$250 Oil Change

[Rick]

So I was driving around this weekend when I noticed the exclamation point icon on my dash, I checked the service requirements screen and saw a message stating I needed to add a quart of oil (odometer = 2750mi). I pulled into the first gas station and bought a quart of Mobil 1 10w30 synthetic (not the recommended oil which I later learned) and put the oil in. I got back in the car and drove for about 10 minutes and noticed the same message... add 1 quart of oil. I pulled over again and put another quart of the same oil in. I started driving again and about 20 minutes later I got another message, this time stating too much oil. I got to my friend's house and asked him if this is an issue (he is knowledgeable about these things), I learned that too much oil can cause engine damage, so I went to the service dept. at the local BMW dealership. The service guy came out and tried to get a reading from the iDrive screen and/or dashboard and got a message stating something like currently unavailable. He tried for like 15 minutes with the car at idle...... no change. I think to myself, "A dipstick would be really handy right now!" He tells me I better get an oil change so I ask how much, he says about $160. Oil change gets done and I get a bill for $248 and change, he states his quote was for the 3 series and not the M3.. he assumed it was the same price.

Lessons learned:

1)
2) Always carry a quart of oil (Castrol 10w60 synthetic is what BMW's recommends).
3) VERY IMPORTANT: Wait for the iDrive computer to cycle through a few times for an accurate reading. You can force a new measurement by pressing and holding the computer button on the turn indicator when the oil level is displayed on the dashboard.
4) Never overfill oil.

I hope this information helps someone.

[Gearhead999s]

Originally Posted by rickc

So I was driving around this weekend when I noticed the exclamation point icon on my dash, I checked the service requirements screen and saw a message stating I needed to add a quart of oil (odometer = 2750mi). I pulled into the first gas station and bought a quart of Mobil 1 10w30 synthetic (not the recommended oil which I later learned) and put the oil in. I got back in the car and drove for about 10 minutes and noticed the same message... add 1 quart of oil. I pulled over again and put another quart of the same oil in. I started driving again and about 20 minutes later I got another message, this time stating too much oil. I got to my friend's house and asked him if this is an issue (he is knowledgeable about these things), I learned that too much oil can cause engine damage, so I went to the service dept. at the local BMW dealership. The service guy came out and tried to get a reading from the iDrive screen and/or dashboard and got a message stating something like currently unavailable. He tried for like 15 minutes with the car at idle...... no change. I think to myself, "A dipstick would be really handy right now!" He tells me I better get an oil change so I ask how much, he says about $160. Oil change gets done and I get a bill for $248 and change, he states his quote was for the 3 series and not the M3.. he assumed it was the same price.

Lessons learned:

1)
2) Always carry a quart of oil (Castrol 10w60 synthetic is what BMW's recommends).
3) VERY IMPORTANT: Wait for the iDrive computer to cycle through a few times for an accurate reading. You can force a new measurement by pressing and holding the computer button on the turn indicator when the oil level is displayed on the dashboard.
4) Never overfill oil.

I hope this information helps someone.

Did the dealer not give you a couple of litres of the proper oil for the M?On my 2 new M's they always put extra oil in the trunk for times like that and was told it was part of an M delivery!

[!Xoible]

sorry to hear man, but that's why this forum exists. glad ur car is okay though, 250 is nothing compared to damage that could have happened. fair price for the lesson

[M3MIKE]

Did you initial the $160 estimate before they did the oil change? If so I would have disputed the additional charge. They should never have assumed charges. It should be on servicer. BTW there is a nice oil bottle holder you can buy from BMW to prevent any accidents in your trunk.

[eeeboy]

I am confused, did your maintenance warranty expire after 90days? WTF???
Ffter dropping $80k I am not paying a mother F'ing DIME especially for oil

[M3MIKE]

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Did the dealer not give you a couple of litres of the proper oil for the M?On my 2 new M's they always put extra oil in the trunk for times like that and was told it was part of an M delivery!

