Alright so I have a 2007 BMW 525i N52 Engine and I usually have always went to the dealer to get an oil change and as winter is coming by its a tad harder to get to the dealer in the snow and there usually always booked +20 miles away.

Anyways I would like to an oil change my BMW myself and i was doing some research on what to put in and people are having this long drawn out fight about the oil your putting in has to be Long Life Approved and have to use a specific oil and what not.

*So the question is what am i suppose to put in? where can i find this Long Life Approved Oil? Any Links or where i can order some? Thank You

The Dealer usually puts in 5w-30. if that matters

 

Go to Walmart and buy two 5 quart jugs of Mobil 1 0W-40. That is BMW approved for your car. That engine takes 6.9 quarts of oil. After the oil drains out and you change the filter, put in all 5 quarts from one jug and measure out 2 quarts from the second jug (you'll only need one 5 quart jug for the next oil change cause you got 3 quarts left). I just use an old 1 quart oil bottle that I leave on the shelf to measure out the next two quarts. You must change the copper crush washer and you must use a torque wrench to put the drain plug back on. Failing to do these can result in a stripped oil pan bolt and you don't want to deal with that.

 

If you cannot find Mobil 1 locally then you can have the BMW oil shipped to you. Another other alternative is made by Red Line, which can be ordered from Amazon.

 

Here's a link to the approved oils
http://cache.bmwusa.com/pdf_59436a7e...2-e40e9ca36785

 

I have an '04 525i and it actually says CASTROL on the oil cap and I used 5W-30 full synthetic. As long as you use the proper weight you will be fine but synthetic oil has come so far over the past 25yrs you are good for at least 10-15K miles (unless you abuse your engine).

 

There are many threads on oil type.

In all practicality, any fully synthetic is probably just fine.

But, if you want to be compliant to what BMW has specified, go with a BMW LL-01 approved oil. There is BMW LL-01 and BMW LL-04. BMW LL-01 is the one you want. All Castrol Synthetics of weight 5W-30 are not BMW LL-01 approved. If you look at the label on the back of the bottle, it will give you the approvals. In the US, Castrol European Formula is BMW LL-01 approved. Mobil 1 0W-40 is LL-01 also. Other Mobil 1's are not BMW LL-01. If you go to any Advance Auto or Autozone, just look at the back of the bottles to see which ones have it. There will be a few in the store that have that rating.

 

Yep.