I believe that BMW’s recent service intervals & oil change recommendations are foolish. No one who plans to KEEP a car for 100k miles should follow these.
I purchased a 2009 335xi (I only wish that the turbo diesel was available her then!!) I have 2 questions:
1) I changed my oil at 3k miles. Now I have 10k miles.
The service indicator predicts my next oil change should be at @ 13k miles. Should I change my oil & filter now ? I has been 5,000 miles since the last oil change
2) My driving is 50% around town, 50% 40 mile trips. I do not beat this car at all. What should I use for an oi change interval moving forward ? Is 7500 miles adequate with the great new oil products we have now ?
Note: I “made” the dealer install the factory oil cooler & it dropped my oil temp significantly.
Thanks for your suggestions. Tim B in Providence
Have you checked the heavily-trafficed BMW discussion boards? I’m sure this must have been discussed in great detail there.
The only modification to the enginner’s service interval I would make is putting a additional oil change in the middle of the 15,000 mile spec.
What interval would you like to be on?
Don’t have the service interval reset when you do the additional change.
Aren’t your oil changes included in the car purchase price?
You should apply to work as an engineer at BMW. You obviously know more about their vehicles than the current engineers do. I’m sure they need new talent such as yours.
There is no good reason to replace the oil more often than the car’s computer recommends. The computer tracks LOTS of data, not just miles and time. It knows how you drive, and how long each trip is. It knows how many cold starts, and how many hot starts, are in your routine. It knows the temperature of the air, the engine, the oil, etc. It knows how long the oil will last and when it needs to be replaced.
Why would you spend all that money and not trust the factory engineers? 100,000 miles is nothing these days. The cheapest car on the market will go 100,000 miles with nothing but routine maintenance.
Additional oil changes are a waste of money unless you use the car on a race track.
When you are changing the engine oil are you using the oil spec’ed by BMW. The intervals seem long but very few oil meet BMW’s oil spec either.
In the end do what makes you feel warm and fuzzy but use proper spec’ed oil.
Cars and oils have changed a lot in the past years.
Modern oils last a lot longer than the oil oils.
The oil the came in the car may be different that the oil recommended oil to allow a better break-in. Changing it out too soon could shorten the life of the engine.
It may seem counter intuitive, but I have seen test results that indicate that new oil tends to protect slightly less than oil that has seen a thousand or so miles. Changing too often may actually increase wear.
I also would have to suggest that cooler oil is not always better oil. If you have special needs, an oil cooler may be needed, beyond OEM, but for most people the engineers at the manufacturer have worked out the numbers and generally get it right. Cooler oil can mean lower mileage and maybe greater wear.
Having said all that, I will add that the differences are rather small and it is better to change a little early than late, and better to have your oil a little cool than too hot.
However consider this. Very very few cars end up with engine damage due to oil problems assuming they have not lost all their oil or someone has not changed the oil in 100,000 miles.
With your driving profile, why in the world did you buy a 335i to begin with??? Why not a Lexus…
OK, only kidding – they are great cars, I’ve got an '08 myself.
You are spot on, despite what some of the other posters have said. BMW specifies the service intervals to make the “all inclusive” 4 year / 50000 mile maintenance plan as cheap to BMW as they possibly can, not so you can run your car a half-million miles.
If it’s going to be a keeper, with your driving profile, I’d do at least one intermediate oil change between factory service intervals, which would be every 6-7K miles. I do every 5K on mine, but I like to drive fast and push the car.
One thing you should know is the twin-turbo engine in the 335i, delightful as it is, does tend to run hot. Oil degrades faster at high oil temps. You don’t want to push the oil mileage on that engine, as the ability of oil to work decreases as regular oil temps increase. One extra oil and filter change in between regular service intervals is pretty cheap insurance that the engine will still be running far into the future.
If it was a 3 year, 36000 mile lease, then screw it…and the guy that buys the car after you…!