F30POST
F30POST
2012-2015 BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > Technical Forums > Mechanical Maintenance and TSBs: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / TSBs and Service Bulletin > First oil change after break-in
Extreme Powerhouse
View Poll Results: When did you do the first oil change?
Before 2,000 miles 4 8.00%
Between 2,001 - 3,000 miles 4 8.00%
Between 3,001 - 4000 miles 5 10.00%
Between 4,001 - 5,000 miles 9 18.00%
Between 5,001 - 10,000 miles 28 56.00%
Voters: 50. You may not vote on this poll

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      10-01-2014, 12:29 PM   #1
buckybadger
BMW forever!
buckybadger's Avatar
United_States
1374
Rep
2,417
Posts

Drives: BMW
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Diego, CA

iTrader: (0)

First oil change after break-in

Hi All,

I am around 1,500 miles on my F30 and looking to start pushing it a little more when I hit the 2K mark. I have read countless threads online on doing the first oil change before hitting the 10K mile mark. Therefore, I'm not really looking for an answer as to whether we need to do this or not. I'm just curious how many of you did it. Please respond to the poll and feel free to chip in what you know about this topic.

Thanks!
__________________
2020 BMW X5
2019 BMW M2C
2014 BMW 335i
2009 BMW 328i
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 01:52 PM   #2
MickAv8r
Captain
MickAv8r's Avatar
United_States
175
Rep
766
Posts

Drives: 2014 EBII 328ix
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: New Hampster

iTrader: (0)

Did mine at 4500 miles.
__________________
Well weathered leather, hot metal and oil, the scented country air.
Sunlight on chrome, the blur of the landscape, every nerve aware!


2014 328ix EBII - Sport AT, Light Pkg, Blk Dakota, Moonroof, Navigation, Heated Seats, HK Audio, Driver Assist, Sport Pedals, Dinan Springs, Bilstein B8s, M-Performance BBK
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 02:31 PM   #3
bmwftw123
Private First Class
13
Rep
111
Posts

Drives: car
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: US

iTrader: (0)

So you guys do it before the vehicle tells you to? If so is that covered under maintenance still?
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 04:00 PM   #4
BMRGUY
Private First Class
United_States
10
Rep
131
Posts

Drives: 335xi
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Long Island, NY

iTrader: (0)

No, you will pay for that service.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwftw123 View Post
So you guys do it before the vehicle tells you to? If so is that covered under maintenance still?
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 04:05 PM   #5
bmwftw123
Private First Class
13
Rep
111
Posts

Drives: car
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: US

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by BMRGUY View Post
No, you will pay for that service.
What is the benefit of doing it so early?
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 04:11 PM   #6
BavarianFanatic
Too much is never enough
United_States
655
Rep
3,079
Posts

Drives: Too Many
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SE PA

iTrader: (0)

Maintenance coverage (in the US) is when the car indicates it's needed or once per calendar year. I think this might have been revised in the last year or so. On my '13 335i, it tracks for around 16,000 to 18,000 miles. I do mine every 5,000 myself in ALL of my cars so I don't have to think about it. If I'm at a multiple of 5k it's time for a change. It's overkill, but it's the easiest method when maintaining so many vehicles.

Regarding the benefit of earlier changes - BMW used to prescribe much more frequent changes. The intervals were stretched once the maintenance was included "free". Take it for what it's worth. This has been debated since Al Gore invented the Internet. The BEST means to decide when a change is necessary is via an oil analysis. There are simply too many factors that can affect oil life to have one concrete answer.
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 04:16 PM   #7
Blubaron79
Brigadier General
Blubaron79's Avatar
United_States
1431
Rep
4,722
Posts

Drives: 2021 M340i xDrive
Join Date: May 2009
Location: PA

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic
Maintenance coverage (in the US) is when the car indicates it's needed or once per calendar year. I think this might have been revised in the last year or so. On my '13 335i, it tracks for around 16,000 to 18,000 miles. I do mine every 5,000 myself in ALL of my cars so I don't have to think about it. If I'm at a multiple of 5k it's time for a change. It's overkill, but it's the easiest method when maintaining so many vehicles.

Regarding the benefit of earlier changes - BMW used to prescribe much more frequent changes. The intervals were stretched once the maintenance was included "free". Take it for what it's worth. This has been debated since Al Gore invented the Internet. The BEST means to decide when a change is necessary is via an oil analysis. There are simply too many factors that can affect oil life to have one concrete answer.
Without starting a debate: synthetic oil has also gotten better, and so have engine tolerances. It was 15k before free maint. It did go back to 10k between changes.
__________________
Current: 2021 M340i xDrive

Previous: '18 340i xDrive; '15 335 xDrive; '14 435i xDrive; '09 335 E92 xDrive
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 06:52 PM   #8
ji99lypuff
Lieutenant
100
Rep
443
Posts

Drives: 2014 bmw 328xi
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: NY

iTrader: (2)

my car says 8,000 miles between changes and thats what ive been doing. Well not me but the techs at bmw cuz its free for now
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 07:43 PM   #9
Don N.
Brigadier General
176
Rep
3,389
Posts

