Oil change on new E60

[bigredexpy]

I purchashed a new 530i. This car is amazing. Now I know why so many people love
their BMW. Will post pics soon as the weather get a little better.

My question is why does BMW suggest to change the oil every 15,000 miles ?
Are they cutting back on the free oil change.
Is BMW engine that good? Has the oil quality gotten better [???1]

 

[bahnstormer]

yes and no

there are some ppl that still change it on thier own every 3-5k
even if they use synthetic.

oil quality has improved a lot though

 

[Dinan55]

Change it anyways, use synthetic.

 

[steelblu]

I would recommend following what your new baby tells you....and it should let you know when it needs some fresh oil in it's veins. BMW is very sophisticated with it's engine management system and there are viscocity sensors and particulate sensors within the oil system. When these sensors identify that the oil is changing out of the tolerances....the little OBC lets you know with some warning lights that it's time for an oil service. BMW also only uses synthetic oils in their cars which are notibly more resistant to break down than conventional oils. The dealership should only change the oil at operating temp.... and the better dealerships flush the oil system at every change (which helps furlther clean the system). All in all I would break from that 3-4k oil change mind set....it's simply not necessary anymore.

 

[Bimmerlife]

No matter how sophisticated the engine is, there be will always friction and small particles are mixing with the engine oil which causes even greater wear. I recommend replacing oil at every 3000 miles, Transmission fluid every 20000 miles, differential fluid every 15000 miles and power steering fluid every 20000 to 25000 miles.

Reseting the indicators as recommended.

 

[Big Daddy]

I do not know about "viscocity sensors" and "particulate sensors", first I have heard of this. The BMW system to my knowledge just takes into consideration how you drive and the mileage. Also no oil "breaks down" it just gets dirty. I use synthetics (Mobil 1) and have since all three of my BMW's were new, but I never go longer than 5k before an oil change.

The biggest factor is how and where you drive. If you make short trips (city driving) a lot then gas and other contaminates leak down your cylinder walls and contaminate your oil, synthetic or otherwise. In this case you need to change your oil more often, than say freeway driving.

I changed mine, when the cars were new when half the lights were out, then let BMW change it the next time and so on. The one best and cheapest thing you can do for any car is change the oil.

Yes, steelblu is right, it should be done at operting temps.

 

[Abdoman]

If you are running synthetics and change the oil every 3k, IMO, you are just throwing away money. Synthetics last longer - they don't break down as quickly as conventionals. I change my oil every 6K. I run BMW synthetic. My car has 128K, and runs like new.

 

[steelblu]

From '99 on BMW has put synthetic oil in their engines from the factory. I have talked to the Master Technicians at 3 separate local dealerships (Global Imports BMW, United BMW - Roswell, Nalley BMW of Decatur) and they all tell me the same thing....there is no need to change the oil more frequently than the engine monitor recommends. They are the ones that stand to profit from more frequent oil changes and with the vehicles under 100k extended warrantee....so why would they tell me that if it weren't true. When I bought a new 2001 530iA, they told me to not change it before it was required by the OBC. Prior to the '99 models most of their vehicles were juiced with petro based oil and I wouldn't recomend running one of those over 5k before an oil change. I'm just trying to share what I have learned over the years of owning Bimmers...and not trying to be a smart ass, however the real decision is up to you.

 

[Abdoman]

I look at it this way, my dealer charges $65 for a oil change using synthetic. If you average 15k mi /yr and change your oil every 6k, you would change your oil 1.5 times more, resulting in $97.5 dollars more each year. Not much money considering what it could cost you.

By the way, I have had several BMWs and use to run conventional oils - BMW use to recommend changing the oil every 7.5K not 5K.

Of course you could always do an oil partical analysis and determine the optimum replacement period.........