[Joanthanthaniga]

Hi Folks,
I have a service manual from bentley publication for BMW E90. However, i don't have a preventive maintenance manual. Say at what intervals i have to change parts. I am aware of engine oil change frequency; steering and coolant tops up; cabin filter change.My coupe have 120K KM clicks on it and i am interested in keeping my car in perfect shape.
If anyone knows where i can get the Preventive maintenance manual or any tips will greatly help!

Thank you everyone...
Cheers!!

[JingChai]

Here is Mike Miller's Old School BMW Maintenance PDF, hope this helps:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...dbkFdf5yNtLQjl

[ctuna]

It was sold as computer based free maintenance .
But that meant the minimum BMW could get away
with . And lifetime fluids meant 100k as they had
no responsibility for CPO's after that.
The warranty book reads change the oil once a year no
matter what but this clause was smoosed over by
dealers.
The Mike Miller schedule is kind of extreme but certainly
worth reading for the insights.
Something like the kind of maintenance that was considered
routine for most car's.
Change all fluids and filter's at 30 or 60 k intervals.
oil every 7.5 to 10k.
Brake fluid as needed by testing it.

You really want to watch out for this one
(Caused by a weak belt tensioner or Oil dripping on
the belt)

broken belt
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1231881
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...3&postcount=23
https://www.oxwerkzperformance.com/
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1477111
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1305990

Take care of any oil leaks ASAP
OFG, VCG and oil pan.

I don't believe there is a published schedule
due to Computer based schedule.

[Efthreeoh]

Doubling up on maintenance does not double the life expectancy of the vehicle. Mike Miller's schedule is just BMW's maintenance schedule for its cars produced in the 1980s. The CBS along with driveline fluid changes at 100,000 mile intervals is adequate to keep the car in good shape for over a decade.

[hassmaschine]

^ it's not an aircraft. it's a 10 year old, $4000 car. lol.

[Gamb1t]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

^ it's not an aircraft. it's a 10 year old, $4000 car. lol.

Pfft.... maybe he is going to sell it at BaT!

[jwalker87]

Mike Miller's schedule FTW. Sale price of the car doesn't matter - if you want to keep it long-term and high-mileage, proper care is crucial. He includes some ranges so you can apply judgement and common sense, but it provides a starting point and some good discussion related to why it matters.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

Mike Miller's schedule FTW. Sale price of the car doesn't matter - if you want to keep it long-term and high-mileage, proper care is crucial. He includes some ranges so you can apply judgement and common sense, but it provides a starting point and some good discussion related to why it matters.

I've owned BMWs as long as Miller has. I have a 22 year old Z3 with 190,000 miles and it's not seen anywhere near Miller's schedule. My E90 is now 14 years old and 392,000 miles and it's had the maintenance I discussed in my first post. I had an E30 for 18 years and 257,000 that followed Miller's schedule, which is the E30 maintenance schedule. All 3 cars were bought new and I've done all the maintenance past whatever free maintenance BMW adds into the sales price. My E90 has two issues, radio faceplate fade, and the telemetry ECU is dead. The engine uses 1L about every 2,400 miles (so does my E46 at just 112,000 miles).

IMO, Miller's schedule is not relative to modern BMWs. It's overkill. I have the high miles and long ownership with 5 BMWs to back me up on my opinion.

[avocet]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

IMO, Miller's schedule is not relative to modern BMWs. It's overkill. I have the high miles and long ownership with 5 BMWs to back me up on my opinion.

I absolutely agree with you, and I think you are the mileage king around here... lol. Your experience proves maintenance overkill is just that.

BUT,
I also think your driving cycle and the way you generally treat your vehicle has a TON to do with the condition of your vehicles. Most people treat their cars like sh#t, and it shows. Things like taking that extra minute to warm up and/or going easy for the first few minutes while the trans and other fluids catch up.

Anyway, who am I to talk... I do annual oil changes. My last oil was around 4600km... Ya that is like 3000 miles. Maybe. Besides, all my other maintenance stuff gets done early since I can't stop changing parts. Not because they need it but because better parts are better parts, right? Yes, it is an addiction.

But for the OP, at 120k km's your pretty low mileage. You are not in any rush. There is a ton of info in this forum, so take your time and enjoy!

[hassmaschine]

I mean, it's up to you as an owner what you want to do with your car - but compare the extra cost/effort/time to over-maintain your car, vs just following the CBS - compared to what you will actually gain (an extra year of life? nothing?).