Drives: BMW
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Irvine, CA

iTrader: (1)

I work alongside a BMW independent repair shop, and they recommend every 7,500 miles. They've showed me cars that did it every 15,000 miles as BMW recommends, and those engines had a lot of sludge in them that was built over time.
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 07:53 PM   #10
buckybadger
BMW forever!
buckybadger's Avatar
United_States
1374
Rep
2,417
Posts

Drives: BMW
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Diego, CA

iTrader: (0)

Spoke to a BMW technician with more than 25+ years of experience working at BMW dealership in SD. He started his own shop in SD which has excellent reviews and I used to go there for regular BMW E90 maintenance (after warranty) for 2 years. I know the owner for 6 years and I'm very happy with his work and customer service. They highly recommended to do the first oil change around 5K mile mark. They also said that 10K interval is decent and acceptable for synthetic oil but its better to change it around 7-8K miles. The 2014 prior models had intervals of 15K or so, correct? That much interval, according to them was way too much. I am leaning towards the oil change around 5K miles. I might request and ask the BMW techs there to give me a report of the metal content/shaving etc. (if they can) and will post it here if I learn anything new. I had a very general discussion with them today but it would be great to have a technical discussion with the owner on my visit next time!
__________________
2020 BMW X5
2019 BMW M2C
2014 BMW 335i
2009 BMW 328i
Appreciate 0
      10-01-2014, 08:33 PM   #11
JUSTIN808
Private First Class
United_States
7
Rep
103
Posts

Drives: 22 X4MC, 22 Ridgeline RTLE.
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: HONOLULU

iTrader: (0)

My car requested the oil change after 8 months and 3600 miles. Took it in and they changed the oil replaced my floor mats because the driver side velcro came off and did a drain plug thing.
Appreciate 0
      10-02-2014, 06:38 AM   #12
F32Fleet
Lieutenant General
F32Fleet's Avatar
United_States
3540
Rep
10,327
Posts

Drives: 2015 435i
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Southeastern US

iTrader: (0)

BMW reduced the interval to 10k miles. I've had discussions with a company that does oil analysis and they've never seen wear levels on a factory fill that were actually causing additional wear.
Appreciate 0
      10-02-2014, 08:01 AM   #13
billiebob
Second Lieutenant
4
Rep
222
Posts

Drives: 328i
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: NJ

iTrader: (0)

I didn't do it, first change at 13k on my 2013 328. They shortened the interval to 10k now. And this is coming from a guy who used to change his own oil with Mobil 1 on his VWs every 5k for 200,000 miles
Appreciate 0
      10-02-2014, 12:22 PM   #14
BavarianFanatic
Too much is never enough
United_States
655
Rep
3,079
Posts

Drives: Too Many
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SE PA

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blubaron79 View Post
Without starting a debate: synthetic oil has also gotten better, and so have engine tolerances. It was 15k before free maint. It did go back to 10k between changes.
I agree 100%. I also wanted to avoid firing up the age old debate. I've used synthetics since Mobile 1 was first introduced. Engines are far less dirty than they used to be. With the advent of fuel injection and all of the mechanisms in place to reduce emissions there's far less blow by and raw fuel/contaminants fouling the oil.

But, mileage in and of itself isn't really even relevant to the discussion of the condition of oil. You could probably run a car 24/7 for years in ideal conditions without changing the oil or filter - assuming contaminants weren't introduced as noted above. The number one contributor to oil life expectancy is whether the oil is brought up to full operating temperature every time the engine is started. If it's not, then you'll have a build-up of sludge resulting from condensation in the oil. All of the horrific pictures you see floating around of plugged filters at 15k intervals are from cars in that class. Driven just a few short minutes at a time - every time they're driven. The worst thing you can do to any piece of machinery is start and stop it cold.

So, the operating cycle and frequency is far more relevant to the discussion than miles covered. I change every 5k purely because I'm too lazy to keep track of which car is due and when. I'm confident I could likely go 20k without any issues in MOST of them. The older cars probably wouldn't like that. In the grand scheme of things, the oil, filters, and time (I do my own maintenance and repairs) are FREE in comparison to the money invested in the vehicles.

I forgot to add - new cars are shipped with special break-in oil that has a higher percentage of mineral oil in the base stock as well as additional amounts of zinc and phosphates to aid in the break-in process. This oil actually has LESS lubricity and wear protection and typical synthetics. The main reason for a shorter than normal change cycle for the first change would be to get a higher level of protection once the motor is officially broken in. The M cars usually have a break-in interval listed because their engines are developed to use 10/10s of the available power. The non-M cars generally aren't operated in a similar fashion so they can get away with keeping it in there. If you are going to redline your poor car from every stop then you should change after the first couple of thousand miles...
Appreciate 0
      10-02-2014, 02:34 PM   #15
snj49er
First Lieutenant
102
Rep
335
Posts

Drives: '20 M5C
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Western NC - 28804

iTrader: (1)

My dad worked for Mobil Chemical for 30 years and was involved with the introduction of Mobil 1 in the early 70's. It was a spin-off from their jet lube business. He used to bring it home from the lab in screw-cap cans for use in his own cars. Initially, it was a straight 5W and the recommendation was for 25,000-mile oil changes. If he was still around, I'm sure that he would agree with each of your points.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic View Post
I agree 100%. I also wanted to avoid firing up the age old debate. I've used synthetics since Mobile 1 was first introduced. Engines are far less dirty than they used to be. With the advent of fuel injection and all of the mechanisms in place to reduce emissions there's far less blow by and raw fuel/contaminants fouling the oil.

