I took the car in last week for the state inspection and the service advisor indicated that although I only have 6,250 miles on it, it is due for an oil change becuase it's a year old. Little did he know that I changed the oil & filter myself at 1,200 and 4,200 miles. In any case, I let him do it because it's free.

Well, tonight I was updating my service log and I noticed that they used a filter with part number 11-42-7-511-161, which after some research looks like it's for the 4.5 liter engines (i.e. the 545, and mine is a 550). The filters I bought (from the dealer) when I changed the oil myself are 11-42-7-542-021.

So, the question is did they screw up and use the wrong filter or are they the same, just with different part numbers? I will call the parts desk in the morning and try to figure it out. If they are different filters, is the engine damaged?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I don't think you'll suffer any long-term (or even short-term) damage if they installed the wrong filter. As long as the filter they used isn't causing an oil leak, etc. you're probably going to be fine until you work things out with the dealer.

If they did use the wrong part, that says a lot about the dealer, doesn't it? :nono:

I would say no if the filter sealed in the housing so that all the oil went through one side and out the other without going around the filter. Did it seem to fit when you installed it? Is so then size really doesn't matter since you change often enough that they couldn't clog and all BMW filters pretty much filter out the same size material.

I bought my first filter and oil this weekend to do my own change at 8,000 miles and will verify that they gave me the right one. Where did you find the drain plug (haven't been under mine yet) and how much did you get out of the engine and then add?

The good old boys at P&W. I'll let you know what I find out. I'm going to have the parts guys pull both filters and then I'll physically compare them. I'll likely end up putting the correct filter in myself.

I'm sure there are a ton of other things that you could worry about (like oil flow rate or how much oil the filter "holds") but in reality, there can't really be that much difference between the 545 and 550 filters, right? Again, as long as the threads are the same (which is likely) and the seal is good, you should be fine for now.

It's too bad you don't live closer to Rahal...they're top notch!

I'm gonna try Rahal. I leave in O'Hara and work in Oakland, so P&W is convenient. The filter sits within a permanent plastic canister, so there are no threads on the filter itself. So, if they put the wrong one in (e.g. too short of a filter), the oil may not flow properly. What a pain.

:think: Why are you guys screwing around with your oil changes with the vehicle under full free of charge warranty? Just a thought.

Can't remember if I told you this before but I bought an M3 from P&W back in 1989 and used them for one or two services and was completely unimpressed. Three Rivers BMW had just opened their doors at that time (they weren't willing to deal as much on the M3 sale and P&W had exactly what I wanted on the showroom floor) and since they were much closer to my home, it was an easy decision switch to them for my service needs. Over the years, they did pretty well (no huge complaints) and I ended up leasing three more cars from them but now that Bobby Rahal bought them out, the bar was raised tremendously and I'm even more satisfied with them on both the service and sales aspects (as I expected since I was very familiar with Rahal's M-B dealership in Wexford.)

I work with someone who lives in Pine but uses Rahal even though it's further away...I suppose you can manage to figure out a way to make it work for you too. They're building a new facility a little further south on 19 but it will be closer to the Canonsburg exit (I think) off of I-79 so it might actually be easier for you to get to (right now, you can get to them quickest from the SouthPointe exit then cut through the town of Lawrence to get up to 19...)

The drain plug set up is well designed. There is a trap door in the belly pan. Remove one or two screws to get it off. Once off, you'll see the drain plug - it has an allen wrench fitting. Take out the plug and let her drain. The filter casing has a small drain plug in it as well. I wait until the crankcase has drained, then remove the plug on the filter casing. Once the oil has drained from the filter casing, use a a 17 or 18 mm socket to remove the casing. The filter is inside. Remember to replace the o rings on both the filter casing and on small drain plug on the casing. Put the small drain plug into the casing on your workbench. Also, rembemer to replace the brass washer/gasket on the main plug.

I think I used 9 quarts of oil. I filled it up with whatever the manual said the capacity is. There is a dipstick on the V8, so you can check.

Have fun.

Because it's fun.