The E90 simply needs far less maintenance than an E30 or similar era BMWs did (I still own both). Notice you don't see valve adjustments at 25k miles and timing belt/water pump replacements every 50k miles on that list.. and people complain when an E90 waterpump dies at 150k miles. :|

They also didn't have synthetic oils and other fluids that were worth a damn in 1980 when those original maintenance schedules were made.

FWIW I change my E90 and E70 oil once a year (it works out to be about 10k miles), and the E30 once every two years (I'd be surprised if that was 5k miles).

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I mean, it's up to you as an owner what you want to do with your car - but compare the extra cost/effort/time to over-maintain your car, vs just following the CBS - compared to what you will actually gain (an extra year of life? nothing?).

The E90 simply needs far less maintenance than an E30 or similar era BMWs did (I still own both). Notice you don't see valve adjustments at 25k miles and timing belt/water pump replacements every 50k miles on that list.. and people complain when an E90 waterpump dies at 150k miles. :|

They also didn't have synthetic oils and other fluids that were worth a damn in 1980 when those original maintenance schedules were made.

FWIW I change my E90 and E70 oil once a year (it works out to be about 10k miles), and the E30 once every two years (I'd be surprised if that was 5k miles).

Back in the day my E30 went 9K - 10K between oil changes based on the E30 "primitive" CBS oil life monitor. Back then synthetic was called "special oils" and suggested to be used for a winter/summer viscosity range. IIRC the M20 calls for 10W-40 in the winter and 20W-50 for the summer. BMW didn't brand its own oil until sometime in the 2000's (?).

Hass, does your oil life monitor even work in your E30. Most broke sometime around 1995

[hassmaschine]

no, the battery finally died about 5 years ago - I could fix it, but I don't drive it much, and it's not even close to stock, so the CBS is basically useless anyway. Plus the odometer works only half the time - funny thing about the E30, the odometers typically break at 250,000 miles but the car itself just keeps going.

[Joanthanthaniga]

Originally Posted by ctuna

It was sold as computer based free maintenance .
But that meant the minimum BMW could get away
with . And lifetime fluids meant 100k as they had
no responsibility for CPO's after that.
The warranty book reads change the oil once a year no
matter what but this clause was smoosed over by
dealers.
The Mike Miller schedule is kind of extreme but certainly
worth reading for the insights.
Something like the kind of maintenance that was considered
routine for most car's.
Change all fluids and filter's at 30 or 60 k intervals.
oil every 7.5 to 10k.
Brake fluid as needed by testing it.

You really want to watch out for this one
(Caused by a weak belt tensioner or Oil dripping on
the belt)

broken belt
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1231881
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...3&postcount=23
https://www.oxwerkzperformance.com/
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1477111
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1305990

Take care of any oil leaks ASAP
OFG, VCG and oil pan.

I don't believe there is a published schedule
due to Computer based schedule.

Thanks very detailed explanation. much appreciated !!

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

^ it's not an aircraft. it's a 10 year old, $4000 car. lol.

Speak for yourself. I expect aircraft reliability from my cars, regardless of age, and I get it. And my wagon is a 10yo $20K++ car. The magic of the 6spd, RWD, low-miles original-owner unicorn. I plan to keep it for *decades*.

As I have said many times, I prefer to work on my cars on *my* schedule not the car's schedule, so yes, I will replace parts and fluids that some on here would call "perfectly good".

I find Mike Miller's recommendations to be quite reasonable for the typical car that isn't getting 100K miles every three years.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I've owned BMWs as long as Miller has. I have a 22 year old Z3 with 190,000 miles and it's not seen anywhere near Miller's schedule. My E90 is now 14 years old and 392,000 miles and it's had the maintenance I discussed in my first post. I had an E30 for 18 years and 257,000 that followed Miller's schedule, which is the E30 maintenance schedule. All 3 cars were bought new and I've done all the maintenance past whatever free maintenance BMW adds into the sales price. My E90 has two issues, radio faceplate fade, and the telemetry ECU is dead. The engine uses 1L about every 2,400 miles (so does my E46 at just 112,000 miles).

IMO, Miller's schedule is not relative to modern BMWs. It's overkill. I have the high miles and long ownership with 5 BMWs to back me up on my opinion.

