Service Indicator/ Oil Change

[pezho405]

Originally Posted by tmv

I change oil and filter every 7.5k miles or 6 months (whichever comes first) Waiting for service indicator is too long. IIRC, the interval was set for 12k-15k miles. Even though it might be OK with LL-01 oil, that's the risk I'm not willing to take. Synthetic oil can still lubricate past 7.5k miles interval.
As for your X service record: you might have to look at the date on the parts to determine if and when they get replaced.

The length of the Service indicator can be coded im pretty sure mine is less than that, I used Autologic. imay be wrong, but i remember doing something about the interval time

[Dshain80]

Originally Posted by tmv

I change oil and filter every 7.5k miles or 6 months (whichever comes first) Waiting for service indicator is too long. IIRC, the interval was set for 12k-15k miles. Even though it might be OK with LL-01 oil, that's the risk I'm not willing to take. Synthetic oil can still lubricate past 7.5k miles interval.
As for your X service record: you might have to look at the date on the parts to determine if and when they get replaced.

Thanks "TMV" I agree, fullstop.

[TerminatorX5]

iirc, the interval indicator is going by thenumber of fuel consumed since the last reset.. i think, that number can be changed somewhere in the TEST 16 or 17... i'd leave it alone and just keep a reminder on a calendar

[Qsilver7]

Ditto What TX5 said above. You can pretty much get a good understanding of the "BMW recommended Oil Serv/Inspection" interval and what should be done by the link posted by pezho405 in post #4 which shows the old SIA I & SIA II schedules that were used when mileage & engine load were 2 of the main considerations for service intervals.

On your vehicle, BMW has gone to SIA III where the SI interval is determined by fuel consumption, which is different for each engine/model designation. The old "mileage" determination is still not far off from the "fuel consumption" determination if all things are "average". But if they are not, then you can have a shorter/longer interval depending on the individual driving habit/style you may have.

With all the above said, you can still use the SI display to indicate when you may want to do an OIL SERV/INSPECTION by using when the remaining amount of lights illuminated to determine when its "your" time. If the 12k-15k mileage interval is too long for your taste, then it can be assumed that each green light indicates approx 2.4K-3k miles. Or you can still look at it through the prism of fuel consumption and change the oil when 2~3 lights have gone off when you've consumed 40%-60% of the pre-determined fuel consumption for you model & engine.

Again, our vehicles now use SIA III which was introduced with the 1996 e38 7 series...and now is used on all BMW models:

[JCL]

Agree with the previous posts that if you don't know when it was done, you need to do a service to establish a baseline. Oil, filter, and full inspection.

Once you have done that, it is up to you whether you want to change oil and filter more often than the approximately 15,000 mile interval that your vehicle uses as a baseline (adjusted by fuel consumed). I tended to run to closer to 12,000 miles on my last 5 BMWs, but if they were easy highway miles I went to 20,000 to 24,000 km, which is close to 15,000 miles. No issues whatsoever. No oil consumption. I wouldn't push it much past 15k miles, but I see no reason to change it more often unless your vehicle is subjected to some type of severe service.

I have posted pictures on this site of an engine with 100,000 miles, torn down for inspection, after a lifetime of 15,000 mile oil changes. Looked great. The 3000 mile oil change was invented by the oil change industry as a revenue generator many years ago. Vehicles today run much cleaner (less contamination of the oil) and we can see this in oil sampling results. Also, consider that when your vehicle was designed the oil that was called for was from the '90s and isn't even available today. Today's API SM and SN oils are much better and provide additional cushion.

The 7500 mile interval was adopted by many because it permitted an additional change, while maintaining the 15,000 mile schedule for vehicles that were covered by prepaid maintenance. Since we are out of the prepaid maintenance period on these vehicles, I wouldn't use 7500 but bringing it down 20% or so in duration provides a nice safety factor beyond the original design targets.

[Dshain80]

Originally Posted by JCL

Agree with the previous posts that if you don't know when it was done, you need to do a service to establish a baseline. Oil, filter, and full inspection.