They never gave me extra oil. There is a thread on M5/M6 board about getting oil at no charge when needing to add a quart. Some servicers give it @ n/c and some charge you for it.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/sho...ee+topping+oil

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/sho...ee+topping+oil

[AwesomeM3]

FYI, if your iDrive tells you you need more oil, and if you're near the dealer, they will add the oil for free, at least my dealer does. I'm guessing you weren't near your dealer when it happened, but it sounds like everything is okay now, except for the high service bill.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Did the dealer not give you a couple of litres of the proper oil for the M?On my 2 new M's they always put extra oil in the trunk for times like that and was told it was part of an M delivery!

All I got was free mats, not that I'm complaining.

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

sorry to hear man, but that's why this forum exists. glad ur car is okay though, 250 is nothing compared to damage that could have happened. fair price for the lesson

true dat!

Originally Posted by M3MIKE

Did you initial the $160 estimate before they did the oil change? If so I would have disputed the additional charge. They should never have assumed charges. It should be on servicer. BTW there is a nice oil bottle holder you can buy from BMW to prevent any accidents in your trunk.

service guy did not have me initial the estimate. Thanks for the tip on the oil bottle holder, I'll keep an eye out for it.

Originally Posted by eeeboy

I am confused, did your maintenance warranty expire after 90days? WTF???
Ffter dropping $80k I am not paying a mother F'ing DIME especially for oil

No, the warranty is still in effect but does not cover user-errors like overfilling the oil. I'm a little pissed at the operation of the oil-updating or lack thereof via iDrive and the dashboard. A faster, streamlined update process would've kept me from adding the second quart of oil.

[DJ9]

Same thing happened to me. iDrive actually indicated for me to add oil, added as the manual suggested, as there is a minimum value that has to be added for the additional oil to even be acknowledged by the car; drove around for a bit, as you have to also wait for a minimum time after adding oil for the car to even register as well(per the manual). 30 minutes later, what do you know, iDrive tells me I have too much oil and to head to the nearest dealership.

Luckily, my SA was cool enough to perform a complimentary oil change.

At the end of the day, a standard dipstick would have worked just fine with me.

As far as carrying oil, same as one poster mentioned, purchase the OEM oil holder, which fits nicely in your trunk.

I feel you brotha!

[JEllis]

Yeah I probably would have just waited and taken the car to the dealer. A quart low is really no big deal. Especially for BMW's....

Jason

[cncmastr]

Originally Posted by AwesomeM3

FYI, if your iDrive tells you you need more oil, and if you're near the dealer, they will add the oil for free, at least my dealer does. I'm guessing you weren't near your dealer when it happened, but it sounds like everything is okay now, except for the high service bill.

Mine too.

[BMW3R]

Originally Posted by eeeboy

I am confused, did your maintenance warranty expire after 90days? WTF???
Ffter dropping $80k I am not paying a mother F'ing DIME especially for oil

+1. I have never paid for an oil change at a BMW dealership.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by BMW3R

+1. I have never paid for an oil change at a BMW dealership.

The problem is the OP adulterated the oil by installing non-spec oil, so that is not something covered under the standard maintenance plan.

[swamp2]

I got my oil changed today. Estimate was $150, actual was $149.32 (without tax). Roughly $92 in oil, $17 for the filter and $40 for labor. $250 is a serious rip off. By the way I am in San Diego (not Wyoming or some oddly low cost area).

P.S. I got it changes at 5k miles well before the reccommended first change becuase I feel 10k+ miles is too much even for good synthetic oil.

[M3Kevin]

puzzled why you adding oil was user error.
Your car told you to add oil. You did.
It told you to add oil again. You Did.

It told you it was overfull - you took it to the dealer.

Seems to me BMW screwed up here. Not you. You were following directions from the car - which has no dipstick - and supposedly has a super accurate computer measuring system!!