Mike's schedule is not really relevant to someone who puts on as many miles as you do. It took me a decade to hit 50K on my car - with 30K of that put on in the first three years. It was due some love at that point. As a for instance, technically the spark plugs are supposed to be good for 100K on an N52. Want to take a bet as to whether they would come out of the head nicely when my 328i is 45 years old, which is about when it will hit 100K?

The time intervals are important once you aren't putting a ton of miles on. In my case, I think a "major service" replacing all fluids and filters every five years or so is quite appropriate. That will work out to be every 20-30K for my cars. Hardly "over-maintaining". Ultimately, I am fine with Mike's recommendations for the typical 10-12K per year driver that he is basing his recommendations on. Even for a BMW, all of this stuff is cheap and easy.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

Mike's schedule is not really relevant to someone who puts on as many miles as you do. It took me a decade to hit 50K on my car - with 30K of that put on in the first three years. It was due some love at that point. As a for instance, technically the spark plugs are supposed to be good for 100K on an N52. Want to take a bet as to whether they would come out of the head nicely when my 328i is 45 years old, which is about when it will hit 100K?

The time intervals are important once you aren't putting a ton of miles on. In my case, I think a "major service" replacing all fluids and filters every five years or so is quite appropriate. That will work out to be every 20-30K for my cars. Hardly "over-maintaining". Ultimately, I am fine with Mike's recommendations for the typical 10-12K per year driver that he is basing his recommendations on. Even for a BMW, all of this stuff is cheap and easy.

Isn't that what the CBS was devised for, to accommodate different maintenance schedules base on conditions of use?

An example of why Miller's schedule has aged out of date, the E90 fuel filter, which is integrated into the fuel pump. There is no change interval (mileage) for the fuel pump. Miller says to change fuel filters every 30,000 miles. BMW obviously has re-engineered the fuel filter so it doesn't require replacement.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Isn't that what the CBS was devised for, to accommodate different maintenance schedules base on conditions of use?

An example of why Miller's schedule has aged out of date, the E90 fuel filter, which is integrated into the fuel pump. There is no change interval (mileage) for the fuel pump. Miller says to change fuel filters every 30,000 miles. BMW obviously has re-engineered the fuel filter so it doesn't require replacement.

Yes, not all cars have all of the items in the schedule. My M42-engine'd e30s had neither timing belts nor valve adjustments too. The perils of a generalized maintenance schedule - it doesn't apply to everything. But cars are cars.

I agree with him in thinking that CBS mainly exists to save BMW money while they were paying for maintenance, and does not take truly long term ownership into consideration - long term in TIME that is. Note that they still use time-only for some services. And they changed things over the years. My '11s have limits in the OCI calculation that your '06 does not. Presumably because they learned over time that the original algorithms were not perfect. But CBS will never tell you to change the gearbox or diff oil. And they have gone from saying "lifetime" on those to saying "just kidding, lifetime really means 100K. Well, Mike and I think a break-in change plus ~50K is plenty of "lifetime" for those oils. I figure once every five years is a good time to put it up in the air, take all the underpanels off, look at everything, and change all the fluids regardless of miles. For you, that would be a year and a half, which maybe is too frequently. But for me, that's 5 years +++. Literally, YMMV. The only REAL way to know is to have an oil analysis done, but to do that you have to drain it anyway, so I figure might as well just err on the side of caution. Compared to what these cars cost, the maintenance is dirt cheap. And at this point, they don't even sell replacements for my cars anymore! If I could just keep buying new ones, I wouldn't particularly care.

And on that fuel filter - they engineered it to not be a source of evaporative emissions leaks. Whether they engineered it to never need replacement is largely luck of the draw, same as it ever was. Get a tank of dirty gas and you will be replacing it - it will just cost a hell of a lot more. Many, if not most cars even with replaceable fuel filters never got them changed since most people don't maintain their cars correctly.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

Yes, not all cars have all of the items in the schedule. My M42-engine'd e30s had neither timing belts nor valve adjustments too. The perils of a generalized maintenance schedule - it doesn't apply to everything. But cars are cars.

