Veight

So this past Sunday, My neighbor and fellow 550 owner helped me do my first oil change on my 550. Everything went like clockwork, car took exactly 8.5 quarts of oil and I used Castrol Edge 5w-30 which is supposed to be one grade better than Castrol Syntec 5w-30 used by my BMW dealer.

After replacing the filter element and 8 qts of oil, I started the engine for a couple of minutes, and then let it rest and checked the dipstick and it incicated about a 1/2 qt low. So I removed the oil filler cap and added another 1/2 quart and the dipstick was exact full, then I replaced the oil filler cap.

My buddy went in his house for a minute and I restarted the car, which started out smooth then started running rough. No indicator lights went on but it was like a rough idle. The tach was moving between 400 and 1200 when I was in park. I left his house to go back home which is like a 1/2 mile drive and the car seemed to smooth out and I pulled it in my garage and shut it down. The next morning I started it up and it was real rough. I put it in drive and backed out of the garage and it was shaking a bit and ran like it was missing a cylinder. I put it in drive and accelerated and it was still rough and more acceleration make it even worse and I did not want to take it over 50 mph. I was considering pulling over and calling a tow truck it was so bad. Then the check engine light went on. No other computer faults, and when I stopped at a red light I thought the car was going to stall. I decided then to drive it directly to my BMW dealer 5 miles away. I was just about sure that I had a bad fuel injector. I was sure of it because it acted exactly like my other cars do when an injector goes out.

They checked the car out and determined initially that the battery was so low that it was causing all this, which I thought was strange because my battery goes low frequently and the first thing to go out is the clock. The check engine fault only showed general issues not specific to any one cause, but definately not a part failure. The clock was fine, but BMW thought this was the cause. Additionally, at high speeds, the battery should be getting a decent charge and my voltage should be up so why would this problem be battery related? So my dealer held the car overnight and retested it this morning. They found the problem and it was totally my fault. I did not put the oil filler cap on properly, although I was sure I had. Apparently, I put the cap on but did not engage both tabs and turned it so it seemed to be tight, but it had a gap and in reality it was preventing the proper vacuum seal in the engine. I have to tell you this vacuum issue causes the engine to run like one or more cylinders are not working.

So lesson learned, make sure the oil filler cap is pushed in far and then turned. but with that big square outter part it was hard to tell that its properly engaged.

Rasmus

Dont spank yourself too hard.

At least it wasnt an expensive repair?? (unaware of how much the stealer could possible spend before they found your problem)....

Isaiah_Charles

Damn one time my GF got an oil change on her FX and they put too much oil and wet the spark plugs smh

Diamond

just so you know you just put 8.5 quarts of the wrong oil into your car. The dealer does not use castrol syntec 5w30. They use a european blend of castrol made for bmw or similarly found at your auto parts store as EURO castrol syntec 0w30. Castrol U.S versions including yours at 5w 30 are not up to EURO standards. Why dont people just buy bmw oil instead of trying out their own thoughts. Dont get that but enjoy knowing your engine is now at risk

god_003

cause theres better oil out there than just oem



i dont use oem but i do use euro blend synthetic in my car everytime

which reminds me... i got to do it soon

-_-

Veight

Spoke to my dealer....They use castrol us spec Castrol 5w-30 NOT 0w30. By the way how do you know who my dealer is?

Veight

Just to inform you I just got off the phone with my BMW dealer (Karl Knauz BMW of Lake Bluff IL) Spoke to the Parts manager and the Service Manager to confirm. They strictly recommend Castrol Synthetic 5W-30 (US Formulated) in all BMWs except M series which require a different racing blend. The went on to say that they also use Mobil One and Valvoline Synthetics on occasion. I did ask them about 0w-30 and they had no idea why someone would use that weight unless you were in another climate. Not BMW recommended according to them. Knauz is a huge BMW dealer in the northern suburbs of Chicago by the way.

I may mention that I checked with the service manager before I purchased my oil, but you go ahead and use whatever you like. Good luck with your car. Not sure of your location because you don't post it or even your model of car in your signature.

tooltec

Just show this to your dealer:-

tooltec

You will also see from this Castrol PDF document that it is the Syntec 0W-30 that meets BMW LL-01 specification:-

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...syntec_usa.pdf

Diamond

ya asking the dealer parts guy or service rep is really reliable information-----hey by all means use whatever you want but know that you are not using oil up to bmw spec. And I PROMISE you your BMW dealer is not using castrol U.S syntec oil---all dealers use bmw/castrol oil. You are either lying or your dealer doesnt know what oil they use.

GOod job all-star way to save 25 bucks on a DIY oil change and trash your engine