I'd ask for a refund as I really don't see how it was "user error" here.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by swamp2

I got my oil changed today. Estimate was $150, actual was $149.32 (without tax). Roughly $92 in oil, $17 for the filter and $40 for labor. $250 is a serious rip off. By the way I am in San Diego (not Wyoming or some oddly low cost area).

P.S. I got it changes at 5k miles well before the reccommended first change becuase I feel 10k+ miles is too much even for good synthetic oil.

Looks like I'll be calling the service dept tomorrow to explain the $250 charge. Thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by M3Kevin

puzzled why you adding oil was user error.
Your car told you to add oil. You did.
It told you to add oil again. You Did.

It told you it was overfull - you took it to the dealer.

Seems to me BMW screwed up here. Not you. You were following directions from the car - which has no dipstick - and supposedly has a super accurate computer measuring system!!

I'd ask for a refund as I really don't see how it was "user error" here.

Good points, I'll be sure to bring this up to the service dept. as well, may even call BMW NA about this.

I'll follow up when I get some answers.

Thanks guys.

[Biohazard]

Good luck getting it all sorted out.

[Darkclaw13]

Originally Posted by rickc

Looks like I'll be calling the service dept tomorrow to explain the $250 charge. Thanks for the info.



Good points, I'll be sure to bring this up to the service dept. as well, may even call BMW NA about this.

I'll follow up when I get some answers.

Thanks guys.

BMW has been having a lot of problems with their oil level sensors. I worked in a BMW service department for awhile and there were many times that people would over fill their oil because the car told them to. I've seen somebody put 10 quarts of oil into their car when it didnt need any. You might want them to make sure the sensor is functioning properly.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by Darkclaw13

BMW has been having a lot of problems with their oil level sensors. I worked in a BMW service department for awhile and there were many times that people would over fill their oil because the car told them to. I've seen somebody put 10 quarts of oil into their car when it didnt need any. You might want them to make sure the sensor is functioning properly.

Yeah, I think electronic sensors are fine, but what's the harm in keeping a dipstick? Can't add more than a few ounces weight. What pisses me off most is I can't use my MityVac for in-between oil changes.

[AwesomeM3]

Originally Posted by swamp2

I got my oil changed today. Estimate was $150, actual was $149.32 (without tax). Roughly $92 in oil, $17 for the filter and $40 for labor. $250 is a serious rip off. By the way I am in San Diego (not Wyoming or some oddly low cost area).

P.S. I got it changes at 5k miles well before the reccommended first change becuase I feel 10k+ miles is too much even for good synthetic oil.

Swamp, did the dealer do a "low mileage" oil service, or the regular one?

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by M3Kevin

puzzled why you adding oil was user error.
Your car told you to add oil. You did.
It told you to add oil again. You Did.

It told you it was overfull - you took it to the dealer.

Seems to me BMW screwed up here. Not you. You were following directions from the car - which has no dipstick - and supposedly has a super accurate computer measuring system!!

I'd ask for a refund as I really don't see how it was "user error" here.

Did you miss the part where he says he added the "wrong" type of oil? That was his error.

Regardless, I would of taken it to the dealership anyway just to avoid any liability issues with changing my own when it wasn't required. (The system message could of been caused by going up a steep hill or some other unforseen condition.) Most poeple that have owned BMW's within the last 10 years know the oil sensors are buggy as hell. My turns on at random times when i start my car up. Usually stays on for a few minutes and then turns off. I've had it checked out countless times from 3 dealerships in 3 different states. Its just how the sensor is.

Plus, I understand the do it yourself mentality. When possible I try to do my own work. But for a modern day BMW with so many electronics, sensors, and as much mechanical complexity that is the M3's engine. I figure best to leave all maintenance to the dealership where if something goes wrong it won't cost me money out of pocket.

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by AwesomeM3

Swamp, did the dealer do a "low mileage" oil service, or the regular one?

No idea. What is the difference. It seem very odd to me that there are different types of oil changes. The oil and filter were changed, no more, no less.