4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

lol @ 15k mile oil changes, Id be really uncomfortable running a turbo engine that long even on synthetic. I wouldnt even run a N/A engine that long. Free maintenance yea but once a year, cheapskates. Before they did this they were telling you to come in every 3k miles.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I've changed my oil on the old 335 & current X3 once a year. Synthetic oil of today especially the Euro formula oils hold up pretty well. A blackstone oil analysis will tell the story.. A must for those who are curious..

mmarshall

3 months/3000 miles generally applies to regular dino oil and "severe" driving conditions......stop-and-go driving, hot or cold temperatures, dusty conditions, towing, etc.... Many of us who live in urban or suburban areas meet these conditions just from the heavy traffic and stop-and-go conditions alone.

I'm with you on this extended oil change intervals and "technology" crap. I'll take an old-fashioned pull-out dipstick, regular oil/filter changes, and (if necessary) spending a couple of extra bucks any day rather than trust my engine to computer monitoring, oil analysis, electronic "dipsticks", and free maintenance.

As I see it, computer monitoring of powertrain systems such as fuel delivery, spark ignition, emissions, transmission shifting, etc... is fine; that seems to work out very well. But monitoring the oil with computers is another matter, and does not always work. A number of expensive engines (some at BMW) have needed major repairs or replacement because the computer let the oil go too long and allowed sludge and gel to build up.

Oil changes are really not that complex....many, if most people, can learn to do their own (and perhaps save money), especially if the car has an easy-to-reach oil filter and drain plug. Compared to the high-tech devices that people DO use today in and out (cell phones, texting, downloading I-Pods, Bluetooth, etc...), oil changes are usually simple. I've been doing them myself for over 30 years, and I'm not a technician (My IS300 was an exception, though, because the filter was so hard to reach).

mmarshall

There's no doubt that synthetic protects better than dino oil (especially at extreme temperatures) but I'm not convinced that engines with oil-use monitors and without dipsticks are the way to go. See my answer above to 4TehNuygen for the reason why.

<VENOM>

Maintenance is not cheap by any means, it's amazing to see what people will over spend for a car, then cheap out on tires, gas, oil changes, and ride out service intervals for an extra 30k-60k before getting work done.

Having looked at used cars, it's amazing to see the lack of maintenance performed on cars, and the cars I looked at have a minimum of a 40k msrp when new, nothing like buying a used car with low mileage and needing to invest another couple grand.

Just at my local Nissan and Infiniti dealers, it's appalling to see how many cars need new engines because of the owner who never changed the oil, and transmissions replacement cause the owner figured the oil was lifetime.

<VENOM>

15k intervals is nothing but an average of what BMW corporate came up with, the few who destroy the engines following BMW guidelines, BMW has already figured out that it cost less to replace those engines then offer shorter intervals.

A close friend of my father is a BMW tech for 20 years, he has a small shop at his house and does side work, he advises all his customers to change the oil at 5000-7500, and he sends out an oil analysis to back up what he says, I've seen one BMW 528i with over 100k on it and with the 15k intervals, cars was rough and loud, not what I expected.

15k is doable but some are supposedly destroying engines, but that is figured in by BMW

BMW has just proved what everyone already knows, build a good car and you car abuse the crap out of it.

Besides BMW, my neighbors Porsche Cayenne Turbo got the 1st oil change at 20k