I want my oil changed

BMW

WTF?!?!? So I show up at the nearest center (which is 30 minutes each way away from my medical school, causing me to miss part of a clincal practice module ) and the guy goes "sorry you're not due for an oil change until 15k/24mo. Uhh, I don't remember it being that way before (and either do my parents who have owned BMWs for the past 15 years).

So I have 5k miles on the car and it is 13 months old. I'm not waiting until next year to change the oil and a FULL service. They checked a few things on the car, but refused to change the oil unless I payed out of pocket for it (not going to happen in this lifetime).

WTF is this. I thought free oil changes were at 15k OR 12 months. Is this some type of new "rule". F*** BMWNA

Dude, the car tells you when it needs an oil change.

Originally Posted by Red Lined

BMW

WTF?!?!? So I show up at the nearest center (which is 30 minutes each way away from my medical school, causing me to miss part of a clincal practice module ) and the guy goes "sorry you're not do for an oil change until 15k/24mo. Uhh, I don't remember it being that way before (and either do my parents who have owned BMWs for the past 15 years).

So I have 5k miles on the car and it is 13 months old. I'm not waiting until next year to change the oil and a FULL service. They checked a few things on the car, but refused to change the oil unless I payed out of pocket for it (not going to happen in this lifetime).

WTF is this. I thought free oil changes were at 15k OR 12 months. Is this some type of new "rule". F*** BMWNA

It's "paid" not "payed"

Medical school, huh?

I have an 09 M3 with 18,000 miles, BMW Ontario CA has changed the oil every year NO PROBLEM! ???

Originally Posted by Red Lined

BMW

WTF?!?!? So I show up at the nearest center (which is 30 minutes each way away from my medical school, causing me to miss part of a clincal practice module ) and the guy goes "sorry you're not do for an oil change until 15k/24mo. Uhh, I don't remember it being that way before (and either do my parents who have owned BMWs for the past 15 years).

So I have 5k miles on the car and it is 13 months old. I'm not waiting until next year to change the oil and a FULL service. They checked a few things on the car, but refused to change the oil unless I payed out of pocket for it (not going to happen in this lifetime).

WTF is this. I thought free oil changes were at 15k OR 12 months. Is this some type of new "rule". F*** BMWNA

BMW may have changed their policy - - they've gone back and forth several times on the question of "low mileage annual oil changes". Ask the Service Advisor to check his BMW Center Manual - - it's covered there. Check around to different dealers, too. Some may do it for you free, no questions asked, even if BMW's policy has changed.

The BMWs (as well as Audi's and VW's, and maybe Porsche and Mercedes)) come thru now with two year service intervals for oil changes shown in the computer. Two years is the norm in Europe, and probably the rest of the world. We've been raised on the myth of "if some oil change is good, more is better".

At 5k miles you'll be wasting good oil. You can safely keep the factory fill in the crankcase until BMW's oil condition sensor, working with the cbs computer, tells you it's time to change.

Since the car is around 1 year old and has 5,000 miles and is still on the engine break in oil, I see no problem with doing an oil change prior to the scheduled BMW covered one, especially if you care about the car long term and aren't a "3 year lease turn and burner." My car has almost 1,000 miles and will be doing an oil change pretty soon myself as well.

You also didn't tell us what major city you are near. If you do I am sure a helpful fester can recommend an indy shop to do your oil change or you can look on BIMRS.ORG.

Or if you are so inclined to complete an "indirect transfusion" yourself - here is a DIY oil change thread.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=471406

As far as I know, BMW do not use a break in oil. There is no need to change the oil every 5000 miles, this is not dino oil we are talking about here. If you chnage out sythetic every 5000 miles, do you change out dino every 1500 miles, a good sythetic should last 3 times as long as dino oil? The sythetic oil BMW use is pretty high grade, should have no problem going 15000 miles.

...."break in" as it's the oil the engine was "broken in" with. I need to find the post where someone sent a 1k sample off to Blackstone. We are suggesting doing a single early oil change out of pocket on a new car before the dealer sponsored one at 15k or whenever.

Again, if you are dumping the car in 3 years who cares I agree. I run 7500 miles per change on my E46 which seems to be in alignment with what Blackstone suggested for me.

Blackstone's limit guidelines are way too conservative. Millions of people in Europe have been doing extended oil change with no problem, we are not any different except for the fact that we like to waste money and natural resource more than they do.

Originally Posted by Red Lined

BMW

WTF?!?!? So I show up at the nearest center (which is 30 minutes each way away from my medical school, causing me to miss part of a clincal practice module ) and the guy goes "sorry you're not do for an oil change until 15k/24mo. Uhh, I don't remember it being that way before (and either do my parents who have owned BMWs for the past 15 years).

