OIL question for M57N (M57TU) e53 3.0d owners
 

Well don't beat me with a stick, got a nov 2004 build and been reading up on oils....now got 116k miles on it...manual says BMW LL01 preferred then a list of alternatives A3/B3 A3/B4 compliance etc...

Now as I don't see many oils on the shelf having the BMW LL01 rating, is it ok to stick BMW LL04 rated in X5?

Whats more confusing is I see one brand of oil (same 5w/30 or 5w/40) that has

Porsche A40 rating & BMW LL01 rating amongst other ratings , then another different brand of oil having the Porsche A40 rating but not the BMW LL01 rating, so what gives? is it indeed technical issue with oil or bmw not bothering to rate the latter and assign it a LL01 spec?

Oh goodie - an oil thread.... :rofl:

LL01 is not spec'ed for engines with DPFs so the LL04 spec. was developed for later DPF-equiped engines and their more complex emission requirements. However, the LL04 spec. is somewhat backwards compatible with LL01 so can be used in your engine (but not gasoline engines in the USA/Oz etc.)

BMW-Oil-Specs-and-Recs.pdf

Having said that, I stick with an LL01 rated oil (on my Euro 3 M57TÜ) - Castrol Edge 5w/40 - as I don't want to pay for features in an oil that aren't required by my engine.

Different oils/brands may be tested against one spec but not others, so you can see a varied mix of specs on similar oils.

And BMW or Porsche don't rate oils - they release a spec. (requirements to be met) and oil manufactors test against these standards. Or not. An oil that meets Porsche A40 may well also pass LL01 but may not have actually been tested against that spec.

@Wpoll cheers fella, so been running the X5 since got it with LL01 spec oil mobil1 specifically, last year put in LL04 spec but was getting knickers in a twist over what was what and what is ok or not....so thanks for clarifying again....alas X is showing its age, damn heat and sun shrivelled up most plastics....well annoying....and time for a new battery, possibly door lock actuator....

Find my DLA thread. You can replace the motor brushes for relative pennies on the dollar. Takes a bit of tedium but when i did mine it was $12 vs $240 each! (Between mine and wife's, we needed 4-5).

Depending which plastics (eg. dash/console) you can wrap to renew, find threads or YouTube video.


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thanks Yup i'll dig em up again see if i can diy, i bought the whole door lock actuator last feb, but a little while later the one faulty one came back to life again, until recently when it stopped again...i guess will be case like dhc, i will stick new item in and take apart old see if i can salvage for a next time

It's not as big of a deal when the primary motor fails but if the secondary motor fails you can't open the door.

It's a very rewarding fix to do the DLA but it's not a beginner job. 7/10 difficulty but antibody fairly handy can do it. It's nearly impossible to find the motor with long enough shaft so i just pull the brushes off new motors sand swap them.


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I believe a higher LL- rating is OK to be substituted for an earlier LL- rating. And there are very few LL-04 (what is specified for my 2012 35d) oils available at reasonable prices so I have used higher LL rated oils.


Also, I have never had my oil changed at the dealer personally, but I have some records of a dealer using LL-12 in my car before I owned it.

LL-01 is basically ACEA A3/B4. LL-04 ACEA C3, no ZDDP additives (zinc/phosphorus which could poison pollutant reduction systems). For vehicles without DPF older non-C3 oil is better because ZDDP additives are good against mechanical wear. Newer than LL-04 focus on lower consumption but have less consideration of long term wear.

Not always - BMW warn against using higher LL rated oils in many gasoline engines and even in diesels in some cases: -

"The LL-01 formula will cover almost all of BMW’s gasoline-burning engines except the diesel and M engines, and the LL-01 FE isn’t far behind. The newest blend is the LL-22 FE++, which is specified for the latest Gen 3 B58 and B48 engines with the mild-hybrid tech. However, it’s not backward compatible with older engines. Diesels have a few low SAPS (sulfated ash, phosphorus, and sulfur) blends to choose from to ensure their DPFs stay in good health, and while they may work in non-diesel engines, it’s not recommended."

You lost me with comment on not being able to open door, at the moment central locking works all round except the drivers door, so this door stays in unlocked position unless I manually lock the door with the key...not sure how this will be affected by primary motor failure, or maybe you are talking about the rest of the doors that don't have key access so failing motors in them means stuck closed? at moment to be frank i leave drivers door unlocked(but car is alarmed) as most of the time x5 is in a vicinity to me where i will hear alarm go off, if i make a visit to a location where i will leave it unattended and ot able to hear it i manually lock the door too after activation of alarm