Recommended Oil Type X5 E53 3D
 

Hi,
I am a newbie on this forum, I have an X5 E53 3 Litre Diesel Sport and what a great car she is. Can anybody tell me what oil grade and type is best suited for it? I am in Nth Qld. Should I use synthetic? the cap has written on it to use Castrol products.
Cheers
TW

What does your manual say?

I'd go castrol edge sport 5w30

+1 for Castrol Edge Sport

can always look it up here -> Castrol Australia - NetLube

Castrol lube page says 0w40 edge sport interesting? Don't forget to buy 2

Which ever oil you choose, it’s important that it meets the standard stipulated by BMW for your particular model.

For X5 diesels with the M57TU (aka M57N) engine (2004-2007 models) the oil should meet BMW LL04 standard.

I’m not 100% certain if the early X5’s fitted with the older M57 engine have a DPF fitted, if not these can use BMW LL01 or BMW LL04 oils.

I think it worthy to note here that Castrol Edge 0W-40, at least the version that is available in Australia, does NOT meet BMW LL04 standard

Castrol Edge Sport 0W-40 does meet BMW LL04 and is what Castrol recommends for the X5 fitted the M57TU/M57N engine and DPF.
They also say that X5 models without a DPF can use Castrol Edge 5W-30, 5W-40 and 0W-40 (BMW LL01).

I believe Castrol SLX Professional Powerflow 5W-30 is what many dealers use, and meets LL04 standard although some people say this is not available in small containers.

Other Castrol oils that are BMW LL04 certified are Castrol Edge Professional Longlife III 5W-30 and Castrol Edge Professional OE-X 5W-30 although there could be others.

To see the technical data on all Castrol oils select “Technical Data Sheet” from the main Australian page, then select “Search by Category” for Engine Oils. From there you can view a PDF document for every oil in the range. Within this document it will state what standards it conforms to, amongst a lot of other technical data.

Great info Jdd now the search is on to find a supplier

Having just completed an oil change I went through the various oils readily available to us last weekend.
I ended up purchasing Nulon 5W-30 Euro in a 10 litre pack for $120 from Autobarn as I had a 20% off voucher. Regular price was $146 for 10 litres.
I found the Castrol Edge Sport 0W-40 at Repco and Autobarn for $73 for 5 litres.
Strangely, Bursons was the most expensive quoting an incredible $107 for 5 litres of the Castrol Edger Sport 0W-40. Initially, I thought this was an error so asked for the price to be double checked only to be told it was no error.

What does the manual say???

I’m not sure the manual is particularly helpful in this instance.

Mine states within the “Approved Oils” section “BMW Service can provide details of the oils approved by BMW for your car”
A little later on the same page in the “Alternative Oil Grades section” it also states “Diesel Engines; Preferred Longlife-01, Alternatively, Longlife-98, BMW Longlife, ACEA A3/B3 or ACEA A3/B4”.

I find the list of alternate oils a bit strange since mine is a 2004 model with a DPF fitted it should not have LL-01 oil, it needs LL-04.