I agree with him in thinking that CBS mainly exists to save BMW money while they were paying for maintenance, and does not take truly long term ownership into consideration - long term in TIME that is. Note that they still use time-only for some services. And they changed things over the years. My '11s have limits in the OCI calculation that your '06 does not. Presumably because they learned over time that the original algorithms were not perfect. But CBS will never tell you to change the gearbox or diff oil. And they have gone from saying "lifetime" on those to saying "just kidding, lifetime really means 100K. Well, Mike and I think a break-in change plus ~50K is plenty of "lifetime" for those oils. I figure once every five years is a good time to put it up in the air, take all the underpanels off, look at everything, and change all the fluids regardless of miles. For you, that would be a year and a half, which maybe is too frequently. But for me, that's 5 years +++. Literally, YMMV. The only REAL way to know is to have an oil analysis done, but to do that you have to drain it anyway, so I figure might as well just err on the side of caution. Compared to what these cars cost, the maintenance is dirt cheap. And at this point, they don't even sell replacements for my cars anymore! If I could just keep buying new ones, I wouldn't particularly care.

And on that fuel filter - they engineered it to not be a source of evaporative emissions leaks. Whether they engineered it to never need replacement is largely luck of the draw, same as it ever was. Get a tank of dirty gas and you will be replacing it - it will just cost a hell of a lot more. Many, if not most cars even with replaceable fuel filters never got them changed since most people don't maintain their cars correctly.

Just a brotherly discussion, right?

So let's talk about drive line juices. The only maintenance schedule the E90 states is for the automatic transmission, and that interval is 100,000 miles. Reading that in the thin maintenance owners manual, I translated it as 100,000-mile drive line fluid changes for the manual transmission and diff. I posted my thoughts on the issue years ago after I hit 100,000 sometime in 2009. It's become the standard around here. I called my selling dealership about when to change coolant. Their reply was 100,000 miles, which I've sort of followed(cooling system surgery over time has shortened the interval).

But back to diffs and transmissions. You've hinted that my rapid accumulation of miles should alter the milage-based fluid changes as compared to time-based. Meaning you change every 5 years, which is 25,000 miles (about what Miller recommends). But here's the thing, my car, accumulating 100,000 miles in 3 years should dictate a shorter interval. It takes time to attain 100,000 miles on a car, so the average speed to get there is higher. For example, my average speed is around 50 MPH. Yours maybe 35. The point is my car turns it's diff and trans gears through the oil faster, meaning more overall gearface friction due to a higher revolution count, and thus more gear oil shearing. The oil should wear out faster. Yet my trans is still alive at 400,000 and on its 4th OCI. I think the parts are better and the oil chemistry is better, which allows 100,000 OCI for drive line oils.

Same for coolant. BMW coolant hasn't changed to my knowledge since the 1980s. Yet the service life has tripled. It's because the engine metal chemistry is more stable, no mixture of copper, bass, bronze, aluminum, and iron oxides. The engines now are all aluminum, magnesium (N52), and plastics. No iron blocks and brass/copper radiators to chemically deal with. The coolant lasts longer.

I don't think Miller's schedule accounts for such changes.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Just a brotherly discussion, right?

So let's talk about drive line juices. The only maintenance schedule the E90 states is for the automatic transmission, and that interval is 100,000 miles. Reading that in the thin maintenance owners manual, I translated it as 100,000-mile drive line fluid changes for the manual transmission and diff. I posted my thoughts on the issue years ago after I hit 100,000 sometime in 2009. It's become the standard around here. I called my selling dealership about when to change coolant. Their reply was 100,000 miles, which I've sort of followed(cooling system surgery over time has shortened the interval).

But back to diffs and transmissions. You've hinted that my rapid accumulation of miles should alter the milage-based fluid changes as compared to time-based. Meaning you change every 5 years, which is 25,000 miles (about what Miller recommends). But here's the thing, my car, accumulating 100,000 miles in 3 years should dictate a shorter interval. It takes time to attain 100,000 miles on a car, so the average speed to get there is higher. For example, my average speed is around 50 MPH. Yours maybe 35. The point is my car turns it's diff and trans gears through the oil faster, meaning more overall gearface friction due to a higher revolution count, and thus more gear oil shearing. The oil should wear out faster. Yet my trans is still alive at 400,000 and on its 4th OCI. I think the parts are better and the oil chemistry is better, which allows 100,000 OCI for drive line oils.

Same for coolant. BMW coolant hasn't changed to my knowledge since the 1980s. Yet the service life has tripled. It's because the engine metal chemistry is more stable, no mixture of copper, bass, bronze, aluminum, and iron oxides. The engines now are all aluminum, magnesium (N52), and plastics. No iron blocks and brass/copper radiators to chemically deal with. The coolant lasts longer.

I don't think Miller's schedule accounts for such changes.

Of course - this isn't religion.

