make your dealer change your spark plugs at 37,000 miles

[roastbeef]

hey guys, i know its in the manual, etc., but to be completely honest, i had too much trust in the service advisers following bmw's maintenance schedule.
my car now has 42,000 miles on it and i know the plugs have not been done. i mentioned it to my service adviser the last time i had her in for an oil change (at about 30k miles) and he told me they do it at about 45k miles. this is not correct.
i looked up the service manual on bmw's website, and it appears that the 1M service manual recommends plugs at every third oil change. i haven't checked, but it may also be the same for 335's and is commonly just assumed it is the same for M3's. i was also told (incorrectly) that the computer will "ask for new plugs." this is also incorrect. the manual also specifically outlines that plugs are not part of the "condition based service" advisories in the idrive, and the car will never ask for them.

it specifically states in the M3 service manual that the plugs are to be changed at 37,000 miles.
my car now has 42,000 miles and is in for an oil change and an "increased emissions" warning. i will be bringing the manual printed off bmw's website and politely explaining the situation to get this rectified.

i'm sure this didn't damage anything, but if i went by what i was being told, i may have gone out of the service warranty without getting an expensive maintenance performed that comes with the car. i know, shame on me for not being more on top of things. lesson learned. i just thought i would share in case anyone else may be in the same situation without knowing.

[heart_doctor]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

hey guys, i know its in the manual, etc., but to be completely honest, i had too much trust in the service advisers following bmw's maintenance schedule.
my car now has 42,000 miles on it and i know the plugs have not been done. i mentioned it to my service adviser the last time i had her in for an oil change (at about 30k miles) and he told me they do it at about 45k miles. this is not correct.
i looked up the service manual on bmw's website, and it appears that the 1M service manual recommends plugs at every third oil change. i haven't checked, but it may also be the same for 335's and is commonly just assumed it is the same for M3's. i was also told (incorrectly) that the computer will "ask for new plugs." this is also incorrect. the manual also specifically outlines that plugs are not part of the "condition based service" advisories in the idrive, and the car will never ask for them.

it specifically states in the M3 service manual that the plugs are to be changed at 37,000 miles.
my car now has 42,000 miles and is in for an oil change and an "increased emissions" warning. i will be bringing the manual printed off bmw's website and politely explaining the situation to get this rectified.

i'm sure this didn't damage anything, but if i went by what i was being told, i may have gone out of the service warranty without getting an expensive maintenance performed that comes with the car. i know, shame on me for not being more on top of things. lesson learned. i just thought i would share in case anyone else may be in the same situation without knowing.

My dealer did it at 30,000 miles ....

[kscarrol]

Get them changed. Like heart doctor, my car was in for oil change/regular service around 30k and the service advisor said my plugs were due so they were done then. I'm at 50k miles now so another set due soon...

[MachinesWithSouls]

OP, if possible, it's an easy enough job to tackle yourself. That way, you'll know it's done right. If in the NJ area, I can offer help.

[BPMSport]

They are supposed to be done on the 3rd oil change.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

They are supposed to be done on the 3rd oil change.

.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by SoManyBlueCars

OP, if possible, it's an easy enough job to tackle yourself. That way, you'll know it's done right. If in the NJ area, I can offer help.

i appreciate the reach, but i'm still under the factory maintenance and i'm confident they will get replaced with a polite talk with my service adviser.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

.

Thanks for the picture, but like I said, based on CBS it's supposed to be changed at the third oil change. This is why you see everyone saying that their dealer changed it around 30k. 1200+15000+15000=31200. I drove my car more aggressively so they changed mine at around 29kish.

[roastbeef]

i appreciate the input, you may very well be correct since 37k may be the top mileage for a third oil change for some. (i change mine every 7,500)

regardless, my service adviser told me they wouldn't do it even at the third oil change (what it is currently at the dealer for) if the car wasn't "asking" for it, which is completely false. the service manual also specifically says the plugs will not be asked for by the car in the idrive as "condition based service."

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Mike Benvo

Thanks for the picture, but like I said, based on CBS it's supposed to be changed at the third oil change. This is why you see everyone saying that their dealer changed it around 30k. 1200+15000+15000=31200. I drove my car more aggressively so they changed mine at around 29kish.

.

[BPMSport]

CBS has issues all the time where it doesn't call for things that should be done. I wish the dealers weren't so clueless.

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

.

Plugs are shown in CBS... That's why the dealers are changing everyone's at 30K. It's not like the tech just arbitrarily changes them, CBS normally calls for it @ the third change. I don't care what the owners manual says, only what the car is programmed to do.

The owners manual varies from year to year also.

[roastbeef]

perhaps i was misinterpreting what you were saying. i haven't found the plugs in my CBS idrive, and the manual says they are not in there, which is why i included the second pic. CBS isn't the greatest.

[nick3753]

30k for mine

[Beemdog]

The oddball 37k miles service figure is just the translation from kilometers (60k kilometers).

[STooK]

Definitely talk with your advisor. I had a good enough relationship with mine where they included it along with the oil and diff fluid change right before my warranty was up this past April. I had 22k miles at that time.

I'm almost positive I would've been shut down at the other dealer I use to go to because it was closer. I changed dealers to one that was 25 miles out (vs 5) because they gave me more personal attention, so maybe try changing dealers if your current one isn't helping you out.

[ghostofsenna]

My dealer was clueless and said "the key tells me what maintenance to be performed." I just referenced my manual and scheduled an appointment for Friday. Hopefully it will get taken care of as I am out of the 4 year warranty by month end.

It is disappointing that this has to be pointed out instead of them having the basic knowledge of service requirements for our cars. Sad to think of the folks who don't pay as close attention as us.

[LIMITLESS_M3]

Originally Posted by ghostofsenna

My dealer was clueless and said "the key tells me what maintenance to be performed." I just referenced my manual and scheduled an appointment for Friday. Hopefully it will get taken care of as I am out of the 4 year warranty by month end.

It is disappointing that this has to be pointed out instead of them having the basic knowledge of service requirements for our cars. Sad to think of the folks who don't pay as close attention as us.

+1.

I assume it's why Porsches cost as much as they do, and BMW M's though not far behind in performance to a C2S something has to give somewhere to justify the price difference. Is that one such area ? Also sharing a dealership service department with relatively "cheaper" non M models has to lower expectations in level of discipline. Every Porsche cost a small fortune, this commands higher level of service rigor. But i bet if you don't service your M3 at the dealership where you bought it (as I do) you can expect the car to be treated like any common 1 or 2 series.
I admit i do get the highest level of service at my dealership. I ordered the car from the dealership GM himself, and it's a pleasure to talk to him whenever i service my car as he has passion for the car and is a great guy. The service department GM also owns a E92 M3 and drives my car in and out.

[FLOSS M]

My dealership changed my plugs at 28K.

[Amirsm3]

Mine were changed at 294xx. Since I'm out of mileage and time (expired in January), I'll be doing mine again at 60k. Seems easy enough.

[W///]

Even 37k miles is a little too long. Personally, I'm out of warranty and these things are cheap enough to replaceby DIYing. Mine didn't look that great even after 32k miles

[Sered]

Mine go bad every 10-12k miles Probably because of the supercharger tho