15K oil change damaged my engine

[ali pontiac]

for those who want to keep their cars for a long time more than 4 years do not go for the long oil change interval.

here is my story i have my wife 2010 X6 35I, with only 78xxx KMs thats around 48K miles, i was always following the service schedule but the thing that i was worried about this long oil change interval, i told once the service advisor at my local BMW dealer that i want to change my oil earlier, but he said its not necessary, couple months ago i had in the screen that my oil level is to high!! when i went to the dealer they said its from the oil sludge and to clean the engine from the sludge they quoted me 2116 $ !!! including changine the valve cover!! and then reset the oil change system to be due in 7.5K miles !! why they didn't do that when i asked them, and i didn't bother my self also to ask why they want to change to valve cover its doesnt make any sense to me.

now i got engine power is no longer avaliable & and low oil pressure with a vibration in the engine once i felt the vibrate i immediately parked the car at home and i will not start it until i get a reply from them.

i blame them for the oil sludge build up, i E-mailed BMW last week but until know i didn't get a call or anything.

[Bsaint]

for those who want to keep their cars for a long time more than 4 years do not go for the long oil change interval.

here is my story i have my wife 2010 X6 35I, with only 78xxx KMs thats around 48K miles, i was always following the service schedule but the thing that i was worried about this long oil change interval, i told once the service advisor at my local BMW dealer that i want to change my oil earlier, but he said its not necessary, couple months ago i had in the screen that my oil level is to high!! when i went to the dealer they said its from the oil sludge and to clean the engine from the sludge they quoted me 2116 $ !!! including changine the valve cover!! and then reset the oil change system to be due in 7.5K miles !! why they didn't do that when i asked them, and i didn't bother my self also to ask why they want to change to valve cover its doesnt make any sense to me.

now i got engine power is no longer avaliable & and low oil pressure with a vibration in the engine once i felt the vibrate i immediately parked the car at home and i will not start it until i get a reply from them.

i blame them for the oil sludge build up, i E-mailed BMW last week but until know i didn't get a call or anything.

Even synthetic oil I would never go over 10k for an oil change and regular oil I would never go over 5k,

Sometimes you just have to demand them do it and tell them you'll pay for it, if not do it yourself.

[stephenkirsch]

I thought it was common knowledge to not go 15,000 miles on oil. I guess not :/

[Rudolph320i]

I thought it was common knowledge to not go 15,000 miles on oil. I guess not :/

I know that audi and im very certain bmw recommend 15k mile oil change intervals. It came out right around the time they started doing first 4 years of maintenance for free, wonder why.......

[Stück]

Indeed, the 15,000mile oil change intervals are a crock of shit. Why BMW pushes that I have no idea, ALL of the engines sludge up with such a long interval.

I work with these cars all day long and all the later model engines I open up are HORRENDOUSLY sludged up inside. I've seen numerous engine failures caused by sludge obstructing oil galleys, restricting the oil pump pickup etc.

BMW should warranty the engine for you, or at least pay for the service to get it right.

After that change your oil after no more than 6000 miles!

[Rudolph320i]

I still think its because of that 4/30k years free maintenance thing. if they only have to do 2 oil changes per car that saves a lot over doing at least 4 if not more per car they sell.

[mhunter29928]

Important question: Have you had every oil service performed, on time as scheduled, and by the dealer? If yes, then you may have a chance.

I ask this because a number of years ago I had a customer with a E39 (5 series) with a sludged engine. Wiped out the cam bearings and broke the cam shaft. The car had over 100k miles. They were a very loyal customer and had every oil service performed according to BMW's schedule at our dealership. BMW paid for their new engine.

In your country things may be different though, as far as warranties and such, I don't know. Do you have a customer service number you can call? Or have the service manager contact the BMW representative.

Best of luck.

[auaq]

I think BMW have finally changed their standard on oil change interval. They've gone away from the 15k mi oil service to 10k now. Correct me if I'm wrong though. I'm thinking that this is because of turbo engines we have nowadays.

