New service policy - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

MET · 9th November 2001, 01:25

BMW seems to have a new service policy that will benefit those of us that don't put too many miles on our M5s: you are entitled to a free oil change service even though the service light indicator does not indicate that the oil needs changing. I called my local dealer (Stevens Creek BMW in San Jose) to ask how BMW handles the 3 years of free service on low-mileage cars that might only get one free service during that time period. They told me that BMW had just acknowledged that the oil needs to be changed at least once a year even though there might only be, e.g., 5,000 - 7,000 miles on the car.

That's the good news. On the down side, the dealers don't seem to be aware of which cars use 10-60W oil vs. 5-30W oil. My understanding (and there have been several threads on this topic) is that M5s built after spring 2000 can use either oil, but early-build M5s must use 10-60W. The dealer wanted to use 10-60W, even though my M5 has the sticker under the hood that recommends 5-30W. Since my M5 burns oil (about 1 quart every 600 miles) and I'm the one who foots the bill for adding oil, I requested the much less expensive 5-30W.

PhilSeastrand · 9th November 2001, 02:40

Met, there's a long discussion about the oil weight in a previous thread that you might want to read. I plan to ask for the 10-60W when I come up for service because it appears to be better for the engine. The cost is small in the grander scheme of things.

bgomez · 9th November 2001, 03:34

Met: My understanding is the M5 has full service which includes fluid top offs. My previous M5 was also consuming about a quart of oil every 600-800 miles so I took it in to have a quick check for leaks. No leaks and they said they would top it off for free. The service guy did say that they were switching to 10w-60 so at my 1200 mile service I will request an oil change for the new weight . I will probably have to pay for it but oh well.
Bill

hmpart · 9th November 2001, 12:18

Hi,

I am about 750 miles into the breakin period. I have not had to add oil yet. What brand of oil do you recommend?

thanks for any advice

DrRob · 9th November 2001, 15:16

Howard,

BMW recommends Castrol Syntex (synthetic) oil. The big debate, as mentioned above, has been which viscosity grade (5W-30 vs. 10W-60) to use. Euro builds seem to insist on 10W-60, while USA originally recommended 10W-60 in early builds prior to 3-2000, and 5W-30 for all other builds. Currently, as stated by MET, newer builds can use either grade.

The big debate - which oil protects the M5 engine better in the long run???

MET · 10th November 2001, 00:03

Hmpart --
I have been buying BMW's own brand of synthetic oil at the dealer -- I was told it was Castrol oil that has been repackaged. (This seems reasonable; BMW makes cars, and is not in the oil business.) Allison BMW in Mountain View was charging about $3.50 for a quart of BMW 5-30W, which is actually less than Castrol at an auto parts store. On the other hand, Stevens Creek BMW, where I had the service done, asks over $7 per quart. Since my car uses oil at a fast clip, I buy about 6 quarts at a time, and check the oil at every fill up. As soon as it is at the low mark on the dipstick (about every 3 or 4 fill-ups), I add another quart; I also keep track of the date and mileage whenever I add a quart in case I have to bring it in for an oil consumption-related repair and need proof of how often I add oil.

Need4Spd · 10th November 2001, 05:08

Quote:

The big debate - which oil protects the M5 engine better in the long run???

I know! Let's do a test. We get two people to volunteer their M5s, put 5w-30 in one, and 10w-60 in the other, and we get together and take turns driving them day and night for a few months then do a tear down and see which one shows more wear.

A side benefit is that we can see which one burns more oil. Anecdotally, I've heard that people going to 10w-60 from cars that can take 5w-30 show improvement in oil consumption.

hmpart · 10th November 2001, 12:43

DrRob and Met,

Thanks. I picked up some BMW brand 5W-30 at my dealership yesterday. It was $3.50/quart. I have put about 840miles on the odometer since I picked it up two and 1/2 weeks ago. When I checked the oil yesterday......almost no movement from the top mark. I rechecked to confirm and no change. Kind of a pleasant surprise based on what I have read on this board about oil consuption.

Maybe because I have been taking it easy during the breakin period???

MET · 12th November 2001, 21:09

hmpart --
I don't know about "going easy during the break-in period" being the cause of low oil consumption. I don't drive my M5 hard at all, and it still consumes oil. On the other hand, I tend to do a lot of shorter trips (10 miles or less) and stop-and-go driving; maybe that has something to do with it. For example, a large amount of oil might be burned when the car is started up, rather than during extended driving; thus, 500 miles for me might involve 50 or more cold starts, versus 10 or 20 starts for another driver.
MET

1C00lVC · 15th November 2001, 03:32

Quote:

Originally posted by MET
BMW seems to have a new service policy that will benefit those of us that don't put too many miles on our M5s: you are entitled to a free oil change service even though the service light indicator does not indicate that the oil needs changing. I called my local dealer (Stevens Creek BMW in San Jose) to ask how BMW handles the 3 years of free service on low-mileage cars that might only get one free service during that time period. They told me that BMW had just acknowledged that the oil needs to be changed at least once a year even though there might only be, e.g., 5,000 - 7,000 miles on the car.

That's the good news. On the down side, the dealers don't seem to be aware of which cars use 10-60W oil vs. 5-30W oil. My understanding (and there have been several threads on this topic) is that M5s built after spring 2000 can use either oil, but early-build M5s must use 10-60W. The dealer wanted to use 10-60W, even though my M5 has the sticker under the hood that recommends 5-30W. Since my M5 burns oil (about 1 quart every 600 miles) and I'm the one who foots the bill for adding oil, I requested the much less expensive 5-30W.

My car will be a year old in 2 weeks. does that means that BMW will service my car even tho I still have one green light left?

Arie

DrRob · 15th November 2001, 03:54

1COOIVC,

Oil should be changed at least once per year, regardless of milage. I got that info from my dlr today. Go get it changed on them.