BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

First Oil Change on 3.0i

122K views 118 replies 60 participants last post by  Brynderwyn 
#1 ·
I did the first oil change on my wife's 2005 3.0i with 5,500 miles. Here's a DIY guide on how I did it. Took approx. 30 minutes. Hope this helps somewhat to those who wish to do it themseleves.

Step1: DIY Oil (Mobil1 5/30) and Oil Filter Kit for 2005 X3, 3.0i. Kit comes with O-ring and crush washer.



Step2: Raise the vehicle safely.



Step3: Loosen the oil filter element cap using 36mm socket.



Step4:Remove old oil filter and O-ring. Notice what it looks like at 5,500 miles :eek:



Step5: Clean up all the old oil from the filter cannister.



Step6: Loosen the oil drain plug underneath the vehicle using 17mm socket and begin to drain the oil.



Step6a: Replace the washer, plug the drain plug back and tighten.



Step7: Lube the O-ring with new oil, pour some oil on the filter cannister and filter. This will prevent oil starvation when you first start the vehicle up.



Step8: Replace and tighten the oil filter element cap.



Step9: Pour oil into the oil filler. I first pour 6qts. Took the vehicle off the ramp and let her idle for a minute. Checked the level and ended up using a little over 7qts of oil.

 
See less See more
10
#4 ·
I got the car in Jan 2005 which is X3 3.0i 2005 and I just the 1st oils change at 15510 Miles The dealer told me just drive the car until the display miles going down to 500 miles then call them for appoinment to bring the car in for free oils change.

I am not sure why did you have to change by yourself? Is it free oils change up untill 50000 miles ? I drove 15000 miles in 6 months.

Oh, Every oils change including new front and back winshield wiper too.

Cubi
 
#6 ·
Cubi said:
I got the car in Jan 2005 which is X3 3.0i 2005 and I just the 1st oils change at 15510 Miles The dealer told me just drive the car until the display miles going down to 500 miles then call them for appoinment to bring the car in for free oils change.

I am not sure why did you have to change by yourself? Is it free oils change up untill 50000 miles ? I drove 15000 miles in 6 months.

Cubi
Because some us have two concerns:

1. We don't believe BMW's maintenance schedule claims are good for long-term vehicle life. Funny how before maintenance was included in the cost of the vehicle, on similar or identical hardware and similar or identical fluids BMW used to recommend much more frequent maintenance. For those of us planning long-term (>5 year) ownership spending a few hundred bucks extra on fluids is cheap insurance.

2. BMW dealers are notorious for terrible service, and the tales of damaged or abused cars occur all too often. I prefer to avoid dealers unless absolutely necessary. In one case, not BMW admittedly, I was out at lunch and saw my car at a resturant. The service writer was using it as personal transporation. Dinged doors, scratches, curbed wheels, crashes... and in almost every case I've either personally experienced or heard about BMW dealers are defiant when you try to resolve the issue.
 
#8 ·
kcnyla said:
great post. good to see that changing the oil filter is a snap.

question: did you reset the service interval computer?

comment: i did my 15k oil change at bmw and they were able to do it within an hour while i waited.
thanks. no i did not reset the service interval computer. (can you do that?) i still want the dealer to do the "free" service and i think that's how it's calculated if i'm not mistaken :dunno:
 
#9 ·
Man, that filter looks pretty bad for being about 10,000 miles away from the BMW recommended oil change. So, for those that don't believe the scheduled intervals are good for the lengevity of the car then what would be BMW overall purpose for this? If it hurts the car in the long run, then that means they will break down sooner and, eventually, start getting a reputation for having their cars not last very long (or as long as they used to).

My question is....why would they risk that?
 
#10 ·
Rob V said:
Man, that filter looks pretty bad for being about 10,000 miles away from the BMW recommended oil change.
How can you tell? The filter is simply brown from being saturated with brown oil. Oil naturally turns dark from heat. The only ways to tell if a filter is in bad shape is if it's physically damaged or if the filtering media is found to be clogged. Color is irrelevant, unless you change your oil every thousand miles or so, so that the oil stays honey-colored.
 
#11 · (Edited)
IMR said:
How can you tell? The filter is simply brown from being saturated with brown oil. Oil naturally turns dark from heat. The only ways to tell if a filter is in bad shape is if it's physically damaged or if the filtering media is found to be clogged. Color is irrelevant, unless you change your oil every thousand miles or so, so that the oil stays honey-colored.
Well, echelon (the OP) seemed to be pretty surprised himself and he's the one that took the picture. I'll admit that I don't know a whole lot about it. I've only changed the oil in a car once or twice but it still looked pretty bad...*based on the the picture*. This still brings me to the point though....should we proactively be changing out the oil sooner than 15,000 miles to avoid a possible BMW scheme?
 
#17 ·
should we proactively be changing out the oil sooner than 15,000 miles to avoid a possible BMW scheme?
If you intend to keep it past the warranty I would definitely change the oil at least once between the 15K BMW schedule. When I had my E90 I did mine at 5k and 10K then let the dealer do the 15K. I only used BMW oil and filters and kept it to myself.

I'll do the same on my X3 when I get it.