[dorcewangy]

I work with these cars all day long and all the later model engines

[Luftwaffe1O1]

I think BMW have finally changed their standard on oil change interval. They've gone away from the 15k mi oil service to 10k now. Correct me if I'm wrong though. I'm thinking that this is because of turbo engines we have nowadays.

It's 10k now on my car.

[auaq]

It's 10k now on my car.

Yep, I was right then. Toyota also do 10k mi interval.

[Yasir]

Mileage should also depends on the type of commute, short, frequent, stop and go vs highway driving? I change wife's 530i oil change every 10,000 miles 'coz she drives 450 miles/week (2000 miles/month) and all on an Interstate.

[mhunter29928]

Mileage should also depends on the type of commute, short, frequent, stop and go vs highway driving? I change wife's 530i oil change every 10,000 miles 'coz she drives 450 miles/week (2000 miles/month) and all on an Interstate.

You are correct. BMW's oil change intervals are actually based on fuel consumption. It's an algorithm that changes the mileage read-out base on your driving habits. Earlier models showed a reading in liters of fuel until the next oil change. E53 comes to mind. I think we can all agree that the intervals are too long.

[modular93fox]

Clearly there is a point missing here ... It's called annual oil change, and I hope I don't need to break down those three words... BMW maintenance plan pays for them.
Next point is the counter resets at 15k but is based on fuel consumption and that is a calculation. Why u have sludge .. Well don't know .. Maybe you didn't get the oil changed on time , SAMs club gas... Don't know but in 5 years only a hand full of sludge cars come in my bay and it's usually a lack of oil changes. Power to you if you can get another person to pay for your car repairs.

[Das Omen]

I've never gone over 6k to change the oil. If I know I been driving harder I'll even change oil at 4k miles. Hearing about waiting until 15k is just blowing my mind. Haha

[Kevlar]

I know that audi and im very certain bmw recommend 15k mile oil change intervals. It came out right around the time they started doing first 4 years of maintenance for free, wonder why.......

I still think its because of that 4/30k years free maintenance thing. if they only have to do 2 oil changes per car that saves a lot over doing at least 4 if not more per car they sell.

Unrelated. Countries that do not have free maintenance get the same intervals we do.

Yep, I was right then. Toyota also do 10k mi interval.

Porsche recommends 20k in some cases.

You are correct. BMW's oil change intervals are actually based on fuel consumption. It's an algorithm that changes the mileage read-out base on your driving habits. Earlier models showed a reading in liters of fuel until the next oil change. E53 comes to mind. I think we can all agree that the intervals are too long.

Yes... 15k oil changes work in some cases, but it is important to remember oil changes are based on usage/driving habits. I have never had a car ask for an oil change after 15k miles. The counter starts at 15k but normally drops to 8-9k based on driving habits. It is also important to remember that there is also a time factor. It is when the car asks for it OR 1 year, which ever comes first.

[Haifisch M3]

15k intervals ?

Ask them if they also recommend underwear changes every 3 weeks...

[E36BMW3series]

I'm wondering if anyone who makes fun of these 15k oil changes has ever actually tested their oil?

I too am skeptical as can be, and even though I have TESTED oil at 10k miles saying it is absolutely A-OK and can go longer, I just can't go past that number.

That said, why not test the oil? There are plenty of places that do it and it only costs $30. If you're at 12k get it test, if it comes back bad, take it in and demand an oil change. After you see it's ok breath a little easier.

I really do think with 7+qts of synthetic oil 1 year or 15k miles should be fine.

