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Technical Topics Mechanical Maintenance and TSBs: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / TSBs and Service Bulletin Help me understand the oil change interval

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      06-28-2020, 04:30 PM   #1
FrostNixon
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Help me understand the oil change interval

So by spec bmw changes the oil every 2 years or 30 000km or 18 600 miles. I understand that they use synthetic oil, but still, maybe I am old fashioned, but this looks like an overkill. Anyone else practicing this, on previous vehicles or current, with anything to share?
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      06-28-2020, 07:04 PM   #2
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The computer will alert you when an oil change is due based on climate and driving conditions etc. For example, my car needed an oil change at 9K miles which was less than a year. Normally oil changes would be 10K miles or one year whichever occur first in the USA.


PS. assuming you have a G20.
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      06-28-2020, 07:06 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrostNixon View Post
So by spec bmw changes the oil every 2 years or 30 000km or 18 600 miles. I understand that they use synthetic oil, but still, maybe I am old fashioned, but this looks like an overkill. Anyone else practicing this, on previous vehicles or current, with anything to share?
I have an m340i and I would recommend you change the oil every 5000 miles.

I had to add oil at qboit 4200 miles and many others have had to do the same. This turbos really like oil.

When I first got the car the intervals on the dash said 10k and then it updated to 8k.

I still think that's not often enough and you'll be running low on oil long before.

I drive my car fairly hard. And lightly for long trims. Maybe if you completely baby the car and never floor it you can do longer intervals.
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      06-28-2020, 07:11 PM   #4
EXE46
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The oil consumption issue is an anomaly because there are guys running stage 2 tunes and down-pipes etc and don't have the issue. While someone like myself who has a stock car and having to had to a quart three times before my first oil change in less than 12 months.
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      06-28-2020, 08:11 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
The oil consumption issue is an anomaly because there are guys running stage 2 tunes and down-pipes etc and don't have the issue. While someone like myself who has a stock car and having to had to a quart three times before my first oil change in less than 12 months.
Yeah I've had my car over a year now and I drive hard sometimes and never had to top any oil.. always been at full line, bone stock, seems like a bad batch unfortunately
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      06-29-2020, 01:59 AM   #6
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I did my first oil change after 2600 km (I wasn't driving aggressively till then). I will be changing oil every 15'000 km.
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      06-29-2020, 02:47 AM   #7
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I go by the dash indicator on when to change which for my mileage and driving has been every two years. I previously, to this car, have had two 520d’s over 13 years. Always changed when advised with no issues.
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      06-29-2020, 04:42 AM   #8
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I think it mostly depends on whether you are leasing/short-term-ownership or buying-and-planning-on-keeping-the-car-long-term. If you're leasing, just do the service when the car tells you, and make sure you don't overrun in order not to get into trouble.

If you plan to keep the car a long time, it's probably not a bad idea to get the oil changed more often in order to improve longevity. But also make sure to at least service it when the car demands it to make sure you don't run into issues about warranty or so later on.

Last edited by mbanck; 06-29-2020 at 05:06 AM..
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      06-29-2020, 05:01 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrostNixon View Post
So by spec bmw changes the oil every 2 years or 30 000km or 18 600 miles. I understand that they use synthetic oil, but still, maybe I am old fashioned, but this looks like an overkill. Anyone else practicing this, on previous vehicles or current, with anything to share?
Normal CBS regime in Europe. Whichever comes first.

Many have used this regime for years without issue. But as said, if you intend to keep long term, say 100,000+ miles, interim oil changes may give more peace of mind for reliability and longevity.

Saying that, type of use can have more impact than simply miles.
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      06-29-2020, 05:55 AM   #10
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Depends on how you use the car. If you are a calm driver and do not drive races, then change every 10,000 km. If you go to the race track, then change every 2500 km.

If the car is still under the BMW warranty, then change it officially with your dealer. If there is no guarantee then change yourself (it's cheaper). You can buy oil everywhere. It's just that an authorized dealer has it more expensive.