My cars have the same or higher average speeds as yours actually. They just sit around a lot as I have two homes, five cars and no daily commute. They aren't low miles because they are only puttering around town. My wagon has not turned a wheel since October 15th. I'll be in Maine for four days next week and plan to drive it, then it will sit until the first of July. My Land Rover got driven for a week in January, also hadn't moved since October, and won't move again until the 1st of July. My cars down here sit all summer normally, though the Volvo is making the trip to Maine this summer. But I drove my 128i for the first time in a week today - 120mi round trip at mostly fast highway speeds to get my second covid shot. When they get used, they get USED.

Ultimately, I think car makers today, ESPECIALLY European ones, have an interest in underestimating servicing requirements. Because they literally don't care what happens beyond 100K miles, but a low TCO for the first and CPO owner is a selling point. See those idiot VW commercials about the Atlas having the lowest maintenance costs in class. A prime example is the auto transmission fluid. BMW used to say "lifetime", then they back-pedalled to "100K". But if you go to ZF's or GM's documentation for them - they recommend changing the fluid every *30-50K* depending on how the car is driven. And most people in the US fall into the severe service category given the number of congested stop-and-go suburban commutes, so they really should be doing it at the low end of that scale. And an awful lot of these automatics start having issues at fairly young ages. But you get new fluid with the transmission rebuild!

My Volvo has a similar issue. The official Volvo change interval is 120K for that car - and by 120K damage is done already to every single one of them. It's an Aisin transmission that is also used by Toyota and Lexus - Toyota says 50K change interval - and guess what - they are considered BULLETPROOF if that interval is followed. The Volvos sure as hell are not with a 120K change interval. And it was NASTY when I changed mine at 119K for almost certainly the first time when I bought the car - and it had major shifting issues. A couple of drain and fill cycles helped considerably, but I still have the typical hot grumpiness that means I need new shift solenoids. Not changing the fluid causes them to gum up and stick. That is why it is going to Maine this summer - I would rather do that job in my big garage on a lift than on my back under a Quickjack.

Similarly, other car makers still say every four years for coolant using similar coolant tech to BMW and similar engine tech. How does BMW magically get 100K? Which in the case of my car is meaningless because 100K is literally forever. Coolant ages on time, not miles. Heat cycles matter some too. Brake fluid is time based. I like to change gearbox fluid regularly simply because it shifts nicer that way, even if you could probably leave it in there for eternity lubrication wise. Ditto brake fluid every other year - keeps a nice firm pedal, and I have the wheels off once a year or so to rotate the tires and inspect the brakes anyway, literally 10 minutes and $10 to throw the Motive bleeder on and open the bleeders - side benefit - no stuck bleeders. Every few years I lube the pins - no stuck calipers that way. The diffs are TINY compared to the olden days, but have more power going through them and plastic bearing races. You bet I am going to change that oil once in a while too while I am under the car. Another task that takes minimal time or money.

Ultimately, I find it hilarious how many people on here are nuts about changing engine oil all the time. That is the one fluid that really CAN last a really long time in these cars. Mostly because the whole reason they hold so damned much oil is to support that long change interval though having enough additives present. I generally do every other year for the cars in Maine, every three for the Spitfire. Once a year for the cars down here. Could go longer, but I'm going to put the car up in the air for a thorough looking over anyway, and if I am doing that, might as well change the oil.

At the end of the day, for cars that aren't doing huge mileages, as I said, I think Mike's recommendations are quite reasonable and a good start. For you, doing huge mileages, you need to make adjustments. Time matters too. Have to find a happy medium, but at the end of the day it's just not a lot of money either way if you are doing it yourself. Nothing has ever worn out *faster* by having fresher, cleaner lubricant or coolant in it, or a nice clean filter.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

Of course - this isn't religion.

My cars have the same or higher average speeds as yours actually. They just sit around a lot as I have two homes, five cars and no daily commute. They aren't low miles because they are only puttering around town. My wagon has not turned a wheel since October 15th. I'll be in Maine for four days next week and plan to drive it, then it will sit until the first of July. My Land Rover got driven for a week in January, also hadn't moved since October, and won't move again until the 1st of July. My cars down here sit all summer normally, though the Volvo is making the trip to Maine this summer. But I drove my 128i for the first time in a week today - 120mi round trip at mostly fast highway speeds to get my second covid shot. When they get used, they get USED.

