I'll be doing a ED in late March so I might have a chance to do this but then he also goes so far as to recommend NOT using the synthetic oil that will be in my engine. I guess I gotta change it on the floor of the delivery center!

 

Strange... I brought my car in for an oil change (1000 miles) and the BMW service guy tells me that the new E60 uses only synthetic oil, so I had to fork out ~$85 instead of $49.

 

The syn oil is more expensive, but the change interval is 15,000 miles. Isn't all service covered (i.e., free) during the 4-yr/50,000mi warranty period?

Martin T.

 

The syn oil is more expensive, but the change interval is 15,000 miles. Isn't all service covered (i.e., free) during the 4-yr/50,000mi warranty period?

Martin T.
[/quote]

Yes, recommended service is covered....but 1,000 mile oil change is not recommended for 545..it is for M3 though.

 

I have been around high performance boat engines for many years. These are very high end custom hand built engines. Their isn't a lot of "break" in period on these blocks. The quality components can take a really hard beating. This "theory" has some basis of truth to it.

The earlier statement of "total car break" has some true to it also. Their are other components which do require softer break in periods. I can tell you that in my experiance with my 545, I didn't do this with my first 545, but did do this on my current 545. My first one didn't feel as strong as the one does.

If you didn't know, my first 545 I received 10/21/04, and I just picked up my current 545 on 2/26/05 due to a dealer buy back.

 

Clived,

your remark proves some agitation... still, changing what the site says and then criticising it is just too easy

the guy is talking about 4-stroke engines and not what you're making of it

4-stroke and 4-cylinder is something completely different, it's about the number of strokes the piston takes to complete a full combustion cycle

any car on this globe is using a 4-stroke engine, only some smaller bikes (max. 400cc) are using 2-stroke engines

as for the breaking-in I can share this: following the manual will give you a decent, low-fuel-consuming, long-lasting car

but it you want a fast, agile, powerful car and don't care about fuel and raised repair-cost then you should warm it up and hit it hard!

waiting for a couple of 100 km's can be favourable but don't go for the 1000's km-break-in or you will end up with the car that looses a green-light-lift-off from exactly the same car and wondering what makes the difference

my method is using the firts 2 to 300 km's to let it get acquainted with the road and give it some boost from time to time (don't over-do it) by revving or kicking metal in low-rpm and letting it rest for a while (going steady)

once you reach 500km's breaking-in will only get you a slower car

 

LOL - no agitation, just ignorance I didn't mean to deliberately change what was said, but I did misunderstand - so a genuine thanks for explanining the 4-stroke / 4-cylinder difference!

Clive

 

My 545i was delivered with only 4 km on the odometer. Even though I was careful not to go over 130 km/h during the first week, the SMG went from D to M mode automatically and I noticed that the engine went over 6000 rpm while passing a car. It occured to me twice. Ouch! :'(

I will have the SMG checked out...maybe a software upgrade.