We often go to the race track. We change the oil ourselves every 2500 km. The dealer oil costs 30 euros per liter. On the Internet, the price is 9.90 euros per liter. We immediately buy a pallet and that's enough for the whole season.

The more you change, the better.
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      06-29-2020, 05:57 AM   #11
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At least in germany, you can haggle with the dealer to bring your own oil to the official oil changes (it must be BMW approved for the car, and unopened, of course), but not every dealer likes it/will do it I think.
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      06-29-2020, 06:00 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mbanck View Post
At least in germany, you can haggle with the dealer to bring your own oil to the official oil changes (it must be BMW approved for the car, and unopened, of course), but not every dealer likes it/will do it I think.
They will not go for it. They must earn and sell their oil. Previously, you could bring your oil to an authorized dealer. But these times are gone.
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      08-08-2020, 05:35 AM   #13
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I have the 5 year service program which includes oil every 2 years. I don't think this is enough as I plan to keep the car for a long time so I am going to ask the dealer to do the extra oil change every second year and I will pay for it. How can I be sure they are actually changing the oil when I request it?
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      08-27-2020, 05:52 PM   #14
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At my shop we're starting to see the effects of 15,000 mile oil change intervals on US BMWs of the E and F chassis generation, this year so far we have replaced 3 N63 V8s and one S63 V8, all with spun rod bearings. All four had less than 80,000 miles on their engines and were not tuned or modified. It obviously doesn't happen to everybody but changing your oil a little earlier is extremely cheap preventative maintenance that might save you from a huge repair bill out of warranty.

My advice isn't to go crazy with changing the oil super often, most oils meeting the BMW specs will easily last 10,000 miles of normal street driving but 15,000+ is pushing it if you ask me. If you're tuned or drive the car hard and get the oil hot, you should change it sooner than somebody who is simply commuting in a stock car.
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      09-01-2020, 03:40 PM   #15
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It's called CBS(Condition Based Service). Depending on how you drive, your service interval will fluctuate. If you do not drive enough, your BMW will tell you to change its oil every 12months or so.
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      01-06-2021, 01:51 AM   #16
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The G20's use a CBS service counter just like many previous generations of BMW's. It varies from person to person. When I got the car it said service due in 10k...took it in at 5,500 lol. That's how fast it dropped based on my driving, amount of startups, idle time, etc. I would not go longer than 6k for oil services, I If you want it to last stick to frequent oil changes/maintenance. Currently at 11k miles and even though it says 3600 miles left to service I'm doing it now. 90 bucks off ECS Tuning for a whole oil change kit is a small price to pay when it comes to many more worry free miles. Hope that helps!
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      01-06-2021, 04:08 AM   #17
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Ive never seen a good answer to why US cars need 5k changes and EU ones can do 15k+, on same engine, in a world of synthetic oils. It seems to be embedded in US culture. US manuals for the same car will give a different spec to the EU one. Intervals on a UK 340i countdown from 15k / 2 years and vary based on driving.

Google:

"Because for a long time, American engines were crap, sludged up badly, and changing the oil frequently was about the only way to keep them alive. Or, at least, there were enough engines like that to justify the habit. You'll never hurt an engine by changing the oil too frequently (unless you forget to put the oil in or something). Given the cost of a new engine, it generally does make sense to change the oil frequently."
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      01-06-2021, 07:42 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G21-M340i View Post
Ive never seen a good answer to why US cars need 5k changes and EU ones can do 15k+, on same engine, in a world of synthetic oils. It seems to be embedded in US culture. US manuals for the same car will give a different spec to the EU one. Intervals on a UK 340i countdown from 15k / 2 years and vary based on driving.

Google:

"Because for a long time, American engines were crap, sludged up badly, and changing the oil frequently was about the only way to keep them alive. Or, at least, there were enough engines like that to justify the habit. You'll never hurt an engine by changing the oil too frequently (unless you forget to put the oil in or something). Given the cost of a new engine, it generally does make sense to change the oil frequently."
I think it's partly cultural, there is a stronger opinion from the public that their car needs more regular oil changes.
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