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Thread: How often to take E46 for oil change?

  1. #1
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    How often to take E46 for oil change?

    I have a 325i 2002 with 43k. I had the oil chaged several months ago and it is supposed to be changed again every 15k. Is that right? The computer shows I have 2k left, should I wait until it comes close to 0? Thanks

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andres823
    I have a 325i 2002 with 43k. I had the oil chaged several months ago and it is supposed to be changed again every 15k. Is that right? The computer shows I have 2k left, should I wait until it comes close to 0? Thanks
    7500 miles or 1 year(whatever comes first), unless you drive as much as 15000 miles per year , so you can change every 15000 with filter change in the middle.
    Wait till comes close to zero ,then change it .
    Last edited by jetflyer; 02-17-2006 at 08:54 PM.

  3. #3
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    I drive a 2000 323i with 187,000 miles. I used to change my oil every 5,000 miles with BMW oil and filter. The manual suggests 15,000 miles between oil changes. I now split the difference now days first because I don't have time to change my own oil and secondly I drive an awful lot of miles. Therefore, I now get my oil changed at 7,500 miles. To be honest I don't feel I'm protecting my engine by waiting 15,000 miles between changes. I pay $74.00 per oil change with BMW oil including BMW filter. Just my two and a half cents. Happy Motoring...
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  4. #4
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    I have an e46, and i change my opil every 7,000 miles because if you dont change the oil around that time, your car starts running poorly and a light will light up on your dashboard, and give problems.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zchild
    I drive a 2000 323i with 187,000 miles. I used to change my oil every 5,000 miles with BMW oil and filter. The manual suggests 15,000 miles between oil changes. I now split the difference now days first because I don't have time to change my own oil and secondly I drive an awful lot of miles. Therefore, I now get my oil changed at 7,500 miles. To be honest I don't feel I'm protecting my engine by waiting 15,000 miles between changes. I pay $74.00 per oil change with BMW oil including BMW filter. Just my two and a half cents. Happy Motoring...
    Wow ! 187K that is awsome! I have same car , but 1999 with 40K on it .Just wondering ,is your car automatic or manual , if automatic , do you have original transmission on it or rebuild ? Have you ever changed transmission fluid in the past or run original one from beginning ?
    I am BMW transmission tech , so it is very interesting to me , is someone can drive with this stuff for long period of time like you.
    Best regards .

  6. #6
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    There are so many schools of thought here. Some people still go with 3 months or 3,000, others 5,000, others 7,000, others 10,000, and some 15,000. I don't think anyone advocating any theory has ever sent their oil in for anysis and compared it to people who have tried other ways.

    I got the oil of my last BMW changed at the dealership, even when it was out of warranty. The prices were a lot lower back then, and I had a great rep. Plus it is the closest shop. Anyways, it was always 3,000 miles with that car. It was my rep who told me that I was taking it in too often and that I could wait longer. This was on a 95.

    All I know is that at 15,000 miles the oil is still brown. So it is not to the point that it is unuseable.

    Jetflyer, his car will go another 100,000 miles no sweat.

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  7. #7
    BMW Loe is offline representing south dakota
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    10,000miles out of a high quality synthetic like German Castrol 5W30, Mobile 1 0W40, or any other BMW LL-01 approved oil like Valvoline Maxlife 5W30 isn't uncommon. Very good synthetics such as Amsoil or redline recommend higher intervals than what BMW recommends. Good Dino oils of today are even good for 5,000miles before it starts to break down. Just make sure you use a good oil filter. You could possibly get longer life out of the oil if you change the filter inbetween intervals.
    -Loe- 2004 M3/2000 328Ci (some mods)

  8. #8
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    I change the oil every 5,000 miles b/c I drive a lot and drive my baby hard. But when my coputer starts reading negative numbers I still wait till I hit the 5000 threshold. I want the car to last me to 120-130K miles, so I spend $ on maintenance for this.
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  9. #9
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    I told the oil change guy at express lube that bmw recommends 15k intervals and he laughed and said you better do it at 5k. So i think i will just take an inbetween number now too. Maybe 7k miles?

  10. #10
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    A buddy of mine payed to have his oil analyzed. Looks like at 7,500 miles there are still additives present that protect the engine. Not the same car, so it may not be a perfect comparison, but based on his data I do 7,500 mile changes.

