Formula1

I am sure you all have talked about this before so I apologize. I have a 2006 525i. Can any harm be caused by changing the oil in a modern BMW earlier then the service indicator recommends? When I asked my dealer if I could change it earlier then the recommended scheduled maintenance he really was trying to discourage me from an early oil change. I understand that these cars don't "need" their oil changed early, but is it ok to do so. Will it harm the engine? I plan on keeping the car for a long time. Hopefully well over 100K miles. Forgive me if there is an obvious answer to this question. Thanks.

stafli

You can change oil every day if you wish - will do no harm. If you don?t, the engine will (should) still last for well over 200 K miles (even more). The engine itself isn't the problem, it's all the other stuff (sensors, small motors, cables etc)

edl

Formual1, glad you asked it b/c it was on my list. I would add that if you change more frequently, you could probably go with the syntec/mineral blend, as the syntec (or any competing synthetic) primarily adds longer life. what about filters? one can buy the OEM oil aftermarket, how about the oil filters? who makes them for bmw? can you buy them retail? good sources?


An equally obvious question, but i'll ask anyway - is there anything mysterious about an oil change in 05 545? can one do it one's self? if so, any good posts out there with tips?

thanks,
edl

my530i

To be honest, synthesized oil can last for as much as 25000 miles. Don't waste your money. If your car used fossil oil, yes, 3000 miles would make sense because it does not have a wide operating range as synthesized oil. That's why you see synthesize oil is used in race car, airplane engine, etc.
I read some article stating that synthesize oil is very durable.

edl

think we are saying the same thing...in a way. my point is that if one wishes to change oils earlier, don't bother with buying a pure synthetic as you are wasting your money (in my opinion)...if you are saying that due to having a 100% synthetic one does not need to change earlier, as formula1 indicates, there are those that don't want the same fluid floating around for 15K miles...but that is just a personal preference for some.

thanks,
edl

Evenflow545

I've had mine since April, '04, and haven't had it changed yet, with 11k miles. Maybe it's time to have it done?

Gray Dog

Changing oil is the cheapest form of insurance. With synthetics I personally like to change my oil every 6 months or 6,000 miles. Having said that, studies show that synthetics can go for 15,000 miles. Nevertheless, as I said before, oil changes are cheap insurance. More important, although synthetic oils may last 15,000 miles, that interval is pushing it for the oil filter. I have had mechanics tell me that they have seen the BMW filters disintegrate within 15,000 miles.

Ricracing

Changing oil is the cheapest form of insurance. With synthetics I personally like to change my oil every 6 months or 6,000 miles. Having said that, studies show that synthetics can go for 15,000 miles. Nevertheless, as I said before, oil changes are cheap insurance. More important, although synthetic oils may last 15,000 miles, that interval is pushing it for the oil filter. I have had mechanics tell me that they have seen the BMW filters disintegrate within 15,000 miles.
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It might be a good idea to change to oil and the oilfilter after 2.000 miles or so do to minor metallic parts coming loose during brake in period.

But after that the longlife syntetic oil will hold for way over 20 Kmiles but the weak part usually is the oilfilter.

Go with what the iDrive says.