was the only one after which the dealer reset the indicator.

You are talking about two different situations. The question I answered was does the car's oil monitor system detect when an oil change is performed (by detecting new oil in the engine). You are talking about a mid-term oil change by the dealer, where you would not want the oil monitor reset as to affect the free oil service schedule.

[Richwm]

If you have questions about the Oil change interval read this.

[742]

Now that is interesting. Why would they used different mileage numbers depending on transmission?

[ceb]

Originally Posted by Hunter399@Motorwerks

The effects of not changing your oil often will only appear long after your warranty is over.

BMW uses these long intervals to save money.

...oddly enough, the same (or longer) intervals exist in countries where there is no "free" maintenance. That alone proves to me that they aren't doing the long intervals to save money on the "free" maintenance.

You guys are living in a world where the "iffy lube" mentality rules. Oil and engine technology have come a long way since your father's Oldsmobile where 3k miles was the standard interval...

[Ryan323i]

Just got mine changed for the first time since Nov. 2007!! Still had 7,000 miles left on the CBS. Whoever leased the car probably thought nothing of it. I've never seen oil that dirty before. And I'm very surprised how much peppier the car feels now, never realized how sluggish it was in 1st and 2nd gear. I also seem to be getting better gas mileage as well. The CBS should measure 15,000 miles (give or take) OR 1 year instead of 2.

[bulldog_yyc]

Originally Posted by Richwm

If you have questions about the Oil change interval read this.

and your point is? the article mentions the ECU just uses fuel consumption as a proxy for increasing or decreasing the CBS countdown to the next oil change from the base value of 25,000km. While practical, its hardly an accurate indicator of the state of the oil in your engine.

Second, its for the N52 engine. The N54 may use different proxies to make the adjustment. Further, a turbo engine puts way more stress on oil than an equivalent NA engine. If you're tuned, its even more significant.

But hey, its your car, feel free to cheap out.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by turkish335

and your point is? the article mentions the ECU just uses fuel consumption as a proxy for increasing or decreasing the CBS countdown to the next oil change from the base value of 25,000km. While practical, its hardly an accurate indicator of the state of the oil in your engine.

Second, its for the N52 engine. The N54 may use different proxies to make the adjustment. Further, a turbo engine puts way more stress on oil than an equivalent NA engine. If you're tuned, its even more significant.

But hey, its your car, feel free to cheap out.

Funny how Richwm has the most mileage on his car out of anyone on this forum. He's probably near 120,000 by now. I'm at 90,000 with oil changes about every 17,000 miles.