  11. #11
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    I double the frequency of BMW's recommendation. i.e. I change the oil when the OBC shows 12500 km (7500 miles).

  12. #12
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    If you go for instance with Castol 0w/30(german made), which is called in Europe SLX Long Tec 0w/30, according to Castrol tests(not BMW),you can go as far as 30 000-50 000 km (30 000 miles) before changes and it is proven.Most oil company would tell you change every 3000 or three months. but not Castrol, they know their product can go safely so far.Would not be in their interrest to tell consumers "change every 5000 miles" to bust profit-just think about it !

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ATMSPORTS
    I have an e46, and i change my opil every 7,000 miles because if you dont change the oil around that time, your car starts running poorly and a light will light up on your dashboard, and give problems.
    ^^^^ Complete nonsense ^^^^

    I've been following the E46 computer interval (~15,000) for 110,000 miles.
    The car runs perfect, doesn't burn any oil, doesn't leak anything.
    I use either Mobil 1 or BMW synthetic oil.

    Keep in mind the 15,000 miles interval isn't really 15,000 miles. It's adjusted to your driving. Short stop and go trips makes the computer take a lot of miles off the interval. My trip to work is just under 2 miles. Every day I make that trip, 4 miles total, my oil change interval is dropped by 25 miles. I do believe the cars computer gives a very good oil change schedule. Therefore, I follow it.
    Ain't nothing like polished Silver

  14. #14
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    Wink

    Quote Originally Posted by 2001NJ330I
    ^^^^ Complete nonsense ^^^^

    I've been following the E46 computer interval (~15,000) for 110,000 miles.
    The car runs perfect, doesn't burn any oil, doesn't leak anything.
    I use either Mobil 1 or BMW synthetic oil.

    Keep in mind the 15,000 miles interval isn't really 15,000 miles. It's adjusted to your driving. Short stop and go trips makes the computer take a lot of miles off the interval. My trip to work is just under 2 miles. Every day I make that trip, 4 miles total, my oil change interval is dropped by 25 miles. I do believe the cars computer gives a very good oil change schedule. Therefore, I follow it.
    Absolutelly I agree with you ,I also do my trip to work under 2 miles and when I went couple of times for 15000 miles oil change , it was for real 12000 not a 15000 counted to zero.If I did not do this short trips everyday, I would never gone for 7500 miles or 1 year changes.As I said those new generation oils are so advanced the go easyly 15000miles/24000 km.Only oil company in North America want you to change oil more often, otherwise they would loose business .Changing your premium synthetic oil in BMW at 5000 miles will not help you with anything, simply overkilling and polutting our mother earth LOL...

  15. #15
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    Oil changes/Tranny question

    Quote Originally Posted by jetflyer
    Wow ! 187K that is awsome! I have same car , but 1999 with 40K on it .Just wondering ,is your car automatic or manual , if automatic , do you have original transmission on it or rebuild ? Have you ever changed transmission fluid in the past or run original one from beginning ?
    I am BMW transmission tech , so it is very interesting to me , is someone can drive with this stuff for long period of time like you.
    Best regards .
    My bimmer has a standard transmission, I have a rebuilt tranny, my original tranny went out at 155,000 miles. I don't believe I ever had my transmission fluid changed unless it gets changed during a Schedule I or II inspection. My clutch had to be replaced at 150,000 miles. My car is a model year 2000 however I purchased it in July 1999 in Germany. Just my two and a half cents worth. Happy Motoring...
    V/R Zachary Pullins Sr.
    Florida Suncoast Chapter BMWCCA
    2016 Cadillac SRX & 1999 E39 540i/Sport
    " Vision without resources is just hallucination"

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zchild
    My bimmer has a standard transmission, I have a rebuilt tranny, my original tranny went out at 155,000 miles. I don't believe I ever had my transmission fluid changed unless it gets changed during a Schedule I or II inspection. My clutch had to be replaced at 150,000 miles. My car is a model year 2000 however I purchased it in July 1999 in Germany. Just my two and a half cents worth. Happy Motoring...
    Appreciate your response, thanks !

  17. #17
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    hey wassup people...but i just got my 01 325ci and was wondering if i should use mobile1 5w-30 on it???

