[Potty_Pants]

Hi guys,

I currently own a g35 coupe and was planning on upgrading to a g37... however after seeing the puffer body style & delivery date around september I decided on a 335i (ordered on 4/11/07 eta unknown). if you guys want to chat about that we can however this is a bimmer board and not really my question... which is...

The dealers/bmw are hypeing the 4-50k and continue to tell me oil changes are covered. As any person moderately knowledgeable in oil & FI engines we know that to be BOGUS. Please Correct me if im wrong, It sounds like BMW tabulates engine RPM, time, start and stops then come up with a *DING* oil needs to be changed indicator ?

RPM+TIME+START+STOP+TEMP=?Mile change interval ?

I'm guessing this is about as accurate as a blind man playing darts ?

one more question... how reliable do you feel the oil level sensor ie replacement dipstick is ?

Thanks guys


ppp

[epiphone3]

The computer will calculate your oil service miles-to-go largely based on your average fuel economy. There are other threads on this, but the major parameter is basically fuel economy...

The oil level sensor is quite reliable in my experience. They key is to check it often... reason is that some sensors have failed and when they do fail they show that you are down a litre of oil. Some people who didn't pay attention to their oil level just assumed add a litre of oil and ended up with over-filled sumps.

As I said, best idea is to check it often and then if you see progressive consumption and then a "add 1 litre" message, then you know you have experience actual oil consumption rather than a sensor failure.

As for changing the oil and the BMW scheduled intervals, yes I agree with you that they are bogus. I bought a set of ramps and just change the oil myself as often as makes me feel good... that is to say immediately after break-in, and then every 5000 miles to 7500 miles after that is typically accepted to be really good way to do things.

[Richwm]

Originally Posted by Potty_Pants

Hi guys,

I currently own a g35 coupe and was planning on upgrading to a g37... however after seeing the puffer body style & delivery date around september I decided on a 335i (ordered on 4/11/07 eta unknown). if you guys want to chat about that we can however this is a bimmer board and not really my question... which is...

The dealers/bmw are hypeing the 4-50k and continue to tell me oil changes are covered. As any person moderately knowledgeable in oil & FI engines we know that to be BOGUS. Please Correct me if im wrong, It sounds like BMW tabulates engine RPM, time, start and stops then come up with a *DING* oil needs to be changed indicator ?

RPM+TIME+START+STOP+TEMP=?Mile change interval ?

I'm guessing this is about as accurate as a blind man playing darts ?

one more question... how reliable do you feel the oil level sensor ie replacement dipstick is ?

Thanks guys


ppp

The oil level sensor is no replacement for a real dipstick mine has been broke since new it always says full never moves even with 6 out of 7 quart it still says full and dealer says its working fine. Mine is a 06 E90 with 45k miles not a 335 but the sensor is the same.

Ps: I sold my 03 G35 for my E90 and have no regreates after 35K miles the G was a rattle box I have 45K on the E90 and its still like new. Also with same drive to work the G35 got 22mpg and I get 29-31 Mpg in the E90 with cruse set on 75 Mph for both.

[Potty_Pants]

Originally Posted by Richwm

The oil level sensor is no replacement for a real dipstick mine has been broke since new it always says full never moves even with 6 out of 7 quart it still says full and dealer says its working fine. Mine is a 06 E90 with 45k miles not a 335 but the sensor is the same.

Ps: I sold my 03 G35 for my E90 and have no regreates after 35K miles the G was a rattle box I have 45K on the E90 and its still like new. Also with same drive to work the G35 got 22mpg and I get 29-31 Mpg in the E90 with cruse set on 75 Mph for both.

Thanks for the info guys... everything helps !!!

Richwm,

My G35 get 15-16 mpg around town UGH and highway it gets 22 MPG... this was a major factor in the decision... in my test run of the 335i (same as G35) the around town was 21-24 and highway was 30-31. MAJOR difference !

ppp

[BavarianRocket]

Actually if you look at your data screen when the car starts it will tell you.... and if you talk to your SA, they will tell you the first scheduled oil changed that is "paid for" is at 19,000 miles.... believe it or not it is true... I had to add about 1/2 qt of oil at 5000 miles... still runs like a champ...

I was a little dissapointed though when I found out that 19,000 miles is the first oil change... makes the old days of every 3,000 seem like a joke.

[BMWguy206]

I am doing my first engine oil and differential service at 1200 miles then replace the engine oil every 7500 miles (in between oil services with maintenance plan).
Going to use ELF Solaris LSX 5w-30 (LL-04 rating)

Obviously I will be paying for in between oil services.

[andrew20195]

Originally Posted by Potty_Pants

RPM+TIME+START+STOP+TEMP=?Mile change interval ?

I'm guessing this is about as accurate as a blind man playing darts ?

I haven't seen any documentation as to how BMW determines service intervals. I've heard the e46 M3 uses fuel consumption to determine such intervals.

Honda/Acura uses a similar system to what you described and it seems fairly reasonable. Most of the RDX Turbos I've seen average around 7500 miles between service, with the earlier ones coming in around 5k, and the later ones coming in around 10k (lots of low RPM highway driving on those). These engines are designed to use Mobil 1, btw. Honda has performed numerous tests involving disassembly of the engines and wear inspection with regards to their system. I suppose it depends on how much research the manufacturer devotes to making the system accurate.