bagwell

yep there was another thread about OCI...

here we go...within the Subie thread....couple of members were all for those 18K oil chngs... https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...odel-year.html

Stormwind

Proves that cutting corners will only come back to bite you.

geko29

Yep, that was me. But hey, I guess I should ignore the professional oil analysis I've had done and my personal eyes-on inspection of the engine internals, and instead base my OCI on forum sentiment.

Also, if you read the article, the reduced OCI for the N63 has nothing to do with wear:

I got 12 years of flawless performance out of my E46 by following the recommended maintenance intervals (plus one change of the "lifetime" fluids), and expect the same from my E90. I'll do a UOA at my next oil change to validate this, but don't expect to find anything alarming.

bagwell

ahhh good catch.

Vladi

Breaking-in the engine in 2015 much like you did in 1950. If you can look at the ICE concept with straight mindset you can see how outdated that principle really is and has no place in 21st century.

chromedome

Maybe this recall is why Toyota and Honda are taking their own sweet time introducing turbos into their lineup. A recall involving X5's and 550i's is one thing, a problem with all Civics and Corollas would be a major nightmare.

I'm surprised about the break-in requirements though. Why can't BMW do this at the factory? Makes me wonder about Toyota hybrid engines that never see much stress and are constantly being turned on and off, yet don't have oil consumption issues.

Infra

iTrader: (1)

Not really a fair comment. Engineers test the breaking limits of things to create more robust designs. In this case, it's a lack of stress that's leading to the problems. We could track the problem to consumers who buy big engines and never use them, but of course BMW can't blame the customer. It's one of those things that slips by because, who would ever think to test what happens to an engine in extremely mild use, when it has already been tested under extremely hard use?

Mr Bond

This oil consumption problem @ german carmakers has been going on since the 90 ties, turbo or not, fast or not. Audi had huge issues with oil consumption on their NA 2.4-3,2 V6 engines and the 1.8 and 1.8T . My friend had 2 BMW 530i and he was always carrying a bottle of engine oil with him on longer trips. But there are people who never had this issue on their Audi or BMW.

As for the hybrids, I have the CT and IS 300 hybrid and I floor them more often than any car I had before. They are simply so slow that you need at least 80 % of its power in many situations. Prius is likely not much better.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

Theres a reason why BMW and Mini started shortening oil change intervals on 2014+ to 10k when they used to be 15k. They started seeing the long term damage it was doing to the engine. E46 was 5k oil change interval. This was before BMWs paid for your oil changes under the "free" maintenance program. Funny how once BMW started paying for it, the oil change intervals tripled to 15k

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=486746

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...-too-long.html

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60...e-our-m5s.html

UDel

What brand of oil does BMW use at their shops? Mobile 1 European formula or something higher end oil, I think I read they used German Castrol full synthetic which is a group 4 or 5. That could make some difference but trying to stretch out oil changes to 15K is pushing it and reeks of irresponsible cost cutting. Even if the oil change are supposed to be covered I would have done one myself at 7.5K especially on a car I might decide to own.

geko29

Nope. My 2000 323i had a 15k OCI (more like 17-18k in my case since I wasn't terribly hard on the engine most of the time). First MY for the E46 was 1998, LCI was 2001, and last MY was 2005, so I had one of the early ones.

The BMW-branded oil is indeed German Castrol full synthetic, which is an excellent oil--I switched to Amsoil European Formula 5W40 due to personal preference and cost, but would have had no concerns about sticking with the factory fill. They also use a very large sump so the oil doesn't get "used" as much--my M52TU 2.5L I6 took 7 quarts, and the current M57 3.0L diesel takes 7.5. The N63 4.4L V8 referenced in the article takes 9-10 quarts. To put that in perspective, my old Dodge 5.2L V8 took just 5 quarts.

I8ABMR

Yeah saw this on Facebook. I am dont think I will ever buy a BMW. Just dont need the headaches. Who has time for all that BS?LOL

spwolf

Problem was poor engineering not customer not flogging their engines, what a silly excuse.

As to who would test engines at lower speeds, proper engineers?

spwolf

Here in Europe, they recommend 18k services and every owner I ever talked to thinks thats a greatest thing ever. I try to patiently explain that you should not save $200 every two years on $70k vehicle, but nobody believes it to be a problem until they actually have a problem.

Oh well. Live and learn.

AL13NV8D3R

I would think a engine that fails on you when you are half way through a railroad track while a train is barrelling towards you a "SAFETY" issue.

Or when your child has a fever of 106F and the only car you have is a BMW 550i and you push the engine start button and it fails to start.

I could go on and on all day.....but to me a reliable engine is very important and should be labeled a recall.