Oil change between service visits
 

Is it a waste to do an oil change between scheduled services on my 03 4.6 or is the synthetic oil used nowadays that good.What do some of you do?

I have always changed my oil twice as often as BMW recommends. My service advisor insists it is not necessary and thinks I am nuts (especially since changing the oild on my E46 M3 cost a fortune). Maybe the oil is good enough to last that long, but all I know is that for a relatively small amount of money I have greater peace of mind...

Much teeth gnashing, strong arming and varied opinions on this one - a quick search on this site will turn up hours of reading.

For what its worth this is what I have done for 4 BMW's - I think it is a balance between BMW min requirement and those obsessive folks that change oil with the frequency of older non-synthetic oils.


Change the oil for whichever of the following occurrs FIRST
- 7,500 miles
- One year since last change
- Inspection I/II per indicator


If you have some time to kill here is more information that you ever needed or wanted on oil
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

IMO, I feel to change your oil twice before the service is due. I change it every 4k... I know sounds crazy but I do this because one day my mechanic showed me a BMW 540 2000 model. The guy had the car towed in because his engine stooped working. The reason was because the engine needed a complete overhaul. I'm looking for the pics to show everyone how nasty it looked. This guy bought the car brand new. Changed the oil every time the service was due. Never let it go past the service time. Because of this the engine had build up so much gunk inside, it looked like actual "Fat" that our body stores. From that point on, my mechanic said not to listen to BMW and do a few oil changes before its due for the service. Now everyone has there opinion. But if you think about it. Synthetic oil breaks down just as regular oil does. Better to be safe then sorry. If you are planing on keeping your car for a long time, then take care of it. If you plan on just leasing or keeping for a small time then who cares. But the next dude might get a surprise later on. This is just my opinion. I'm looking for the pics, once I get them I will post them... Hope this helped...

This is a very oft discussed issue. It probably could last 15k and not result in catastrophic engine failure, but 7500mi (basically 2x as often) is a reasonable safe margin.

Oh Oh Oh Oh I'm so happy because today I drove 30 miles to the nearest Autozone and found the German-made Castrol 0W-30 I haven't been able to find!!! Yanked all 6 quarts off the shelf! :bounce:

I'm confused. 5w-30 for BMW, ow for Porsche?

Ive used castol or mobile sythetic in various BMWs. Most of my milage is highway 20k-30k a year but I still change my oil every 5500 miles by as recomended by a DC area service manager. On my 330ci besides my powerstearing pump going out around 90k Ive had no major problems and its more fun to drive now than ever.

I know I know BMW recommends 5W-30, and according to the manual, 5W-40 is also okay. But I've read time and time again about how the US-made Castrol isn't as good as the one sold in Europe, how it doesnt meet industry's top standards, blah blah blah. So since oil change time is coming up, I thought I'd go find this German-made Castrol.

Indeed, the labelling does say European Formula on the front, and on the back it is made in Germany. Can't hurt to try.........

My BMW shop recommends 7500 miles. Reason; per their tech is that the BMW oil filters break down (they are paper) and basically disintegrate at that point. I really am not a fan of having my oil filter release all that it has filtered back into the system. This independent BMW shop has been in business for 20 plus years and they have a stellar reputation here; so I put a lot of faith in that advice. Therefore I do the 7500 intervals and we did that with our 2000 323i and it was in fine shape at 98,000 miles when we sold it a month ago. My .02 cents.

If you trust your shop, and follow their advice, that is great. I am curious, though, as to why you feel that they know more about oil filters than the company that designed the vehicle.

Yes, a filter can disintegrate when it is old, BMW or otherwise. I have never seen one in do that in recent memory, and I have never seen a BMW OEM part do that. I think that two years should be the max for a filter, per current BMW recommendations. Just my $0.02.