I need some support here guys - a friend of mine who has a new 325i is taking her car into the dealership for maintenance. I told her that she should get her oil changed and tires rotated while it is in there. Well, she said that the dealer told her that BMWs only need their oil changed every 15,000 miles.

I told her that was nuts. Even if the factory oil is Mobil 1 (which its not), she should still get it changed every 7,500 miles - especially in the hot Texas summers. Conventional oil every 3-5,000 miles.

Aren't I right? Please give me feedback so she doesn't listen to those idiots....

 

I just bought my 2003 SE about two weeks ago, and according to the dealer... the oil changes are every 7,500 miles.

A friend of mine who worked in the petroleum industry used to laugh at the 'every 3,000 miles' suggestion for oil. He would keep the oil in his car for 10,000... sometimes 12,000 miles... and would only change it sooner if it was a change in viscosity or color. His car lasted just as long as the next... he said the industry drives the "every 3,000 miles" suggestion for profit.

I used to change the oil on my Intrepid every 5,000 miles... and it was still running strong when I got rid of it (it had 115,000 miles on it).

-R

 

BMW supposedly lets no contaminents in when doing their oil changes, which might be why their service is so high (I guess when you have to change oil in the vaccumm of space, it tends to get expensive ). Seriously, they supposedly change it in total vaccumm, although I don't see how they do it.

 

I just off the phone with my dealer b/c i wanted to setup an appointment for tomorrow to get my oil changed after 1000 miles. He said that it doesn't have to be changed until 2500 miles, but i believe in the owners manual it says 3750 or something to that nature. So what do u guys think? I would like to get it done and get all the loose particales out of the engine before i go any further and then the next oil change i will get back on track.

 

do what the book says to do...

and 255HP_03_SE,
"change it sooner if it was a change in viscosity or color." How did he measure viscosity? What does color have to do with whether oil needs to be changed? NEVER TAKE ENGINE ADVICE FROM THIS MAN, EVER!

edit: oh, and if the dealer will WRITE DOWN that 15k mile recommendation, go with it, save some money in the short term and possibly get a new engine in the future.

 

Well, let's see... engine oil that changes color to a more darker color or 'dirty' color should be changed. Agreed? Depending on the type of driving, the oil CAN last longer than "3,000 miles".

As for viscosity (the measure of oil’s resistance to flow),
the condition of the engine oil can be felt by the slickness of the oil. This can indicate a loss in viscosity.

I didn't join the forum to participate in a ****ing match, this is merely my two cents.

-R

 

I'll give you a pass on the because you're new and probably haven't heard "use the search function" enough times yet.

I'm not in this for a ****ing match, it's just that those statements are completely wrong. You can no more "feel" a change in viscosity than you can tell oil is "dirty" by looking at it.

Don't believe me?

http://syntheticoiltech.com/oil/bshr...ationlevel.htm

that's just one... want more?

 

I dont care what anyone says, i change my oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles. whats it cost, $20? People want to put 7500 on their oil, thats mine by me, i wont be one of them...

 

BMWs use syn from the factory.. and she needs to use whatever the dealer is recommending. Due to some problems on the M engines and different oils, I would stick to whatever the dealer wants to use (bmw only)

Due to the way BMW filters the oil, yes, they can go 15000. I'd still probably change at 7500. Seriously, their filtration is great, it will keep the oil clean.

 

Whatever, dude.

right back at ya! Where did you feel I had to use the 'search' option (and, coming from another car forum, I am well aware of such an option... but thanks for pointing out something that was pretty obvious in the first place).

Nice to see the web site you list is an ADVERTISEMENT that tries to mystify with science babble and follows it up with "buy our oil".

http://auto.indiamart.com/auto-consu...viscosity.html

As it states "The condition of the engine oil can also be felt by the slickness of the oil. But your fingers and thumb will need lot of experience to know that."

I'm sure a long-time mechanic or someone who works in the petro industry would know a thing or two about oil.

-R

 

I think the reason for longer oil intervals with BMWs have to do with engine design and oil capacity. Go compare the oil filters and oil sump capacity on the BMW and Maxima and you'll find your answer.

 

if you think you can "feel" viscosity and see dirt by the color of the oil, more power to you...remind me never to buy a used car from you.

peace out

 

Whatever, dude.

 

I actually have a BMW 325. I called the Service Manager at my dealership and he wanted to know if you drove a Chevy Pickup. Why would BMW tell their customers a wrong time for an oil change? It only hurts their business. AAA recommends changing your oil every 10,000 miles on a normal car. They originally said 3,000 miles a long time ago when synthetic oil was not available and engine precision was not as good. People need to get over their antiquated ideas on oil changes. Tests have run engines over 100,000 miles with the same oil. Not that I would suggest it - but it could happen. So, I would say 15,000 is fine.

 

OK aside from the premadonnas on this thread.
There's only one point that matters:

ur warranty!!!!!!!!!!!!!

u go tell the dealer ur only changing it every 7500 or 15,000
miles.

and see how fast he tells you ur warranty is void.

 

When your crappy BMW breaks down and you have to drive a Chevy Truck with a confederate flag in the window cause you blew your wad on the teutonic ubber oil machine....don't come cryin to me.

 

Maybe you should tell your friend to talk to other BMW owners. It really is an entirely different class of car. This probably isn't the best place for her to get information.

