[Jimmer]

Has anyone had to add oil yet? I have 5400km (I'm in Canada) on my car and got message yesterday telling me I need to add. Seems early or no???

[Pray for Mojo]

That's normal, mine didn't use any before I changed at 2,000km but my sales guy told me to expect it to use a liter between their oil change intervals. There's a liter in the trunk in that little fabric case.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Jimmer

Has anyone had to add oil yet? I have 5400km (I'm in Canada) on my car and got message yesterday telling me I need to add. Seems early or no???

Seems a little high but as the rings seat and engine breaks in you lose a bit of oil. Frankly, I am shocked that everyone has bought into the never change your oil even on break-in concept. If you care about your car, pay of an extra break-in oil change. The 1M had the same exact motor as the 135i but they included a break-in oil change at 1200 miles, but not on any of the other non M cars. That came from the engineers because they figured the type of driver for the 1M was not the soccer mom. BMW engineers would probably change the oil at least once during break in but since they pay for it, they just say you are fine and drive it for two years with metal shavings in your oil...the filter will catch them.

If you are using a quart at 5000K ,then it's possible it took a bit more for your rings and bearings to seat which means there could be more metal particles in your oil. You just spent close to 50K on your car, throw another $120 at it now when it matters.

Good luck.

[ciwhamc]

Yeah that's totally fine. All cars use some oil turbos use more oil the na cars. I think every 3000 miles +/- is totally fine.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo

That's normal, mine didn't use any before I changed at 2,000km but my sales guy told me to expect it to use a liter between their oil change intervals. There's a liter in the trunk in that little fabric case.

Good for you! BMW used to have shorter change intervals on the exact same motor until they had to pay for them, then they magically increased the intervals. As I said before, change your break-in oil, especially in the sporty models.

[hyperzulu]

Mine would say that (late N54 engine) about halfway through the change interval. I just decided to do an oil change myself between intervals, out of pocket. I'm leasing, but I still like to take care of my car and like it in good condition while I drive it. I try to schedule the oil change when I might have other warranty work going on, if it times right. Usually then, my service guy will cut me a decent deal on the change. No more add-oil messages for me.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by hyperzulu

Mine would say that (late N54 engine) about halfway through the change interval. I just decided to do an oil change myself between intervals, out of pocket. I'm leasing, but I still like to take care of my car and like it in good condition while I drive it. I try to schedule the oil change when I might have other warranty work going on, if it times right. Usually then, my service guy will cut me a decent deal on the change. No more add-oil messages for me.

Love this thread.....finally found some real "car guys!"

I did the same. I changed the oil every 6 months regardless. I would pay one, BMW the the other one.

[Pray for Mojo]

Originally Posted by nachob

Love this thread.....finally found some real "car guys!"

I did the same. I changed the oil every 6 months regardless. I would pay one, BMW the the other one.

That's my plan and what I've done with our GTI. I don't like the extended intervals for a car I own and plan to modify.

[DanG]

Maybe I got lucky, but my dealer did a free 1200 mile oil change for me. They claim BMWNA covered it, but other dealers don't seem to want to do it.

I would have paid to have it done even if the dealer didn't cover it.

By the way, my dealer charges $79.99 plus tax for an oil change with BMWCCA discount.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo

That's my plan and what I've done with our GTI. I don't like the extended intervals for a car I own and plan to modify.

I also did it for my 2008 GTI and by being on top of it, I found it it was burning a lot of oil. VW dealers kept saying it was normal but I kept a log and changing it. At 20K miles when it hit .9 qts per 1000 miles and I got fed up with being told it was normal, I told the rep that I wanted to hear it directly from VW. He smugly called them up saying " a customer is burning .9 quarts every 1000 miles, can you please tell him that's normal." Then his smug expression went away and he hung up and said, we will get you a loaner and rebuild your motors. The the rebuild as well. The rebuild worked for a bit but slowly it started to burn oil again. I continued with my oil changes including an extra break-in when new and re-built. It got bad again and 59,000 miles it was burning 1.2 quarts per 1000 miles. I took it back and they did the consumption test. Sure enough my numbers were right and they said VW will put a new motor but one small snag. I have to provide documentation that I changed the oil at least every 5000K miles without a miss. I handed the guy a manila folder and he was shocked that I had all the receipts. BOOM. I got a new motor in the GTI. This one pulls harder than ever and at at 76K miles it only burns about .1 quarts every 1000 miles.

The point of all this, is that my extra care turned my bad luck into something good. We love the GTI again and it seems like the new motor has solved the problem. So also save your receipts just in case.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by DanG

Maybe I got lucky, but my dealer did a free 1200 mile oil change for me. They claim BMWNA covered it, but other dealers don't seem to want to do it.

I would have paid to have it done even if the dealer didn't cover it.

By the way, my dealer charges $79.99 plus tax for an oil change with BMWCCA discount.

$80 well spent. As I said in the previous post, if you buy an M car they give you the 1200 break in change but not the rest of the cars even though it is basically the same motor.

[Lucky13]

Originally Posted by nachob

$80 well spent. As I said in the previous post, if you buy an M car they give you the 1200 break in change but not the rest of the cars even though it is basically the same motor.

Same motor? Since when is the N55 the same motor as any M car, it's not. If you drive under 4000 rpms and 100 mph like the break in period calls for why would you piss away money on an oil change? Here we go with thread 5,000 on why the oil needs changed every 3,000 miles. They have actually reduced the time period from 2 years and CBS to one year and 10,000 miles. BMW sells a couple million cars a year, do you think they would let everyone ruin their engines and destroy resale value and company reputation when they are the highest profit margin and biggest selling premium brand? If you think so you probably need to buy a GM. Unless you are running the shit out of your engine or you just like throwing away money you don't need an oil change at 1,200 miles. There are no fricken metal shaving in most modern automotive engines, that's BS from the 60's and 70's.

[hyperzulu]

N54 was used on the 1M and about 6 different (non-M) models? 1M got a 1200 mile break in change, no?

[nachob]

Originally Posted by hyperzulu

N54 was used on the 1M and about 6 different (non-M) models? 1M got a 1200 mile break in change, no?

Exactly!! Thank you. Yes the same motor was used in 2007-2011 in many cars and the 1M was the first M car with it. The manuals specified 1200 mi break in paid by BMW. Furthermore I personally have worked in dynos breaking in high performance and production motors and there is additional material left after break in. Period. Proven by BMW specifying break in on same motor in M car. They also had shorter intervals on same motors when customer paid for oil changes. Period.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

Same motor? Since when is the N55 the same motor as any M car, it's not. If you drive under 4000 rpms and 100 mph like the break in period calls for why would you piss away money on an oil change? Here we go with thread 5,000 on why the oil needs changed every 3,000 miles. They have actually reduced the time period from 2 years and CBS to one year and 10,000 miles. BMW sells a couple million cars a year, do you think they would let everyone ruin their engines and destroy resale value and company reputation when they are the highest profit margin and biggest selling premium brand? If you think so you probably need to buy a GM. Unless you are running the shit out of your engine or you just like throwing away money you don't need an oil change at 1,200 miles. There are no fricken metal shaving in most modern automotive engines, that's BS from the 60's and 70's.

That was strong kool aid BMW gave you! Wow!

[nachob]

Originally Posted by nachob

That was strong kool aid BMW gave you! Wow!

. And you missed the point. Even if you want to compare N54 and N55 they are still fundamentally the
Same. They still have crank bearings, rings, rod bearings etc.

[ska///235i]