2008 328i Oil Change Alert Reliability

Is the alert that the car gives you that it's time to change the oil reliable or should I change it before it comes on?

The alert is based on Condition Based Service (CBS). You can read up on it on Google or on this site via a search.

It seems that the baseline for an oil change is 15,000 miles. If you drive the car hard, this will go down and trigger the alert to come on earlier. If you drive a lot of highway and take it easy, the interval might be extended.

Some believe earlier changes are better in the long run and cheap insurance. A lot of people on here will change oil every 5,000 - 8,000 miles instead of using the indicator light.

What isn't reliable is the time indicator as it is set for two years (Euro standard) but it should be changed at least once per year in the US if the CBS described by cwinter hasn't been reached.

Tom

Originally Posted by Tom K.

What isn't reliable is the time indicator as it is set for two years (Euro standard) but it should be changed at least once per year in the US if the CBS described by cwinter hasn't been reached.

Tom

Good point! There are plenty of people who don't drive 15,000 miles a year. In fact, on those cars I'd probably go with oil change intervals of 6 months just to be safe.

BMW dealers will perform the oil change when iDrives says you have less than 1,000 miles to go
OR
It has been 12 months since your last oil change at a BMW dealer.

I have owned 3 BMWs in the last decade and 12 months always came up before the CBS/iDrive indicator says I need an oil change.

Just curious - I've taken my car in for the low mileage yearly oil change, and it'll be due for the next one after March 1st (the date I picked it up in 2010, and 2000 miles since the change last year). I'm somewhat miffed because the dealership won't service the car on the anniversary of its delivery date, but at least one day later each year. Obviously at the end of the 4 year warranty period, one must pay for any service/maintenance done because the car is, at the very least, four days out of warranty.
But I digress. My question is why must the oil/filter be changed after one year on a car that has been driven approximately 2k miles in that year? The miles have been put on intentionally during long highway drives, and in the AZ. desert. Just wondering. I believe I'll be selling it in the next few months.

Originally Posted by Lufthansa

. My question is why must the oil/filter be changed after one year on a car that has been driven approximately 2k miles in that year? The miles have been put on intentionally during long highway drives, and in the AZ. desert. Just wondering. I believe I'll be selling it in the next few months.

I believe oil still goes bad just sitting in the engine, as the contaminants are suspended in it. Changing the filter is a good idea because its made of paper. I've had at least 2 instances where the filter was disaggregated, and I had to pull it out in pieces.

Thank you for the information.

Lots of short trip don't heat the oil enough to gas out some of the contamination & condensation. I go by the computer or the dealer calling for the yearly I don't believe being anal about oil changes is of any value in modern engines except for peace of mind those who are worriers. I did 3K changes in the 50's, the interval slowly increased ever since as oil & metallurgy have improved.

Originally Posted by bear-avhistory

Lots of short trip don't heat the oil enough to gas out some of the contamination & condensation. I go by the computer or the dealer calling for the yearly I don't believe being anal about oil changes is of any value in modern engines except for peace of mind those who are worriers. I did 3K changes in the 50's, the interval slowly increased ever since as oil & metallurgy have improved.

So...after your warranty period is over, and assuming after a year you drove, say, 2000 miles (highway driving), would you change your oil/filter after the year, or after more miles were driven?

Originally Posted by Tom K.

What isn't reliable is the time indicator as it is set for two years (Euro standard) but it should be changed at least once per year in the US if the CBS described by cwinter hasn't been reached.

Tom

Tom, you are correct (as usual). My CBS DIDN'T require an oil change (it showed many thousands of miles to go), but my dealer INSISTED that I come in for the annual oil change.

It's either CBS, or ANNUAL oil change...whatever comes first.

Originally Posted by bear-avhistory

Lots of short trip don't heat the oil enough to gas out some of the contamination & condensation. I go by the computer or the dealer calling for the yearly I don't believe being anal about oil changes is of any value in modern engines except for peace of mind those who are worriers. I did 3K changes in the 50's, the interval slowly increased ever since as oil & metallurgy have improved.

This is a good answer. Oil is CHEAP compared to the car. You don't need condensation gathering and contamination in the oil, and the best way to keep oil working properly is driving for periods long enough to thoroughly heat up the oil...and to do so on a regular basis. A 2K a year car is spending too much time sitting, so IMO even if it's only driven on road trips that do heat up the oil, once a year is an entirely reasonable change interval regardless of mileage.