Hi,
My BMW manual says that the synthetic oil needs to be changed every 15,000 miles. I only drive about 8K a year. I drive the car often, just not great distances very often.
Should I be changing my synthetic oil roughly once a year OR should I actually wait until the 15K threshold has been reached. I’m wondering if waiting roughly 2 years to change the oil is waiting to long.
Thanks in advance.
At least once a year. 15k is much to long an interval. Me, I’d do 6 months. An oil change is cheap insurance.
Don’t forget, the manufacturers don’t care what happens to your car once the warrantee period runs out. And they are under pressure from governments to reduce fluids use.
PS, the manuals usually list a time interval as well as a mileage interval. Such as “15k or 15 months whichever comes first”. What does your manual say?
One year max. That’s 7500 miles or so. Plenty even with synthetic.
You will get differing opinions here. All have merits but I think most of us will agree that 15,000 miles and 2 years is too long.
Your driving pattern of a lot of drive cycles, but short drives indicates that you should change your oil more frequently. Your owners manual should list a time period in addition to the miles and end with “which ever comes first”.
Your BMW requires a special oil that meets European standards. These are more rigorous than US standards so make sure you are using the correct oil. Not many oils sold in the US meet this standard. If you are using a basic synthetic oil from a big box store or common autoparts store, then you have to change the oil more frequently, like 7500 miles. That should also be in your owners manual.
I would never go beyond once a year. Some time ago I rented a car in England, a GM Vauxhall. The manual had an insanely long oil change interval of 20,000 MILES! with high spec European oil. But it also said to change the oil once a year if the owner did not reach that miles number.
As mentioned, neither the government nor the car makers care what happens to your car after the warranty runs out. As mentioned many times on this forum we recommend maximizing engine life rather than oil life!!!
So, I would change oil oil at least once a year and keep an eye on the dipstick regularly.
No maintenance computer in this vehicle? The maintenance computer will not allow you to go more than one your between oil changes.
Your owners manual should say up to 15,000 miles or one year depending on driving conditions, the maintenance computer will warn you about needed maintenance before you reach those limits.
Once per year seems reasonable. Your car holds a lot more oil than most other brands. BMW does this in part to extend the oil change interval. When people recommend oil change intervals, it is often based on personal experience, and most don’t own a BMW.
I don’t think that is true at all. Carmakers do very much care what happens to their cars even after the warranty runs out. Inevitable, customers blame carmakers for breakdowns and repairs, affecting quality, reviews, re-sale value and future sales.
I may have exaggerated some, but why else would the manufacturers today (most cars) state that the transmission fluid never has to be replaced, to name one example.
I do not know the answer, but I am not second guessing the manufacturer that makes this statement until I can compare two similar transmissions, one that did have fluid changes and one that did not.
I can imagine manufacturers would see tons of law suits if their statement would not hold up.
I usually have a third view. This is an expensive vehicle, and you obviously want the best for it. So, instead of simply asking strangers on the Web for advice, send a sample of oil to Blackstone Labs once a year and get the report on oil AND CAR CONDITION.
It only costs like maybe $30 or $40. It not only tells you about the condition of the oil in YOUR driving conditions, instead of guessing. It also does very good testing of the motor. Rings; bearings; valve train; blow-by; coolant leaks, and a lot more. Do it even if you get the sample while changing the oil.
In the case of new vehicles, your main concern for a while is complying with warranty rules to keep warranty in effect.
Right! Sophisticated industries practice “Condition-based Maintenance” which means that oils, other fluids, and pipe wall thicknesses, bearing and other equipment are monitored regularly. The oil in a large compressor that is run continuously for a whole year may go that long or longer before being changed out. However samples are regularly taken to determine the oil’s condition and to spot any signs of excess bearing wear, antifreeze leaks, or overheating.
All this is combined with Risk Analysis to ensure the operator are not pushing the envelope too far!
The oil in construction equipment and heavy duty trucks and diesel locomotives is monitored on a monthly basis most of the time. At $25 or so per sample it’s cheap insurance.
I used to do oil analysis form time to time and determined from the results and my driving style that 5000 miles was a very safe interval since most of my driving was urban and short trips. A salesman driving mostly highway would no doubt end up with a much longer interval, at least 8000 miles.l.
Thanks, Docnick. That is exactly what I ended up with on my 2002 Sienna, which I had to park at 220,000 miles due to a change in Mexican import laws. Because of all the different opinions here on Cartalk, I decided to find out for myself, on my car, with my driving patterns: outside the Snow Belt.
I let it go well over 8,000 miles, and Blackstone showed all condition of oil, the detergents, contamination, etcetera, looked as if it would be good until at least 11,000. So, for a safety margin, I chose to change it at around 8,000 miles. And, I was well aware if I changed my driving patterns, or moved back into the Snow Zone, the figures would change.
Note I did use Mobil-1 EP. Though they say it will go 15,000 miles, personally I would rather not run it that long. Sorry if this was all duplicate.
All engine parameters were okay, too.
Well, maybe they’re right.
I read a study a few years ago done by an independent organization (forgive me, I forget whom), not a manufacturer, that tracked BMW transmission failures. One sample group serviced the automatic transmission every 30,000 miles, one group never serviced the transmission. The rate of failure requiring repair or replacement was identical for both groups up to 140,000 miles. The failure rate was only marginally higher after that until 180,000 miles. It wasn’t until over 200,000 miles that the group that serviced their transmissions saw any significant benefit.
Now I realize that that study had a lot of variables, but if my transmission is likely to see 200,000 without any failure, why would I bother servicing it? I probably won’t even keep the car that long.
interesting…
The only point of reference I have is a passat that I took to 120k with no maintenance, and the transmission was fine.