Oil Service

[direfan]

Hi Guys,

My car just hit the 15000 milestone. Initially the computer showed 100, 50, 25 and then 0 miles to oil service. I still have not got the service done and now it is showing negative miles. It is upto -100 miles. Do I need to get the oil service done immediately? There is no service light that has come on. I had an oil change done at 8000 miles. Do I have to wait for a service light to come on?

Also, how much should the oil service cost. My car has very low miles so it is now out of maintainence warranty but not service warranty, so unfortunately I am going to have to pay for the service.

Finally I am looking for a good BMW service place in the DC-Baltimore area. Any recommendations? Or should I just go to the dealer?

Thanks a lot.

Direfan

 

[Zchild]

Welcome aboard... yes to your first question, you should get an oil service done at your earliest convienence. I live and work in and around the Washington DC metro area and there are several good independent shops in our area. I understand that you live near ROckville. My best suggestion is for you to call the local BMWCCA chapter in your area and ask which shops service your area. In Arlington, VA I would recommend J & F Motors. As you live in Rockville this may be a little bit of a drive. The cost in this area is around $74.00 using BMW oil and filter. Happy Motoring... Beware the Stealership is going to be more expensive...[driving2]

 

[Big Daddy]

Hello, welcome to the board. I change my own oil using Mobil 1 and Mahle filters. It costs me about $35.00! It is not difficult if one is so inclined.

 

[chi_chi]

The service indicator (i.e., miles left for oil change) is a calculated value based on your driving pattern; therefore, it is not the actual mileage. That explains what you have observed.

I don't think you need to worry about changing the oil immediately even though your service indicator now shows negative number, especially you changed your oil around 8000 miles. Keep in mind that BMW recommends oil change every 15000 miles or every 12 months. Many members in this forum do change their oil every 7500 miles.

I recently changed my own oil. I purchased 7 quart BMW synthetic oil and an OEM oil filter and spent around $40. It is very easy to do the oil change. Here is an excellent site that provides step-by-step instruction with photos. http://www.my330i.com/lof.php

Good Luck.

 

[codex57]

I'd change it at your earliest convenience. You don't have to do it immediately, but I'd call Monday and get the earliest date you can bring it in.

That little mileage thing is when you can bring it in to the dealer. THat's supposed to be your indicator to take it in.

I go by the 7500 mile distance. Half of what the recommended is. That's kinda pushing it already.

 

[Nataku]

If you change the oil yourself don't you have to get a tool to reset the oil service counter ?

 

[Harman1]

Why is your car out of the service warranty? I thought it was for 4 years or 50k miles. Even if the car was purchased new late in '01 it should still be under the 4yr time frame.

 

[northstar]

Only year 2003 and up have 4 yr/50k miles service warranty.

 

[aNoodle]

If you change the oil yourself don't you have to get a tool to reset the oil service counter ?

Well, if you change it yourself every 7,500 you wouldn't need the counter to tell you the longer 15,000 count down. I haven't reset mine in years....lol. I'm now at 137,000 miles.

It's too bad you can't reset the counter with your own designated change interval.

This last change I decided to try out Valvoline synthetic again, now with their BMW LongLife 01 approved version. I have to say, I think she likes it. I've tried Valvoline before when it was only LL98 approved, but mostly I use Mobil 1 or BMW. Maybe the next one I'll go back to BMW brand, it's actually priced pretty competitively after the club discount.

 

[direfan]

Guys, thanks for all the replies. They were most helpful. As northstar mentioned, my car is a 2002 nad I realized after the 3 years had gone by, that my maintainence warranty was kaput. Very annoying.

Anyways, I have an appointment for Friday and does anybody have any info as to how much an oil service costs. I would like to go to the appointment with some idea. Thanks a lot.

Also, can anybody recommend a reasoable independent place in the DC-Baltimore area for service. After my warranty expires, I am done with the dealer. I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks.

D