[Haifisch M3]

Turbo'd cars have had this sludge problem for years (see Audi-VW 1.8Ts) . Not sure if an oil test will indicate the presence of sludge since it separates from the rest of the oil.
here is an interesting read:

http://www.synlube.com/sludge.htm

Sludge in gasoline engines is usually black emulsion of water and other combustion by-products, and oil formed primarily during low-temperature engine operation. Sludge is typically soft, but can polymerize to very hard substance. It plugs oil lines and screens, and accelerates wear of engine parts. Sludge deposits can be controlled with a dispersant additive that keeps the sludge constituents finely suspended in the oil.
"Black Sludge" is defined as thick to solid material with low water content, of dark color, light oil insolubles, and typically found in rocker cover, cylinder head, timing chain cover, oil sump, oil pump screen, and oil rings in variable quantities.

Sludge in diesel engines, is soot combined with other combustion by-products which can thicken the oil to gel like sludge. This sludge is typically soft, but can also polymerize to very hard substance. It plugs oil filters, oil lines and screens, and accelerates wear of engine parts.

Since condensation introduces water into the oil over time, it stands to reason that more frequent oil-changes will prevent sludge build-up.

[E39DaveE53]

Considering how inexpensive an oil change is, I can't imagine anything longer then 6 months or 6,000 miles. If two oil changes a year is too expensive, then maybe BMW is the wrong manufacturer for some people?

[ChristopherG]

Yes... 15k oil changes work in some cases, but it is important to remember oil changes are based on usage/driving habits. I have never had a car ask for an oil change after 15k miles. The counter starts at 15k but normally drops to 8-9k based on driving habits. It is also important to remember that there is also a time factor. It is when the car asks for it OR 1 year, which ever comes first.

I only let my car go 6,000 between changes but don't have the dealer reset the service counter on the oil change until it trips so it will still trip a reminder the second time around. I've had my car not ask for a change until the full 15,000. My drive is a little outside the normal pattern for most people though. I have about a half mile through traffic then a strait non stop run 28 miles to work half freeway half highway with no stop and go in between.
This time around I think I'll have them put some oil in a jar to send out to blackstone to see how it holds up and how much life they say is left in the oil.

[maxell0405]

No one should go more than 7500 miles without testing the oil, including testing form TBN and TAN. Once you've done that you can conclude that 10k or more is OK. I think the onboard computer is making a Magic 8 Ball guess, and nothing more. I've always done 7500 mile changes on my BMW's, but I went to 12k miles on my old Mini once on factory oil, with the computer saying it could still go 3k more. I sent a sample to Blackstone and was pretty horrified to see it had thickened out of grade and had a TBN just over 1, meaning the oil was almost acid.

Test your oil or you are just guessing and either changing too often, which is bad for the environment and your wallet, or you are changing it late, which is shortening your engine's life.

[Critter7r]

I'll take "we're missing part of the story" for $800, Alex.

How many oil changes has this vehicle had? What's its production date?

[ali pontiac]

Update

well BMW didn't response to me, i took the car to a professional BMW shop, they lowered the sub frame and removed the front diff and shafts its was a big hustle to remove the oil pan they cleaned and flushed the engine from top to bottom very well there was horrible amount of sludge unfortunately i didn't take before and after pic for the engine to show you, also changed the engine mounts , and found a defective lower control arms bushing so i told them to replace them,all new seals for the shafts and every thing have been disassembled, it cost me USD 1850 total, but i am happy now, this a lesson for me will never listen to dealers or even factory setting for the oil change interval i will change it now after every 6K miles.

[maxell0405]

Good that you caught this in time to prevent a worse result. If you want to pursue it, ask your dealer to open a PUMA with BMW. Show them your receipt as evidence of the sludge, and remind them of the diagnosis they made. BMW may decline to help you out, but if you don't raise the issue through the dealer you have no chance at all. Who knows? Maybe they will come through for you. The car is barely out of warranty, right? You might ask them to extend the warranty to 100k miles for free, on the basis that the low pressure and sludge may have damaged the internal components and shortened their life. Extending the warranty doesn't cost them anything out of pocket and might never cost them anything, while giving you the peace of mind that any BMW owner should have, blah, blah, blah. Worth a try, IMO.