[cstavaru]

Hi,

I did the break-in oil change...just over 5000 miles. Never drove the car excessively hard. Is it too late in order to take advantage of the break-in oil change "benefits" ?

[faqulars]

19 views and no posts. In my opinion it's never to late for the first oil change.

[dxb335d]

but the car does not need a ''break in'' oil change. Not specified by the factory.

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

but the car does not need a ''break in'' oil change. Not specified by the factory.

Exactly!
I know pwoplw that did it at 15k, and now have 50+k miles on it without any issues...
Follow the BMW guidelines and you will be safe...

[742]

Originally Posted by dr325i

Exactly!
I know pwoplw that did it at 15k, and now have 50+k miles on it without any issues...
Follow the BMW guidelines and you will be safe...

50k is still a baby. I have a BMW in the garage with 234,000 miles on it, and it would not have made that on an E90 type of schedule (and still with the original transmission and diff, one engine overhaul).

Everyone's expectations, risk tolerance and operating environment are different.

[PNF]

I think that extra $130 is good insurance, especially for a 335i, with all of its known fuel pump, engine-related issues?

I dont know.

I did an break-in oil change at 1500 miles. every single friend i know who own a BMW did it for their cars, just want to flush out the oil that may contain the most of cylinder deposits, or whatnots.

Maybe the change is redundant, but I'd like to be sure.

[DrGP]

IMHO, anyone who leaves the factory oil in for over 5k miles is asking for trouble, despite what BMW says. I changed mine out at 4000 miles. Others have changed out at 1200-1500(after the initial oil has been changed). Oil is cheap, Change it often. But after the initial oil change, synthetics can easily go 5K -7.5k under normal conditions and still protect your engine. You need to get out the metal particles that are floating around in suspension that the filter has not removed during the engine WEAR IN process. (first 5k miles) . Have your 15K mile oil analyzed, and you will not be happy with the findings.

[DrGP]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

but the car does not need a ''break in'' oil change. Not specified by the factory.

The car DOES NEED a break in change. However, BMW does not pay for it. Since BMW advertises "Free Maintenance" they can't recommend it if they aren't going to pay for it. BTW, My wife's Lexus had its oil changed at 5k as a no charge service. Also had a 1000 mile check up at N/C. Unfortunately , how could I expect anyone to believe Me over the all knowing BMW . Just remember, its all about profit.

[WLS]

Ask your Service Advisor if you should change the oil more often than the BMW recommended schedule and they will say no. HOWEVER, if you follow that up and say "But I am not getting a new car in 4 years" and they will say "Oh, changing the oil more often is definitely a good idea then"

Any engine that gets its synthetic oil changed every 5000 miles will last longer than an engine that gets its oil changed every 10,000 miles.

[WLS]

I think that DrGP is correct.

Got my oil changed out after the first 3000. Got it changed again at 8000.

[nicknaz]

If it is a leased car don't sweat it, get the oil changed at 15k miles when the car asks for it and call it a day. don't pay more for long term benefits you won't be around to realize anyway

If it is a keeper, change it as soon as possible, get an oil analysis to check how much additives are remaining, and use that as a guideline for the oil change intervals

[jadeddjay]

Originally Posted by cstavaru

Hi,

I did the break-in oil change...just over 5000 miles. Never drove the car excessively hard. Is it too late in order to take advantage of the break-in oil change "benefits" ?

yes its too late. you will have to wait till 15k lol

jk

if you own the car, go ahead and get it changed at your local oil change place and tell them not to reset the computer so you get your free yearly

[Speed_Addict]

I changed my own oil at 1400 miles and it had the typical and expected small bits of run-in material one should expect. Some peices are small flecks while others appear as almost like super fine graphite dust (I filtered my oil during the drain to examine the content just to make sure all looked normal for a new engine run-in). I personally would recommend a run-in oil change for anyone planning on keeping a car for the long term and then changes at 5K to 7K thereafter. I am sure modern oils can go much longer than the conventional oils of yesterday but 15K seems like an extreme stretch.