So I have 5k miles on the car and it is 13 months old. I'm not waiting until next year to change the oil and a FULL service. They checked a few things on the car, but refused to change the oil unless I payed out of pocket for it (not going to happen in this lifetime).

WTF is this. I thought free oil changes were at 15k OR 12 months. Is this some type of new "rule". F*** BMWNA

Welcome to the Fest.

Might do a search on 'BMW Low Mileage Annual Service'.

This is an example:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465957

It seems the policy changed in 2010.

Perhaps you were not aware of this.

Just a suggestion, but you might try to ask your SA your question, but I personally would leave out the cursing you put in your post above. Your BMW center should be able to explain their current policy.

Good luck in medical school.

Originally Posted by The X Men

As far as I know, BMW do not use a break in oil. There is no need to change the oil every 5000 miles, this is not dino oil we are talking about here. If you chnage out sythetic every 5000 miles, do you change out dino every 1500 miles, a good sythetic should last 3 times as long as dino oil? The sythetic oil BMW use is pretty high grade, should have no problem going 15000 miles.

+1

If BMW does have a special break-in oil in the crankcase (as some speculate - - do any of us really know) then that would be an argument NOT to change the oil early before BMW says to do so.

Had my oil changed in June 2012 after 12 months. SA said you don't have to wait on mileage for the first change. Strange thing though is they can't reset the service reminder, so I got another free change after 5,000 miles. They then reset the service reminder, but after reset it said service required in 4,800 miles or March 2013. So now I'm down to 2,000 and will be bringing it in again for service in March. Who knows, probably get another free oil change. That will make it 3 in 12 months. I told my SA none of this makes sense and he told me he knows, but he just has to follw the remiders (the car knows) and BMW's program. Go figure.

bmw policy change oil once per year no matter what milege,

I would bet BMW increased the oil change interval right before they announced that they are covering the costs for the oil changes for the first 50K miles....

Originally Posted by aceman67

I would bet BMW increased the oil change interval right before they announced that they are covering the costs for the oil changes for the first 50K miles....

THAT is exactly what they did.

I took possession of my 2012 535 on 1/2/2012. I had ~9000 miles on it by last November and I took it in to do the annual oil change and to have them look at the brakes, which had major vibration starting ~7,500 miles. They ended up replacing the Rotors and Pads on the front due to warping, but said I was 2 days too early (had to be within like 30 days of anniversary) on the annual oil change and I'd have to wait until after 1/2/2013 to have it done.

I wasn't too happy about that. I hate having my time wasted, and to put it into perspective it ends up wasting their time too...

Well, I just took it in on Wednesday this week and had them do the oil change. ~10,800 miles now. They didn't give me any hassle this time.

My major issues with the electronic sensor is that since I don't have a dip stick there is no way for me to tell if the oil is clean/dirty or to even validate the sensor is correct. If they simply had an easy way for the owner to visually verify the oil condition, they'd probably get a better response to long intervals between changing it. But as it is, I'm not willing to risk the long term conditioning of the engine because it's better for their overall bottom line.

You can't tell if its cleaner dirty by looking at dipstick.

Get an oil pan plug with a spout, and install at next fill. Crack it and send for oil analysis.

Funny, I was just thinking about this topic too. Frankly, I would be pessimistic about any car manufacturer's recommendation. All businesses need to curve extra expenses and desire to make as much profit as possible. That includes saving money on oil services via their recommendations per policy and guideline, OR the built in oil analysis. No doubt changing oil more frequently will reduce engine wear over time; however, it may not make sense to preserve a motor for 300k miles if it won't be used for that long.

I probably will average 6k miles a year. I definitely would want it changed at least yearly. Honestly if I drove 10k miles a year, I would do an oil change without filter on my own ever 6 months/5k miles. I feel less guilty red lining my N55 knowing my oil is relatively clean .

Originally Posted by Red Lined

BMW

WTF?!?!? So I show up at the nearest center (which is 30 minutes each way away from my medical school, causing me to miss part of a clincal practice module ) and the guy goes "sorry you're not do for an oil change until 15k/24mo. Uhh, I don't remember it being that way before (and either do my parents who have owned BMWs for the past 15 years).

So I have 5k miles on the car and it is 13 months old. I'm not waiting until next year to change the oil and a FULL service. They checked a few things on the car, but refused to change the oil unless I payed out of pocket for it (not going to happen in this lifetime).