Once you have done that, it is up to you whether you want to change oil and filter more often than the approximately 15,000 mile interval that your vehicle uses as a baseline (adjusted by fuel consumed). I tended to run to closer to 12,000 miles on my last 5 BMWs, but if they were easy highway miles I went to 20,000 to 24,000 km, which is close to 15,000 miles. No issues whatsoever. No oil consumption. I wouldn't push it much past 15k miles, but I see no reason to change it more often unless your vehicle is subjected to some type of severe service.

I have posted pictures on this site of an engine with 100,000 miles, torn down for inspection, after a lifetime of 15,000 mile oil changes. Looked great. The 3000 mile oil change was invented by the oil change industry as a revenue generator many years ago. Vehicles today run much cleaner (less contamination of the oil) and we can see this in oil sampling results. Also, consider that when your vehicle was designed the oil that was called for was from the '90s and isn't even available today. Today's API SM and SN oils are much better and provide additional cushion.

The 7500 mile interval was adopted by many because it permitted an additional change, while maintaining the 15,000 mile schedule for vehicles that were covered by prepaid maintenance. Since we are out of the prepaid maintenance period on these vehicles, I wouldn't use 7500 but bringing it down 20% or so in duration provides a nice safety factor beyond the original design targets.

Agreed "JCL" it is fine for my e90, but vith an vanos engine i think 5-7500k is justified.

[Dshain80]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Ditto What TX5 said above. You can pretty much get a good understanding of the "BMW recommended Oil Serv/Inspection" interval and what should be done by the link posted by pezho405 in post #4 which shows the old SIA I & SIA II schedules that were used when mileage & engine load were 2 of the main considerations for service intervals.

On your vehicle, BMW has gone to SIA III where the SI interval is determined by fuel consumption, which is different for each engine/model designation. The old "mileage" determination is still not far off from the "fuel consumption" determination if all things are "average". But if they are not, then you can have a shorter/longer interval depending on the individual driving habit/style you may have.

With all the above said, you can still use the SI display to indicate when you may want to do an OIL SERV/INSPECTION by using when the remaining amount of lights illuminated to determine when its "your" time. If the 12k-15k mileage interval is too long for your taste, then it can be assumed that each green light indicates approx 2.4K-3k miles. Or you can still look at it through the prism of fuel consumption and change the oil when 2~3 lights have gone off when you've consumed 40%-60% of the pre-determined fuel consumption for you model & engine.

Again, our vehicles now use SIA III which was introduced with the 1996 e38 7 series...and now is used on all BMW models:

ya "TX5 / Qsilver7", i like a regimented service. based on milage and useage..

[motordavid]

I knew I had posted the Inspection II service list...
see my post, #5, in the link below.

Fwiw, I had my Asheville, NC Indie do it at ~68,000 miles: he spent two hours, combed the car from front to rear, under, around, etc. Charged me a very reasonable sum. Offered suggestions, gave opins, and didn't try to sell me a damn thing. I got to watch the entire time. German MotorWerks, Asheville, NC.

As for the ongoing oil change frequency issue, I tend to agree with JCL, (no surprise), and that the chase for frequent oil changes is overdone.

For the OP's car, since history is missing for 2+years and previous known history may be suspect, if it were my car I might do a hot oil and filter change, followed by another hot change a few weeks apart.

After that, once a year should suffice unless you are tracking it, or using it as a cab.

This is not a new car, and a series of medium mileage/time oil changes will not resurrect the engine. A pair of changes back to back can't hurt, and then the OP has a new baseline, and as fresh of an oil situ as reasonably possible. My 50 Cts...
GL, mD

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...2-service.html

[pezho405]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Fwiw, I had my Asheville, NC Indie do it at ~68,000 miles: he spent two hours, combed the car from front to rear, under, around, etc. Charged me a very reasonable sum. Offered suggestions, gave opins, and didn't try to sell me a damn thing. I got to watch the entire time. German MotorWerks, Asheville, NC.