5W30 in stead of 10W60

R

Rene_Z4MC

Member
I just got my M back from an oil service and see 5.5liter of Castrol 5W30 on the receipt.
This should be 10W60 right? :o

I will of course phone them about it tomorrow but I guess they will say that its a typo and they have put the right oil in...
What do you guys think, whats the best approach here? Also can I check which oil is in and can 5W30 be harmfull??

Any advice is welcome.
 
Id only be happy with another oil change elsewhere making sure 10w 60 went in :cry: just not worth the risk :(
 
That is a pretty major mistake if they have put 5w30 in.

I hope it is a misprint and they can prove it.
 
As others
Screw that !!
5w may help when cold as it's thinner but then it will be pushed around engine differently
But 30 is half of the thickness of 60 at running temp so will not protect nor pump round to lube engine properly !!

Don't drive it
Demand it lifted and full oil and filter change
 
The Castrol Edge Professional 10W60 has a UV fluorescent dye in it, so that's one way to check (if they were supposed to use "proper" TWS).
 
Rene_Z4MC said:
Ducklakeview said:
Main dealer or indy?

Mike
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Not a genuine dealer, it was at a BMW Specialist (so BMW only indy?)
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Well they should know the risks of letting it be driven with the wrong oil in it. Hopefully it was a typo, BUT how can they prove it?

This could turn into a he said/she said with the indy - Did you by chance pay for any part of the work with a credit card?

Mike
 
My mechanic/ golf buddy told me a while back that not using TWS can be catastrophic to the S54. I’d get it out .... maybe jack it up and drain then refill with correct oil . The filter amount should be negligible .
 
mcbeee said:
My mechanic/ golf buddy told me a while back that not using TWS can be catastrophic to the S54. I’d get it out .... maybe jack it up and drain then refill with correct oil . The filter amount should be negligible .
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I assume he must be including Castrol Edge in that prescription, as that's the 'consumer' name for TWS...which is a BMW-specific name for their dealer-supplier RS/Edge (depending on the year).

Be careful of using the 'Edge Sport' variant though, as it has a lower shear strength than the original RS/TWS/Edge.

Had many of these ‘best oil discussions' on the M5 Board too :P
 
Update:
Phoned them this morning and talked to the owner of the place, before stating my worries I casually asked what kind of oil they put in and he replied 10W60 straight away, without hesitation. He is a good guy and they have done good work on my car in previous years so I think I can trust him. After that I asked why it states 5W30 on the receipt and he knew it must be a mistake from the administration girl. He then again stated that he was absolutely 100% sure that the right oil was put in because he was involved in the job himself, he knew the details.

Also Yesterday I placed a bunch of drops of oil from the engine and some drops of fresh 10W60 from the bottle on a sheet of aluminium and put the sheet at an angle. Both the engine oil and the fresh oil showed very similar 'dripping speed' which makes me believe that the viscosity is the same.

All in all I think I'm good, again thanks for the advice guys :thumbsup:
 
Mangozac said:
The Castrol Edge Professional 10W60 has a UV fluorescent dye in it, so that's one way to check (if they were supposed to use "proper" TWS).
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The datasheet does indeed state it has 'signature fluorescent colour' but I was not able to observe any 'glowing' when putting it in UV light (tanning lamp), however my own fresh bottle of Castrol 10W60 also didn't show any glowing so I'm not sure if that is really a feature.
 
mmm-five said:
I assume he must be including Castrol Edge in that prescription, as that's the 'consumer' name for TWS...which is a BMW-specific name for their dealer-supplier RS/Edge (depending on the year).
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Nope, he uses various other things but only TWS in the M's.
 
mcbeee said:
mmm-five said:
I assume he must be including Castrol Edge in that prescription, as that's the 'consumer' name for TWS...which is a BMW-specific name for their dealer-supplier RS/Edge (depending on the year).
Click to expand...

Nope, he uses various other things but only TWS in the M's.
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He means TWS/Edge FST are the same thing, which they are (according to Castrol). Though the new consumer Castrol stuff has 'supercar' on it as well, it's the same just a rebrand. Nothing catastrophic going on with any of those though there are arguably better oils now in any case
 
Still not sure I'd be able to sleep at night, until I had a fresh oil change. But then I don't know the garage. If you trust that it was a typo then I'm glad it's sorted. :thumbsup:
 
honestly for the sake of knowing for sure, id just suck it out the dip stick tube with an oil extractor and replace it, will literally take you 15 mins..... i really wouldn't trust anyone unfortunately , I've found out that the hardway, even the best will cut corners when and where they can even if it means lying to your face......

im not saying driving gently keeping the revs low it will hurt it however, i think thats a-bit far even if it wasn't the correct oil, but for your own piece of mind.... change it.
 
Rene_Z4MC said:
The datasheet does indeed state it has 'signature fluorescent colour' but I was not able to observe any 'glowing' when putting it in UV light (tanning lamp), however my own fresh bottle of Castrol 10W60 also didn't show any glowing so I'm not sure if that is really a feature.
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Interesting. Last time I did an oil change on a sunny day I could see he fluorescence just from the UV from the sun. It's a bright yellow/green (almost like a cartoon radioactive glow!). I did my inspection 2 oil change on the weekend and the weather was quite overcast so I wasn't able to notice the fluorescence.
 
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