 

Like I originally posted, she is just a dumb girl who's baby's daddy bought her that ride cause she's got junk in her trunk. The only synthtic oil she is worried about is the lube she uses at home...I was just trying to help a sista out so that when she starts cashing those welfare checks....she won't have to spend them on BMW maintenance.

 

aren't we politically correct.......lol

 

I personally wouldn't run Mobil 1 for that long. Why? Because if anyone participating in this thread actually took the time to read the EXTENSIVE oil reasearch that Bill has made over the past few years, it would be very clear.

Mobil 1 is good oil no doubt. But from ACTUAL oil analysis done on maximas and other cars, Mobil has NOT demonstrated it has the ability to run for extended miles w/o changing. I think 7500 is a good number but 15,000 is too long for the additive package in Mobil 1.

For the guy who thinks he can determine the condition of the oil by color or feel, geez man. Read the info in this thread and maybe learn something.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=100060

 

she knows the truth

 

Obviously someone has issues with his manhood. Don't get all defensive because I suggested that your maxima isn't in the same class as the BMW. Maybe you should have grabbed more sac and bought a real car instead of one that my grandmother would drive (but only if someone paid her to do so).

 

then wut are you doing on this site?

go find a bmw nuthugger forum

 

 

Time for a lock.

 

LMAO ok i see the sensitivites are running about as high as the shuttle when it broke up.

 

thank you... that's all I was trying to say.

 

See, if her dad had put a better lock on her chastity belt should wouldn't have the BMW and thus, would have gotten this thread started....

 

What does this have to do with anything? Obviously you have nothing better to do than to get on these forums and write stupid comments. I am glad that you have a place to come where you can feel more like a man than you will ever be.

 

Why are you using my name anyway?

 

Well - I think you must be smoking crack if you think that is your name. What a freak show!

 

Why research when you can make a completeass of yourself instead?

 

X infinity.

 

I have to agree with Allen-2000.

I talked to two Nissan dealers here in the Bay area about using synthetic oil. The feedback from the first one (Capitol Nissan) was:
- By all means ues it, it's great. I use it on my Maxima.
- With synthetic oil, can I extend my oil change interval from
3,750 miles to 7,500 (or more)? No, not if you want to keep
the warranty. For the sake of warranty, we require that
you change oil every 3,750 miles. Yes, the oil may last
longer, but ....

The feedback from the second dealer (I talked to a service manager
there who seemd to be both knowledgable and friendly) was a bit
different:
- Yes, synthetic oil is great. We do it here, if you ask for it.
- Re. oil change intervals, he said they change synthetic oil
every 7,500 miles and regular oil every 3,750 miles.

So, I decided to stick with 3,750 mile oil change interval (and
with regular oil) until 60,000 miles when the powertrain warranty expires. At 60,000 miles, I'll switch to synthetic and to 7,500 oil
change interval.

 

manual? All of you please look in the maintenance schedule and tell me what it says. Under NORMAL driving conditions, as a great majority of people are, the interval is 7500 miles. For the guy who asked his dealer if he could extend to 7500 with synthetic and was told no, take away the dealers crack pipe. The 3000 mile "rule" is 99.9% marketing hype. I can only think of a handful of cars that require as low as 3750 mile changes, and most are turbocharged and 10 years old. I have owned 12 vehicles over the last 25 years, and none have required more frequent than 7500 mile changes.

 

Magnussen Moss act prohibits the voiding of any warranty without proof from a 3rd party. Amsoil has their own warranty on the use of their oil for extended drain intervals. They have never had to replace or repair an engine because of oil failure in over 30 years. I realize it's a pain to fight the dealer on this issue, but the principal of the subject is my concern. I would never offer up info that I've gone extended drain intervals. That way they have to perform oil analysis to prove the oil caused the problem. They won't do that!

 

You mean you're supposed to change the oil on these newfangled horseless carriages?

 

My last car which was 95 Ford Probe GT, I changed my oils every 15000 miles. When I sold it a few months back, it had over 150k miles on it, still running great, sounds good. If it makes you feel good when you change your miles every 3000 miles, go with it. Just because you change your oil every 15000 miles, it's not gonna kill your engine. Racing some dude at a red light is much worse than changing your oil at every 20000 miles, IMO.

 

really depends on what brands of oil you use.

I sent in my Castrol GTX for analysis at 3000 drain interval. They tested the oil has TBN of 6.5 (tells you how much life does your oil have, higher the bettter, 2 means the oil is not in good condition). This sample was taken when my car was NA.


I just received another report back, this is also drained at 3000. But this time I use Mobil 1 Supersyn. the TBN is a strong 12 and they recommanded to push this oil to 5000 miles. My car is supercharged when I sampled this oil.


Redline and Amsoil have even higher rating. A supercharged and juiced 4th gen received a TBN of 8 on a 8000 miles drain with Redline oil.

check out Bill's oil report in the general forum. Bill collects oil reports from people and put them to a excel table.

 

Wow, I figured this thread would have been locked already.

The deal with the BMW and the 15k intervals is based on the fact that that car has a 7 quart sump capacity and the oil BMW uses is highly detergent and has the ability to fight acid formation over the long haul. In Europe, "extended" drains are more of the norm, they don't buy into the 3K mile crap like Americans do. You'll also see a push in this country for longer drains over the next several years as well.