X5 BMW Service Recommendation Changes?
 

I called my BMW dealer to schedule my annual service and got this message from the service manager...

"Bmw has changed its maintenance requirements. Bmw no longer changes the oil yearly unless the car is driven less than 6,000 miles in 1 yr. For cars that are driven more than 6,000 miles in a yr, they have to wait until car is recommending service to be performed (even if it may not be necessary for another yr). The fuel filter gets replaced when the car recommends it ( approx. 30,000 miles)."

My service light did not light up yet and it has more than 6000 miles...

I understood my oil/filter/wipers would be replaced yearly when I purchased the X5d regardless of miles. Will my computer service light pop on when 12 months is passed?

Here is a thread from a couple weeks ago; same topic:

http://www.xoutpost.com/off-topic/lo...ge-policy.html

GL, mD

Thanks David. I feel swindled by BMW.

God help those certified pre-owned BMW people whose vehicles went 24 months between oil/filter changes.....

Since you have a diesel, this does not apply, you still get annual oil changes.

Why? There is little evidence that more frequent oil change does any good in modern engines.

Not according to my service manager. But that would make some sense with the DEF refill stuff. Can you elaborate or site some reference? thanx

I specifically did not leave out filter in my statement as someone would post what you did.

While I cannot site an article, changing oil and filter every xxxx miles or annually has been recommended up until the manufacturor had to pay for it.

If you have a reference proving that regularly changing oil and filter does not extend the life of an engine please post it.

Pages of threads on the "topic", but I can understand the OP's consternation.
Otoh, in the scheme of "costs", an annual oil/filter change, paid by an owner,
is not penal, imo.

If I had a new diesel, I would do it; I still do an annual change on our 3 cars
and 3 scoots. I realize the car(s) oil may go "longer", but the reasonable cost
is acceptable to me.

The cost accountants got their way: the annual "change" was costing some
real dough spread across all the BMWs sold in the US. It is what it is...
GL, mD

Your first statement isn't true. Remember that the prepaid maintenance is in the US, not the rest of the world. You are taking your US experience and correlating it to maintenance practices world wide. Prepaid maintenance came in over a series of years, while maintenance intervals were extended over a different series of years. The timelines didn't necessariliy match up.

The SIB on free annual oil changes from 2001 (contained in the thread link that MD put up) only ever applied in the US. It didn't apply in Canada, for example, where we also have prepaid scheduled maintenance.

BMWNA in the US has let this go for years, probably not wanting to antagonize the relatively small % of owners who do want annual oil changes. They seem to have finally just decided that enough was enough.

I think that your request for proof that regularly changing oil and filter isn't beneficial is too broad. Seems like you are putting up a strawman that is easy to knock down. Instead, I would say that exceeding the maintenance frequency recommended by the manufacturer has little to no benefit.

Here is a link for you. It is a 100,000 mile engine that followed the BMW recommendations of 15,000 miles for oil and filter. Photos look pretty good. Seems to me that qualifies as proof. Now how about that proof that doing 7500 mile intervals or annual oil changes makes the vehicle last longer?

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

As a side note, I wouldn't worry about buying a CPO that followed the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations. BMW's own CPO guidelines will accept a vehicle in to the CPO program that has 5 years/60,000 miles and only two oil changes in that time. If it has two oil changes in 48 months/60,000 miles they don't even open the valve cover to look at it. Then they warrant the engine for the term of the CPO, and carry that risk themselves. I suggest that they know very well what the cost of not doing annual oil changes is in terms of engine wear, and that it is essentially non-existent. We are so far past requiring annual oil changes that I am not surprised that they are going to take the heat for not doing them in the US any longer.

It seems to me that their willingness to carry the financial risk relating to oil change intervals carries more weight that any suggestion that they are just trying to save money by not doing annual oil changes. Sure they are saving money, but it doesn't mean owners are being disadvantaged by the change in policy.

Link here: http://www.xoutpost.com/585947-post14.html

The diesels do not appear to be going the same 15,000 mile (approximately) intervals as the gasoline engine models before a service is called for. Several posters report seeing the lights come on quite a bit sooner, in the 10,000 - 12,000 mile range IIRC.

If you do want to pursue it with your dealer, read the SIB that I posted in the link MD gave, above. It states that diesels are not covered by the new policy. There may be a different SIB that does apply to diesel models, I am not sure.