tachyon

Yikes! The owner's manual says to have your vehicle serviced immediately when it shows too much oil.

I called BMW Assist from the car and they said to take in to the dealer tomorrow -but he had never heard of this reading before.

The dealer service manager said the same thing ... bring it in right away tomorrow morning ... and that he had never heard of it.

katheikia - hit the I=info button in the middle of the main I Drive screen. Then scroll down to "service", then "service requirements" then check engine oil to see that screen. There is no dip-stick any more.

katheikia

thanks I will do that on my 2006 550, because my 3006 550 uses uranium

durbina79

My dealer did not notify me to change my oil after 1200 miles. Are we supposed to? If not, why did you do it tachyon?

EBMCS03

Unless you have a ///M BMW will not change your oil at 1200. You pay for that out of your pocket if you want it.

durbina79

Do you mean like an M5 or M3, what is an ///M???? My 550 is my first bimmer ever and am just getting used to the BMW world.....

Even so, why would an ///M get special oil change treatment?

EBMCS03

Yes as in ///M5 ///M3 and even ///M6 Why special treatment? Cuz its an ///M. An M is an M and nothing but an M. BOW down to the M hahaha. Engine is just designed that way.

Bimmer32

Yes as in ///M5 ///M3 and even ///M6 Why special treatment? Cuz its an ///M. An M is an M and nothing but an M. BOW down to the M hahaha. Engine is just designed that way.
[/quote]

M stands for the Mother of it all. Well, //M engines are engineered racing engines while the rest of us have civilized engines. Break-in creates fine metal debris. You should read up on what break-in are. There are many topics and opinions on break-in on this forum. You'll find BMW's recommended break-in very civilized.

tachyon

There seem to be two camps on this matter: most here just follow the BMW service intervals (15,000 miles); while some others suggest changing the oil just after break-in and at 1/2 the BMW interval period (every 7,500 miles).

I figure that while technologies have improved a lot, these still are mechanical beasts with lots of moving metal pieces and parts, and break-in oil is bound to have some stuff in it - so why not change it.

Plus, my new 550 went through almost a quart of oil in the break-in period, so I figured why not just change all the oil instead of topping off.

The M5 engine is a different matter, and the new M5 gets a comprehensive going-over at 1,200 miles. Here's a post covering this: M5 1,200 mile service

EBMCS03

Yup I'm one of second campers... 1/2 recommended service oil changer here.

Stranger

Does BMW use special oil for new cars? My last car stated it used specially formulated oil and should not be changed in the first 8000-10000 miles. Changing too early might cause unnecessary engine wear and the engine will be noisier in later part of the car's life. I was told it was neither mineral nor fully synthetic (what can it be?).