I use Mobil One extended oil change oil in my 2010 535ix. It's coming up on 6 months since it's last oil change, however we've only driven the car 1400 miles in that time. I do drive it to the airport every couple weeks which is all highway and about 36 miles each way so the engine does get warmed up.


Based on the fact we use full synthetic, drive the car a decent highway versus around town mix and put so few miles on it every 6 months should I extend my oil change intervals? When changing the oil in the past is still has a honey color - not black.


I thought I heard that synthetic oil does not breakdown like dino oil over time. Any opinions are welcome.

 

Don't rely on a visual check. Yes, synthetic resists breakdown much better than standard
oil but fuel blow by gets through regardless and dilutes the oil which you can't see with
the naked eye. Rule of thumb is replace it at 7,500 miles, not 15,000.

 

youre right about the oil "breaking down" somwhere i read that average BMW intervals are 15k mi, but i say 8k mi is a good number. i used dextros in my 13' camaro (previous car) and the oil life sensor was meant to utilize the "dextros" rating and averaged ~7.5k - 8.3k mi. if you dont reach the mileage for routine intervals, then i believe its just once a year.

 

+1

 

If you've only put 1,400 miles on the car in 6 months, I'd wait for 12 months to do the oil change. I don't put many miles on my car either and I just do 12 month oil changes.

 

+1, at those low miles, just change it annually.

 

If you are doing only 2500 miles in one year, why even use Synthetic, since you will be changing oil every year anyway. Might as well save some money. A good conventional oil will suffice for 3000 miles and one year, especially in your climate where cold starts aren't really a concern.

Of course, if you are still on the warranty, you must use the synthetic and change it yearly.

Salut, Bob p.

 

Thanks for the input. Will probably change my oil change interval to 5000 miles or 12 months whichever comes first.

 

Yes and stick with synthetic oil. Not sure why someone would think its a smart idea to use conventional oil in a N54 engine regardless of how many miles driven in a year.

 

Will do, thanks everyone.