I have a good friend who has been a mechanic for years. He told me at one time that part of the reason for the extended drain recommendation is that auto manufactures pay tariffs based on the lifetime environmental impact of the cars they produce and import. So, while today's oils can live longer in the crankcase of a modern car for certain the incentive to extend the drain interval may also involve an effort by the manufacture to reduce the fees they may be charged based upon the cars environmental impact. Few oil changes = less impact. I cannot find any specific literature to back this up but I have seen many articles that are similar in principal.

[742]

Originally Posted by jadeddjay

if you own the car, go ahead and get it changed at your local oil change place and tell them not to reset the computer so you get your free yearly

I am not sure what you mean by that term, but taking a modern BMW to one of the chain quick lube places is fraught with danger.

Odds are that they won’t have the correct filter. And the owner would have to make a special effort to ensure that an approved oil (one with BMW LL01 on the back of the bottle) is used for the fill.

Running conventional, cheap 5W-30 over one of these long oil change intervals would be very, very ugly and very, very expensive.

IMO the OP would be best to stick to the dealer, an independent who works on newer BMWs or DIY.

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by DrGP

The car DOES NEED a break in change. However, BMW does not pay for it. Since BMW advertises "Free Maintenance" they can't recommend it if they aren't going to pay for it. BTW, My wife's Lexus had its oil changed at 5k as a no charge service. Also had a 1000 mile check up at N/C. Unfortunately , how could I expect anyone to believe Me over the all knowing BMW . Just remember, its all about profit.

Here in the UK BMW dont pay for maintenance.

No 3 series requires a break in oil change, the engines tolerances are alot tighter unlike 15 years ago, Not much swarf is generated.

Also it has regular oil in unlike the M3 which has a special running in oil in it. To help the bed in process which may cause a little more awarf therefore needs changing.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by 742

50k is still a baby. I have a BMW in the garage with 234,000 miles on it, and it would not have made that on an E90 type of schedule (and still with the original transmission and diff, one engine overhaul).

Everyone's expectations, risk tolerance and operating environment are different.

I have an old BMW (1989) with 293K on it. Oil changes at 10K - 12K mileage per the maintenance indicator. Original engine, diff and trans. Diff and trans oils were changed per BMW schedule.

[742]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

I have an old BMW (1989) with 293K on it. Oil changes at 10K - 12K mileage per the maintenance indicator. Original engine, diff and trans. Diff and trans oils were changed per BMW schedule.

So in your case the diff and transmission do not still have their original fluids, which would in theory be the case with an E90 at that many miles. But perhaps that is another thread.

As for the engine oil, published analysis seems to support a 10K OCI. It is the 18K that the CBS is trying to run the car too that causes concern, and that has produced some weak analysis results.

A cautionary tale is the Audi A4/Passat 1.8T sludge problem. The rest of the world runs these cars to high mileage with no trouble, but here in the United States some combination of crap gas, crap oil and driving patterns turns them into sludge monsters. And it took 6 years for that problem to surface.

A cautious approach to preventative maintenance may not be appropriate for everyone, but those who do so are not "wrong".

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by 742

So in your case the diff and transmission do not still have their original fluids, which would in theory be the case with an E90 at that many miles. But perhaps that is another thread.

As for the engine oil, published analysis seems to support a 10K OCI. It is the 18K that the CBS is trying to run the car too that causes concern, and that has produced some weak analysis results.

A cautionary tale is the Audi A4/Passat 1.8T sludge problem. The rest of the world runs these cars to high mileage with no trouble, but here in the United States some combination of crap gas, crap oil and driving patterns turns them into sludge monsters. And it took 6 years for that problem to surface.

A cautious approach to preventative maintenance may not be appropriate for everyone, but those who do so are not "wrong".

So my E30 used crap gas and Mobil 1. I go in the top end every 15,000 miles to adjust the solid lifters, and never found sludge. Modern synthetic oils are engineered to prevent sludge. Many people on this board will change their oil every 5,000 miles, which doesn't support your 10K OCI is good, but a 18,000 mile OCI is bad. So what evidence is there that says 18,000 miles between changes is bad? Oil does not loose its lubrication proprieties. It does loose the chemical proprieties that prevent event oil sludge. If you are familiar with ships, the lubricants are filtered and cleaned aboard ship and have a long service life. Like I have said before, BMW has had extended oil change intervals for over 20 years. If it was such bad practice, BMW would not be selling cars any more (and increasing their market share) if engines were failing all over the place due to the practice of long oil service intervals. I have two BMWs that show there is no adverse effect to the recommended oil change intervals (’89 E30 – 293K miles, ’97 Z3 130K miles).