WTF is this. I thought free oil changes were at 15k OR 12 months. Is this some type of new "rule". F*** BMWNA

I haven't read all the responses yet, but BMW WILL change the oil after 1 year, under free maintenance, for low mileage vehicles. Call your dealer back and inquire. I know, because I've had it done on my F10.

Originally Posted by AggieKnight

Dude, the car tells you when it needs an oil change.

Please see my response above -- BMW will change the oil after 12 months for cars that have not reached the computer-specified oil change mileage.

Check out http://papers.sae.org/2007-01-4133/. This is an abstract or summary of the study - - you have to read the full report to get a fuller understanding of the study methods and findings. In a nutshell: Ford drained used or "aged" oil (modern synthetics) from cars at 3000, 5000, 7500,10,000, and 15000 mi. They then took samples of each drain to a laboratory where they used the sample to lubricate an engine assembly under varying conditions. They then used a very accurate method called Radioactive Tracer Technology (RATT) to measure the wear produced by each drain sample. The surprising results: the 3000 mi drain sample produced the most wear (although it was noted as being in acceptable limits); but the 7500 mi, sample was liquid gold (my term) - - wear was "practically zero" and better yet the coefficient of friction had improved by an avg of 15% (the oil was more slippery). The practically zero wear continued in the 10k and 15k samples. The idea that it takes time for a fresh oil to "set up" (particularly the zddp anti-wear add) was confirmed. The take away (for me anyway) is that changing the oil at 1000 mi, 3000, or 5000 mi won't hurt your engine, but it's not going to prolong its life either; give the oil time to become liquid gold.

As for the diligence of BMW and other oems in developing their engine oil standards (e.g. LL01) and recommended oil change intervals (oci's): The May 2012 journal of the Society of Tribologists and Lubricant Engineers (you know, the chemists who work for companies like Exxon/Mobil, Castrol, etc. who actually formulate engine oils) described the efforts of oems in developing and rigorously field testing their lubricant specs and factory recommended oci's. Unfortunately I can't give a link to the article because its been archived and is unavailable online unless your a STLE member. I found a similar article (actually a Power Point presentation by the Lubrizol Corp - - the largest mfr of oil add packs) that vouched for the same diligence, describing the years and millions of dollars oems spend in the effort. I can find the link if anyone interested. Finally, there are the insights provided on the BITOG oil forum by Doug Hillary, a euro-based lubricant engineer who has decades of experience (Castrol and Exxon/Mobil) in formulating and field-testing many of the very same oils many of us use in our BMWs. In many, many threads on BITOG, and in private emails to me answering some of my questions, he has said the same thing. He told me that BMW uses two independent labs in Germany to do rigorous testing, both in the lab and over the road, of their recommended lubricants and oci's. I believe one of these labs is ISP - http://www.isp-testing.com/en/. He has also specifically cited BMW's close partnership between their engine development engineers and Castrol's lubricant engineers in developing and maintaining their engine oil formulations.

The idea that BMW only cares about saving money on its recommended oci's and that it only cares about the engine lasting for the duration of the warranty, etc. etc. is . . . uninformed.

For those of you still stunk in the 70s and insist on changing your oil every 3000 miles, here is a good article for you:

"Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you'd never know it from the quick-change behavior of American car owners. Driven by an outdated 3,000-mile oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of dollars and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil.
The 3,000-mile myth is also promoted by the quick lube industry's "convenient reminder" windshield sticker. It is a surprisingly effective tool that prompts us to continue following a dictate that our fathers (or grandfathers) drummed into our heads: It's your duty to change your oil every 3,000 miles - or your car will pay the price. But as former service advisor David Langness put it, the 3,000-mile oil change is "a marketing tactic that dealers use to get you into the service bay on a regular basis. Unless you go to the drag strip on weekends, you don't need it."

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...-your-oil.html

Originally Posted by AggieKnight

Dude, the car tells you when it needs an oil change.

My car is wrong though. It thinks that the oil change needs to happen next year, but in reality, it needed to happen this morning. I don't know who is screwing with its mind

Originally Posted by pdroth

It's "paid" not "payed"

Medical school, huh?

Spelling police? Too bad all the tests in life that matter are multiple choice: MCAT, Step 1, Step 2, etc. Next time try contributing in a productive manner rather than sounding like an ass.

I hear you guys. I'm sure the car could go another year with the same oil (as I plan on only another 5-6k miles next year) but I would really like the oil changed every year.

I'm going to do a little research on the low mileage annual service when I get time and call the SA back (maybe get the manager on the line). I'll keep you guys posted on where I get because I know I am not the only person to have this issue.