  18. #18
    BMW Loe is offline representing south dakota
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    Quote Originally Posted by dc5pmoy2004
    hey wassup people...but i just got my 01 325ci and was wondering if i should use mobile1 5w-30 on it???
    you should be fine if you don't do alot of aggressive driving, its just that Mobile 1 5w30 isn't BMW LL-01 approved, so I would change it at about every 7,500miles if its synthetic or every 5,000miles if its dino oil.
    Last edited by BMW Loe; 02-19-2006 at 11:00 AM.
    -Loe- 2004 M3/2000 328Ci (some mods)

  19. #19
    BMW Loe is offline representing south dakota
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    Quote Originally Posted by jetflyer
    Absolutelly I agree with you ,I also do my trip to work under 2 miles and when I went couple of times for 15000 miles oil change , it was for real 12000 not a 15000 counted to zero.If I did not do this short trips everyday, I would never gone for 7500 miles or 1 year changes.As I said those new generation oils are so advanced the go easyly 15000miles/24000 km.Only oil company in North America want you to change oil more often, otherwise they would loose business .Changing your premium synthetic oil in BMW at 5000 miles will not help you with anything, simply overkilling and polutting our mother earth LOL...

    Its true, and I agree also. The 15,000mile intervals on the computer doesn't necessarily mean every 15,000miles on the odometer as sometimes the oil life monitor counts down quicker according to your driving conditions. And I also agree on not changing it every 5,000miles. If you do alot of normal driving, a good dino oil (non synthetic) of today will easily last 5,000miles. Some members of www.E46fantics.com have gotten oil analysis at 10,000miles with BMW or BMW LL-01 approved oil and it still showed that the additives are still good.
    -Loe- 2004 M3/2000 328Ci (some mods)

  20. #20
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    Ive got a question on the change oil computer thing. Every once in a while when i start my car. Im not sure if its every time or not, dont notice. it pops up with a -5125 miles thing, and goes away after a bit. Im assuming this is the change oil thing? but it never changes. Its always at -5125. Ive got a 2000 323ci with 70k on it. How do you reset the oil light when you do change your oil? Maybe it wasnt reset when i bought it a few months ago?

    Also* How do I change my climate control to be in degrees farenheight?? a bit off topic, but I don't have an owners manual and its been bugging me. In my A4 i just hit some random button combination and it switches the outside temp and the climate control to farenheight. i tried that on the bimmer, and it changed the outside temp eventually, but not the climate control temp... still goes to 32 celcius, how ever much that is...

  21. #21
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    7500 /(6-9) months
    Even with track time oil analysis shows I could go at least 2k more.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by hotimportknight
    Ive got a question on the change oil computer thing. Every once in a while when i start my car. Im not sure if its every time or not, dont notice. it pops up with a -5125 miles thing, and goes away after a bit. Im assuming this is the change oil thing? but it never changes. Its always at -5125. Ive got a 2000 323ci with 70k on it. How do you reset the oil light when you do change your oil? Maybe it wasnt reset when i bought it a few months ago?

    Also* How do I change my climate control to be in degrees farenheight?? a bit off topic, but I don't have an owners manual and its been bugging me. In my A4 i just hit some random button combination and it switches the outside temp and the climate control to farenheight. i tried that on the bimmer, and it changed the outside temp eventually, but not the climate control temp... still goes to 32 celcius, how ever much that is...
    Yes, you are 5125 past due with oil service or mintenance service.You have to reset indicator. For 2000 model you have to use special tool to do it or there is some method by connecting two wires in diagnostic socket under the hood, but I would not recommend that unless you "know how".Perhaps AutoZone can do it for you or certenly Bmw dealership.

    Here is manual for you:
    http://publish.bmwusa.com/OwnManual/...ual-3Sedan.pdf
    Last edited by jetflyer; 02-19-2006 at 10:04 PM.

  23. #23
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    Does any one know if you can reset the oil service count down sequence with a snap-on scanner, or a lotus scanner. My highschool shop has both that i could access if i went back. But the thing is, i dont think they have european car plug ins, last time i was there. No porsche, BMW, audi, VW, any thing... maybe they could order some... cause my air bag light is on, and the nearest BMW dealer is in Minniapolis, like 2 1/2 hours away.

  24. #24
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