As far as the diff and trans oils go, who says they have to be changed, and what proof do they have that the lube degrades over time? Maybe the old practice of changes at 30K for diffs and trans miles was over prescribed.

[742]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

So my E30 used crap gas and Mobil 1. .

It think it is widely accepted that gasoline in the United States is not held to a very high standard. And gasoline issues are what keep BMW from recommending LL04 oils in our market and seem to be getting the blame for the HPFP failures. As for Mobil 1, I think it is interesting that of the three versions of 5W-30 that I know of the best one, ESP, is not marketed in the United States. And nothing against Mobil 1, I have it my cars right now.

Originally Posted by ENINTY

I go in the top end every 15,000 miles to adjust the solid lifters, and never found sludge. Modern synthetic oils are engineered to prevent sludge. Many people on this board will change their oil every 5,000 miles, which doesn't support your 10K OCI is good, but a 18,000 mile OCI is bad. So what evidence is there that says 18,000 miles between changes is bad? .

The used oil analysis reports at and past 15k are not encouraging. Of course they are not mine, so I don’t know the history of the engines. You can find such reports on the usual BMW sites and bobistheoilguy.com. Oil change intervals have been increasing over the years, as have the quality of the oils and the quality of the engines, all of which are good things. But there is such a thing as “a bridge too far”. I don’t know that BMW has gone too far, but I do know that I don’t want to be walking point on this and other maintenance issues.

Originally Posted by ENINTY

Oil does not loose its lubrication proprieties. It does loose the chemical proprieties that prevent event oil sludge. If you are familiar with ships, the lubricants are filtered and cleaned aboard ship and have a long service life. Like I have said before, BMW has had extended oil change intervals for over 20 years. If it was such bad practice, BMW would not be selling cars any more (and increasing their market share) if engines were failing all over the place due to the practice of long oil service intervals. I have two BMWs that show there is no adverse effect to the recommended oil change intervals (’89 E30 – 293K miles, ’97 Z3 130K miles). .

I work with large equipment that has no oil change intervals at all. But that has no bearing on my cars.

While your cars have done well, they are not running under the long OCI intervals used on the E90, nor have they been run with no transmission or differential fluid changes.

As for the generally market, BMW’s engines could explode at 150k and John Doe Consumer Reports reader wouldn’t care. At issue here is running cars reliably well past the expectations of the general public, which seems to be 100k. Just look at the general public’s tolerance for automatic transmission failures at higher mileage—no one is holding anything against Honda or Chrysler, for example.

Originally Posted by ENINTY

As far as the diff and trans oils go, who says they have to be changed, and what proof do they have that the lube degrades over time? Maybe the old practice of changes at 30K for diffs and trans miles was over prescribed.

I simply find it hard to believe that these fluids can sit in my transmission and differential for, say, 20 years. And I would bet that they can not even sit on the shelf that long (what is the shelf life for MTF-LT-3?).

So what do I know? I know that I want my car to last longer then the lease/CPO/beater cycle. I know that technology has improved and supports longer maintenance intervals, but that there are also pressures in the market place that are contrary to my own interests and expectations. And I know that I get nice magazine every month written by people who seem to know these cars very well, and who look upon the current maintenance schedules with a jaundiced eye.

And so I, and a lot of other people, take a cautious approach. I would rather be wrong and realize in retrospect that I wasted a few quarts of oil than be wrong and looking for a rebuilt head or transmission in a few years.

[roger911]

I changed my oil at around 5500 miles myself with BMW oil and filter that I ordered on the Internet. I did not find any appreciable particulates captured in the filter. I had the oil analyzed by Blackstone labs. The report is attached as a .jpg file. Personally, I'm glad I changed the oil now. I wouldn't want this oil in my car for 10,000 miles.

2008 335i Coupe
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Black Dakota Leather
Sport Pkg
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Cold Weather Pkg
Park Distance Control
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Style 230 19" Wheels