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First oil change for new E90?
My odometer is coming up on 1000 mi. Typically, with a new car, I've always changed the oil at 1000 mi and then twice as often as the owner's manual recommends from there on out. The E90 owner's manual, though, seems to indicate that the car will tell me when it needs its oil changed. (I assume the indicator is, at heart, an odometer-tied device similar to what was on my '79 Honda)
Any advice as to what the real deal is with oil changes on this car? Should I:
a) bring it in soon to the dealer and pay dealer prices for an oil change using BMW-brand oil (whatever that is)?
b) buy an oil filter from the dealer and several quarts of Mobil 1 from an auto parts store, then tell a reputable independent to do the work instead of paying dealer rates? (I live in an apartment building and, alas, don't have a garage of my own in which to do the work) How will that affect the treatment I get regarding the warranty and the free *scheduled* maintenance?
c) actually believe the car, and only give it an oil changed when it tells me it wants one?
Thoughtful, well-founded advice is warmly appreciated.
Tim
| | Reply » First oil change for new E90? |
You only need to follow the instructions the car gives you. BMW uses a special synthetic oil and it is only changed about every 15,000 miles or whenver they car says you are due for a service. If you have iDrive, you can actually see the oil level status and other features via the vehicle information menu.
In any event, all the maintenance, oil changes and services are included in the comprehensive 4 yr, 50,000 mile warranty so you wouldn't have to pay for it anyway.
Hope that helps.
| | Reply » First oil change for new E90? |
The engine will be fine if you dont change the oil, but if you do decide to change it I would go to the dealer, buy the filter and the oil, and do it at home. BMW's are so easy to change the oil, and the price the dealer sells the oil for is not much different than an autoparts store. Same with the filter, you cant go wrong using the factory parts!
The service due indicator is a bit more complex than just being tied to the odometer. It calculates many parameters when deciding when an oil change is due. I am not sure of all of them on the E90!
| | Reply » First oil change for new E90? |
In the e46, the oil change indicator is tied to gas consumption, which is a clever way to tie it to how hard you drive the car.
They assume an average of ~22 mpg, so whenever ~700 gallons of gas have been used, oil change is indicated.
I would expect that in the e90 they would be even fancier. You never know with those germans.
For example, in some Mercedes the sensor actually senses oil integrity. I think they measure electrical resistence or some other property. So let's say it's indicating 1000 mile until next change and you change it anyways. The indicator actually rolls back as it detects new oil has been put in. 
What does the e90 manual say? Doesn't it elaborate at all?
| | Reply » First oil change for new E90? |
Quote: In the e46, the oil change indicator is tied to gas consumption, which is a clever way to tie it to how hard you drive the car.
They assume an average of ~22 mpg, so whenever ~700 gallons of gas have been used, oil change is indicated.
I would expect that in the e90 they would be even fancier. You never know with those germans.
For example, in some Mercedes the sensor actually senses oil integrity. I think they measure electrical resistence or some other property. So let's say it's indicating 1000 mile until next change and you change it anyways. The indicator actually rolls back as it detects new oil has been put in.
What does the e90 manual say? Doesn't it elaborate at all? | Not really. Looking up "Engine Oil" in the manual, I am passed along to three different places in the index/text before ending up at "Condition Based Service", which tells me how to look up the time/mileage to next service on my car. There is no number (e.g. "change oil every 15,000 miles") given in the manual itself, which is pretty frustrating.
I suppose I could use the service indicator to figure out what changing the oil twice as often as recommended really amounts to. But I don't know how the service indicator resets itself, so if I did that I wouldn't be certain that the car would then tell me honestly when I really *can* go to the dealer for my free maintenance.
And going to e90er's point, I know that *scheduled* oil changes are free. But I'd be pleasantly surprised if BMW were willing to give me twice that number of oil changes for free during my maintenance period.
| | Reply » First oil change for new E90? |
Why are you so hung up on changin the oil twice as much as needed?  The recommended oil change is even a little bit more than really needed...
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First oil change for new E90?