My daughter has the E90 now, has it serviced on their schedule, and she occasionally gets the infamous N52 lifter tick, which I never got.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I did the first oil change on my wife's 2005 3.0i with 5,500 miles. Here's a DIY guide on how I did it. Took approx. 30 minutes. Hope this helps somewhat to those who wish to do it themseleves.
Great write-up! :thumbup:

I'm still puzzled why your '05 just had the first oil change. :dunno: The dealer will change your oil annually (included in the free maint) if you do not put many miles on the car. (For example, my '05 M3 has only 8,000 miles on it and has had the oil changed three times by the dealer for free, although the first of those was an extra M break-in change.)
 
#16 ·
I'm still puzzled why your '05 just had the first oil change.
Look at the dates. This thread is ancient. First post is from August 2005.
 
#18 ·
Suggested change to oil change instructions

This is an excellent write up with photos. The only difference is that I would be hesitant to use Mobil 1 5W30. I presume this oil is ok if you change it frequently. However, that oil does not have the BMW Longlife specification.

BMW LL04 oils include Total Quartz INEO MC3 5W30, which is hard to find but available in retail stores in Michigan and online at several places including performanceoilstore com. This would probably be my first choice.

If one prefers Mobil 1, consider 0W40 which has the BMW Longlife 01 specification. There's a debate about 0W40 being a PAO (name of chemical family), which is desirable, while the other grades are not.

My third choice would Castrol Syntec 0W30, a PAO, and my 4th choice would be the dealer BMW synthetic 5W30, which some say is not a PAO.

I don't mean to turn this thread into an oil war. :mad: Perhaps, this is just a note to look up oil threads on this forum if you are interested.
 
#22 · (Edited)
#24 ·
I have nothing against special tools, but has anyone had success with a strap wrench or similar general tool?
 
#23 ·
Actually, this thread is bookmarked for me. It's nice to double-check the instructions everytime I do it myself, which is every 7,5k miles with Castrol 0W-30.
 
#26 ·
just got my 1st bmw = 05 X3 3.0i, it's nice to know we can replace the oil filter from the top of engine bay, this is unlike other cars where the most difficult part of oil change is removing and replacing an oil filter from the bottom of engine bay. By the way, since I'm new to X3, do we need replace tranny and diff oil as well, if so, anyone has instructions?

Thx,
SY
 
#27 ·
New to us 2004 X3 (23k miles) I have been looking for this info in regard to self oil change and resetting the maintenance indicator. Very nice presentation on your part, many thanks. I still need to reset the maintenance clock and learn how to setup the cellphone. Many thanks for your great pictures and instructions on the oil change.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Thanks for the write up

i did my first oil change and was able to reset service intervel

For those who wants to know more about the oil, filters and resetting service intervel on 2005 X3 3.0 :

BMW recommended oil
The oils listed below meet BMW's Long-life rating and are acceptable for use in BMW Passenger vehicles and SAVs in the US market with gasoline engines.
BMW Long-life rating LL-01 Approved Synthetic Oils for the US Market:

Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30

Use only oils with an API rating of SM or higher.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/SyntheticEngineOils.aspx

Oil Filters

Mobil 1 Model M1C252
Champion Model P8170
Fram Model CH8081

Resetting service interval

Look on the instrument clusteryou will see 2 buttons in the lower centre part of the dash,

1) Make sure the ignition is swiched off, press and hold the left button and turn the ignition on to the first position keep holding the button down until you see the display change

2)Lift you finger and press and hold again untill reset appears ( normally after aprox 5 seconds ) it will also flash, once this happens lift your finger again

3) Then press and release straight away, this should reset the service indicator.

you may want to print this off prior trying to reset .............................. just to make it easier to follow

---------------------------------------------------
EJ
 
#31 ·
Yes, something like below

1.Key in 0 or off position.

2. Press and hold odometer button and turn key to 1 or acc. position.

3. Keep button pressed until any of the following words appear in display: "oil service" or "inspection", with "reset" or "re". For vehicles with "high cluster", the fuel amount (in litres) remaining until next service is displayed (i.e. 3224).

4. Press and hold button again until "reset" or "re" flash. If there is no "flash", minimum consumption value has not been met.

5. While display is flashing, press button briefly to reset service interval indicator. After display has shown new interval, the following will appear in display for approx. 2 seconds:"END SIA"
 
#33 ·
I bought the tool from Canadian Tire for around $20.00 both the socket and ratchet. I'm presently using AMSOIL European 100% Synthetic 5W-40 Motor Oil which meets BMW specifications. It is recommended for European and North American gasoline or diesel vehicles requiring any of the following worldwide specifications:

* API SM/CF
* ACEA C3-04
* ACEA A3/B3-04
* ACEA A3/B4-04
* ACEA C3
* BMW LL-04
* Mercedes Benz 229.31, 229.51
* Porsche
* Saab
* Volvo
* Volkswagen 502.00, 505.00, 505.01
* DaimlerChrysler MS-10725

Any Amsoil fans here? If interested check this out www.wboil.com/d=1701825.
 
#34 ·
I bought the tool from Canadian Tire for around $20.00 both the socket and ratchet. [/url].
Which year X3 do you have? The tool I bought is a large metal cap that goes over the filter screw-on lid. You need a 27mm socket and ratchet to use with the tool. This is different than previous years where you just needed the socket and ratchet.

Anyway, if it is the same tool, good deal on the price!
 
#36 ·
Looks like the same tool will work on my 530xi. Nice! Neither my 530 or X3 have the built in bolt flats.

I tried a strap wrench and it did not grip well. The tool makes it very easy.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top