But, mileage in and of itself isn't really even relevant to the discussion of the condition of oil. You could probably run a car 24/7 for years in ideal conditions without changing the oil or filter - assuming contaminants weren't introduced as noted above. The number one contributor to oil life expectancy is whether the oil is brought up to full operating temperature every time the engine is started. If it's not, then you'll have a build-up of sludge resulting from condensation in the oil. All of the horrific pictures you see floating around of plugged filters at 15k intervals are from cars in that class. Driven just a few short minutes at a time - every time they're driven. The worst thing you can do to any piece of machinery is start and stop it cold.

So, the operating cycle and frequency is far more relevant to the discussion than miles covered. I change every 5k purely because I'm too lazy to keep track of which car is due and when. I'm confident I could likely go 20k without any issues in MOST of them. The older cars probably wouldn't like that. In the grand scheme of things, the oil, filters, and time (I do my own maintenance and repairs) are FREE in comparison to the money invested in the vehicles.

I forgot to add - new cars are shipped with special break-in oil that has a higher percentage of mineral oil in the base stock as well as additional amounts of zinc and phosphates to aid in the break-in process. This oil actually has LESS lubricity and wear protection and typical synthetics. The main reason for a shorter than normal change cycle for the first change would be to get a higher level of protection once the motor is officially broken in. The M cars usually have a break-in interval listed because their engines are developed to use 10/10s of the available power. The non-M cars generally aren't operated in a similar fashion so they can get away with keeping it in there. If you are going to redline your poor car from every stop then you should change after the first couple of thousand miles...
Appreciate 0
      10-03-2014, 02:02 PM   #16
bcl0328
Major
127
Rep
1,185
Posts

Drives: 2012 328i
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Abingdon, MD

iTrader: (0)

i did my first one at 17,000 miles.
Appreciate 0
      10-08-2014, 07:45 AM   #17
elm3
///M Fan
elm3's Avatar
United_States
366
Rep
2,157
Posts

Drives: '09 E92 M3 IB/'17 f85 X5M LBB
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Canton, GA.

iTrader: (1)

Garage List
2017 BMW / X5M  [9.00]
2009 E92 M3  [10.00]
2004 Yamaha R1  [10.00]
I'm going to be doing my first/break-in oil change at 1,200 miles and it will be broken in.
__________________
'09 E92 ///M3 Interlagos Blue,6MT,Silver Novillo Leather,CF Trim,Premium Package,Technology Package,Cold Weather Package,Premium Sound,19"Wheels,Moonroof-Toy/'17 X5M, Long Beach Blue, Executive Package,Technology Package, Lighting Package, Driver Assist, Full Mughello Red Interior, 21" wheels-Toy/'14 535i with M Sport and 19" wheels-Daily
Appreciate 0
      10-08-2014, 06:23 PM   #18
m6pwr
First Lieutenant
m6pwr's Avatar
38
Rep
374
Posts

Drives: '14 335i M sport
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: San Diego, CA

iTrader: (0)

And as for the safety of BMW's 15k oil change interval, here is an actual used oil analysis from a '08 335 done at one year/12k. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...ss#Post3503549
__________________


'14 328d, '13 M3 ZCP, '12 535i, '11 335d, '09 Z4 DINAN Stage II, '05 330i ZHP, '05 M3 ZCP, '02 M3, '91 328i, '90 535i, '88 528e, '88 M5, '87 M6, '95 Z3, 95 M3, '93 M5, '87 325e, '89 535i, '86 635i, '73 Bavaria.
Appreciate 0
      10-11-2014, 11:10 AM   #19
1987E30M3
Second Lieutenant
1987E30M3's Avatar
Italy
30
Rep
254
Posts

Drives: E30 M3 & 325ic-F30 335i Xdrive
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Manhattan, New York

iTrader: (2)

did my first oil change on my own at 7,500 miles.
Appreciate 0
      10-14-2014, 08:54 AM   #20
sdhotwn
Mmmm... Bavarian
sdhotwn's Avatar
2129
Rep
1,689
Posts

Drives: M2 CS, X5 45e, i3, Cayman S
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Wisconsin, USA

iTrader: (0)

I did my first one at 1500 and had Blackstone analyze it. Metals were actually pretty reasonable. Could have easily gone longer. FYI.
__________________
M2 CS
2023 CB X5 45e
2018 i3 94
2014 Cayman S
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:03 PM.




f30post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST