[GA/\/\/\/\A_CT]

My dealer says every 10k miles. To me that sounds like sacrilege. Are there any strong arguments pro/con changing engine oil more frequently?

Thanks!

[nikman011]

BMW says every 10,000, but my car tells me when it needs it, which has been 3 times so far with less than 12K miles (17 months ownership) , ....... all covered by BMW

PS: it is saying Oil Change in 2300 miles, so that will be 4 times in less than 15K

[harperium]

every 5000 to 7500 miles. i'm trying to reach 125K. i think 10,000 miles is OK for a 3 year lease but i'm not convinced it's the best for the engine.

[Skyhigh]

In Europe it is every 2 years or (up to) 30 000km.
LongLife oil.
Never been a fan and on my Audi I have volutarily went backed to "fixed interval" (1 year / 15 000km) and non-LL oil. On the BMW however everyone seems to be doing the LL without any complains so I went for a BMW "Service Inclusive". First change will be in Sept.

[G.Newt]

Every 5-6k miles. I take the free service once a year and pay for the in-between out of pocket. I ask them to not reset CBS so I can still get the free one.

[perryo91]

n55, but I do it every 5-6k it's cheap "insurance"

[StockLOL]

Originally Posted by nikman011

BMW says every 10,000, but my car tells me when it needs it, which has been 3 times so far with less than 12K miles (17 months ownership) , ....... all covered by BMW

PS: it is saying Oil Change in 2300 miles, so that will be 4 times in less than 15K

The dealer is covering cost changing your oil twice as often as usual and they’re working on your car with the downpipe, other mods and tuned? No issues like them saying you’re modified we’re not going to pay for you running car harder? Is yours a lease or purchase?

[nikman011]

Originally Posted by StockLOL

The dealer is covering cost changing your oil twice as often as usual and they're working on your car with the downpipe, other mods and tuned? No issues like them saying you're modified we're not going to pay for you running car harder? Is yours a lease or purchase?

Lease
They have installed all the Mods, except the DP which was not on for the last trip in (mid October to take off summer tires, 9500 miles).
This is a non-tracked low mileage vehicle, that really doesn't see any hard driving.
The dealer doesn't care how modified, or hard the car is run, and they have already told me they don't care about the downpipe, otherwise i would not have installed it. :

[eluded]

I use one year/10,000 miles which is about the BMW interval. If the car sees TrackTime that is a different story

If you are worried you can always have the oil analyzed

[sspade]

Every 5k with Liqui Moly SAE 5w40.

Blackstone analysis has confirmed that I could safely stretch to 6k but I prefer to stay at 5k for ease of keeping track. Im perfectly on schedule with my last change at 65k and my next one planned for 70k.

Trying to do my best to keep my N26 running for 200k plus without major failure. This and disabling ASS appear to be the two easiest things to control.

[NormanConquest]

7500 but I drive my car pretty hard.

[BMWILUVU]

My mechanic at the performance shop says 7,000 miles max.

[marcthedark]

All depends on usage / climate /..... that is why modern cars usually figure that out themselves (BMW uses that in Europe but seem to have turned this off in the US ...).
If you do a lot of short distances and/or track the car then you should change early. Otherwise 10k or every 12 month should be good for 95% of the cars

[B58togo]

Did the first two at ~10k and 20k at the dealer under maintenance. Did one on my own at 28k and will do every 7,500 going forward. The kits are cheap at $85 or so.

[Bluebeasty]

Originally Posted by perryo91

n55, but I do it every 5-6k it's cheap "insurance"

This but every 3k.

[rak299]

Once a year, which is about 8k miles for me

[Brett530]

Back in my E39 days, one of the forum members after 10k would send his LL-01 oil in to a lab to have it analyzed. Every time it still had sufficient protection qualities to keep going. I just follow what iDrive tells me.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by Bluebeasty

This but every 3k.

Oil companies love you.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by G.Newt

Every 5-6k miles. I take the free service once a year and pay for the in-between out of pocket. I ask them to not reset CBS so I can still get the free one.

That's exactly my approach as well.

[Reseg]

Originally Posted by Brett530

Back in my E39 days, one of the forum members after 10k would send his LL-01 oil in to a lab to have it analyzed. Every time it still had sufficient protection qualities to keep going. I just follow what iDrive tells me.

I've had the same experience. Started testing my oil well over 20 years ago and the lab results showed no breakdown issues after 10k. Oil changes were more for the life of the oil filter and its ability to hold contaminants, so I did them at 10k. When I first started testing, I was running a modified 300ZX twin turbo (396 RWHP dynod at the time) in Yuma Arizona (well over 110 degrees in the summer and I NEVER skipped the weekly and random street race events, so it was run hard). I was just using a quality synthetic (back then I used Amsoil, Mobile1, and Royal Purple), and the thought of going over 3k on a oil change really scared me until the tests proved it was a complete waste.

[FastF30]

Originally Posted by Skyhigh

In Europe it is every 2 years or (up to) 30 000km.
LongLife oil.
Never been a fan and on my Audi I have volutarily went backed to "fixed interval" (1 year / 15 000km) and non-LL oil. On the BMW however everyone seems to be doing the LL without any complains so I went for a BMW "Service Inclusive". First change will be in Sept.

I only put on maybe 1200 miles a year... just changed it before winter... I've been thinking 2 years okay...

My wifes SUV 3 year lease is at 2.5 years and 9500miles right now... oil level still okay... doesn't look bad on the dipstick either... hmmm keep pushing it?

[NormanConquest]

I'm confident the oil can survive 10k I'm not confident that the filter can survive up to 10k.