BMW recommended maintenance inadequate?

[tlr]

[Apologies if this has been asked, I did a search and didn't find anything.]

I have heard the intervals BMW recommends for oil/differential/transmission fluid changes are longer than they really should be, in order to cut costs on their maintenance program, and this is one reason why BMWs are considered unreliable.

Is this true? Do you guys pay for additional maintenance between the scheduled ones?

[Seattle S65B40]

There may be some truth to this. Some people here do their own oil changes and stuff on intervals they deem reasonable. Others do what the dealer tells them. I do what the car tells me. Check control is pretty advanced in this car, and it modifies service intervals based on how you drive the car.

[chmura]

Not sure.

But I will be changing my oil between 4-5k miles. Might be way premature to some but makes me happy and it's extra insurance because I will be keeping the car for a long time or until I can afford a gt3 RS.

[duk]

oil changes every 6-7k here

[elm3]

I change my oil every 7,500 miles. It is synthetic and it will not break down like conventional oils. But oil gets dirty and all you are doing is moving metal particles and dirt all on your bearings and such. As far as tranny and rear diff. I will be doing that when the car turns 30k. It is also good to flush your radiator once every two years. I will be doing mine this coming fall. BMW doesn't flush radiators, they call it lifetime fill.

[Dodge2Dub]

Originally Posted by elm3

I change my oil every 7,500 miles. It is synthetic and it will not break down like conventional oils. But oil gets dirty and all you are doing is moving metal particles and dirt all on your bearings and such. As far as tranny and rear diff. I will be doing that when the car turns 30k. It is also good to flush your radiator once every two years. I will be doing mine this coming fall. BMW doesn't flush radiators, they call it lifetime fill.

Are you paying for tranny/rear diff? I just had my 30K, and the dealer didn't change these, although I've heard of other dealers changing out these fluids at 30K for their customers. My service rep told me that after break-in, these are lifetime fluids or 100K miles.

[poopdeckpappy]

Since I use a quart of oil every 3500 miles I already feel like I change the oil enough.

[elp_jc]

Based on several UOA reports I've seen, it's definitely inadequate IMO. And proof of that is BMW used to recommend oil changes every 3K miles when they were charging for service. And without ANY engine changes, as soon as they started including service in the purchase, the interval jumped to 10K miles .

And it's absolutely inadequate for people like me who drive mostly short distances in the city; that's brutal for the additive package, especially the part that neutralizes acids. Everybody has its own opinion, but doing a 'middle' oil change gives me piece of mind . And will continue doing it (it's my money ).

[Erhan]

Kinda depends how you drive too. If you're tracking, changing fluids more often is good. Changing oil costs about 150$ if you do yourself.. Given how expensive to run this car ($150 is 2 tanks of gas), that's really nothing.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Based on several UOA reports I've seen, it's definitely inadequate IMO. And proof of that is BMW used to recommend oil changes every 3K miles when they were charging for service. And without ANY engine changes, as soon as they started including service in the purchase, the interval jumped to 10K miles .

And it's absolutely inadequate for people like me who drive mostly short distances in the city; that's brutal for the additive package, especially the part that neutralizes acids. Everybody has its own opinion, but doing a 'middle' oil change gives me piece of mind . And will continue doing it (it's my money ).

It's more like 15-18k miles from what I've seen. Sound ridiculous. I just pay and get mine done every 5-6k miles for cars I own.

[jeffnnj]

I don't. Since BMW retains ownership of its leased fleet, I sincerely doubt if they would skimp on anything to prolong the life of their assets.

[rdkc01]

It would appear so. My wife's 06 530Xi sport wagon they changed the brake fluid at two years. When I asked about our 07 X3 I was informed that this was now to be done every 3 years. The fuel filter is to be done at 100,0000. The air filter is way to long too. I can't recall what I was informed here. I too change my oil between "recommended" intervals. Every 7k including filter of course. Prices at the dealer seam at times way high for common proactive maintenance and repairs alike. I understand having to make a profit but $1800.00 to replace a $300.00 starter is .........you fill in the blank.

Now I just had the 30,000 maintenance done on our 08 M3 and they did replace the rear dif fluid however I was informed this was an oversight by the service writer and it is not part of the scheduled maintenance.

[Singletrack]

Factory intervals are fine. If you track frequently or live in harsh conditions, then you may wish to change sooner. However, taking the former as an example, the car will adjust the interval down based on the hard driving.

UOA's, despite their popularity, don't tell you how well the oil is lubricating the engine.

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Based on several UOA reports I've seen, it's definitely inadequate IMO. And proof of that is BMW used to recommend oil changes every 3K miles when they were charging for service. And without ANY engine changes, as soon as they started including service in the purchase, the interval jumped to 10K miles .

Not proof; just a conspiracy theory. Your argument also leaves out Europe and other markets that do still charge for service. How do you explain that?

Every other manufacturer in the world has also increased their oil change intervals. Some of these manufacturers charge for service; some don't. Subaru is one example. What's in it for them? Oil tech is also improving constantly. Shit, 10 years ago, most manufacturers were still dumping crapola dino oil in high performance turbo engines - Audi for one.

[mdosu]

Originally Posted by Dodge2Dub

Are you paying for tranny/rear diff? I just had my 30K, and the dealer didn't change these, although I've heard of other dealers changing out these fluids at 30K for their customers. My service rep told me that after break-in, these are lifetime fluids or 100K miles.

if it's within the maintanence peroid, I would think the dealer will pay for it.

As with OP's question, I'm really unsure based on the conflicting views. After my free maintenace peroid is up, I'll probably resort back to changing every 8000 miles just be on the safe side.