Ultimately, I think car makers today, ESPECIALLY European ones, have an interest in underestimating servicing requirements. Because they literally don't care what happens beyond 100K miles, but a low TCO for the first and CPO owner is a selling point. See those idiot VW commercials about the Atlas having the lowest maintenance costs in class. A prime example is the auto transmission fluid. BMW used to say "lifetime", then they back-pedalled to "100K". But if you go to ZF's or GM's documentation for them - they recommend changing the fluid every *30-50K* depending on how the car is driven. And most people in the US fall into the severe service category given the number of congested stop-and-go suburban commutes, so they really should be doing it at the low end of that scale. And an awful lot of these automatics start having issues at fairly young ages. But you get new fluid with the transmission rebuild!

My Volvo has a similar issue. The official Volvo change interval is 120K for that car - and by 120K damage is done already to every single one of them. It's an Aisin transmission that is also used by Toyota and Lexus - Toyota says 50K change interval - and guess what - they are considered BULLETPROOF if that interval is followed. The Volvos sure as hell are not with a 120K change interval. And it was NASTY when I changed mine at 119K for almost certainly the first time when I bought the car - and it had major shifting issues. A couple of drain and fill cycles helped considerably, but I still have the typical hot grumpiness that means I need new shift solenoids. Not changing the fluid causes them to gum up and stick. That is why it is going to Maine this summer - I would rather do that job in my big garage on a lift than on my back under a Quickjack.

Similarly, other car makers still say every four years for coolant using similar coolant tech to BMW and similar engine tech. How does BMW magically get 100K? Which in the case of my car is meaningless because 100K is literally forever. Coolant ages on time, not miles. Heat cycles matter some too. Brake fluid is time based. I like to change gearbox fluid regularly simply because it shifts nicer that way, even if you could probably leave it in there for eternity lubrication wise. Ditto brake fluid every other year - keeps a nice firm pedal, and I have the wheels off once a year or so to rotate the tires and inspect the brakes anyway, literally 10 minutes and $10 to throw the Motive bleeder on and open the bleeders - side benefit - no stuck bleeders. Every few years I lube the pins - no stuck calipers that way. The diffs are TINY compared to the olden days, but have more power going through them and plastic bearing races. You bet I am going to change that oil once in a while too while I am under the car. Another task that takes minimal time or money.

Ultimately, I find it hilarious how many people on here are nuts about changing engine oil all the time. That is the one fluid that really CAN last a really long time in these cars. Mostly because the whole reason they hold so damned much oil is to support that long change interval though having enough additives present. I generally do every other year for the cars in Maine, every three for the Spitfire. Once a year for the cars down here. Could go longer, but I'm going to put the car up in the air for a thorough looking over anyway, and if I am doing that, might as well change the oil.

At the end of the day, for cars that aren't doing huge mileages, as I said, I think Mike's recommendations are quite reasonable and a good start. For you, doing huge mileages, you need to make adjustments. Time matters too. Have to find a happy medium, but at the end of the day it's just not a lot of money either way if you are doing it yourself. Nothing has ever worn out *faster* by having fresher, cleaner lubricant or coolant in it, or a nice clean filter.

You and I share engine oil OCI philosophy. I just changed the oil in my Honda Valkyrie this past weekend. It was a 5-year 8,000-mile OCI. 8K is Honda's mileage interval. Same with my diesel tractor. It's hours-use based (every 100). I let it go long by 20 hours, but that was a 2-day use event that ran it over.

[3PedalJake]

One often overlooked maintenance task even by Mike Miller is the periodic checking of rear wheel wells for critter nests. The 330 had a squatter that chewed through the ABS wires, just found 2 in the 325, thankfully more respectful guests this time no damage but evicted nonetheless.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

One often overlooked maintenance task even by Mike Miller is the periodic checking of rear wheel wells for critter nests. The 330 had a squatter that chewed through the ABS wires, just found 2 in the 325, thankfully more respectful guests this time no damage but evicted nonetheless.

Yikes!! Thankfully I have never had that issue in any of my cars. Though I did have to take the bumper off my wagon due to taking a bird THROUGH the lower grill at 85mph. Left a bird shaped hole in it like a cartoon, too!

But a friend of mine had critters chew through the fuel lines in his Saab 9-5 twice, which are integral with the fuel pump assembly. $1200 each time. After the second time, his mechanic had the very great idea to run the fuel lines through metal flex electrical conduit - there was plenty of room under the car to do that. Not chewing through THAT! Insurance paid for all but the $100 comprehensive deductible both times, thankfully.