Car just clicked over 50,000km / 31,000mi - what service(s) recommended?

E

enzed4

Veteran
 New Zealand
As the title says, My Z4 has just ticked over 50,000Km/31,000mi. The car came with no service history, other than the car dealer's assurance that a 'full service' had been done when imported into the country. Whenever you ask what a 'full service' entails, you usually get an offer to 'find out' from the service department (not going to happen), or you get brushed off with usual "you know, all fluids and filters...".
Pretty meaningless really.
So, I've been doing the oil/oil filter changes myself regularly (12 months regardless of mileage), and I've flushed the brake fluid a few times now when replacing discs/pads etc, but is there anything I should be looking at now?
I've checked the air filter - it looks fine/clean, but can replace if forum consensus is to do so.
I'm thinking a coolant flush and air filter(?).
What about spark plugs (or should I wait until 60,000km)?
Power steering fluid?
Transmission seems to be changing smoothly - I'm not sure I want to risk opening a can of worms getting it serviced until a bit further down the track.
 
Do you have the service book? It has the schedule in it. Interim oil changes between every service are a good idea though. Google BMW lifetime maintenance schedule and you'll find something by Mike Miller that I'm a firm follower of.
 
Scooba_Steve said:
Do you have the service book? It has the schedule in it. Interim oil changes between every service are a good idea though. Google BMW lifetime maintenance schedule and you'll find something by Mike Miller that I'm a firm follower of.
Click to expand...
Came with everything but the service book. I even reached out to the original dealer (was called Stratstone (around Beaconsfield I think), but is now something else - they said they don't keep any records for vehicles no longer in the country, so that was a dead end, assuming the original owner(s) even had it serviced there.
I've just finished reading Mike Miller's guide. It was written in 2002 I believe, so bearing in mind it would have been written for pre-2002 vehicles, would it still be relevant to 2008 and later vehicles?
Having said that, it does seem a good guide if you don't want to rely on BMW's recommended service schedules, which do seem very far apart for my comfort.
He did seem very reluctant to recommend any course of action for the auto trans (hates them by the look of it :wink: ) as he had seen good and bad examples of both those that have been serviced more than the BMW recommendations and those that have followed BMW's schedule. It seems to be a bit of a hit and miss for the auto transmission servicing... :?
 
If it were me I'd be dropping the oil out of the box at least, others here have and reported improved feel. Do a bit of better googling, I have the 2013 version 03.13.

My take away points are really that mechanical sympathy has never changed, but 'free' servicing and consumer demand for longer intervals has. Oil analysis is really the only way to tell and might be a good idea in your case. If you're competent at DIY then there's a lot you can do, when you look at the schedule there's not a huge amount of work involved. I can't upload a PDF of mine so send me your email address and I'll email it across the world to you. 8)
 
enzed4 said:
Scooba_Steve said:
Do you have the service book? It has the schedule in it. Interim oil changes between every service are a good idea though. Google BMW lifetime maintenance schedule and you'll find something by Mike Miller that I'm a firm follower of.
Click to expand...
Came with everything but the service book. I even reached out to the original dealer (was called Stratstone (around Beaconsfield I think), but is now something else - they said they don't keep any records for vehicles no longer in the country, so that was a dead end, assuming the original owner(s) even had it serviced there.
I've just finished reading Mike Miller's guide. It was written in 2002 I believe, so bearing in mind it would have been written for pre-2002 vehicles, would it still be relevant to 2008 and later vehicles?
Having said that, it does seem a good guide if you don't want to rely on BMW's recommended service schedules, which do seem very far apart for my comfort.
He did seem very reluctant to recommend any course of action for the auto trans (hates them by the look of it :wink: ) as he had seen good and bad examples of both those that have been serviced more than the BMW recommendations and those that have followed BMW's schedule. It seems to be a bit of a hit and miss for the auto transmission servicing... :?
Click to expand...

BMW wouldn't know the car was no longer in the country. THere is a BMW UK number you can call which will tell you which dealer the car visited on which day. You should then be able to contact that dealer with your VIN number to find out what they did.
 
srhutch said:
BMW wouldn't know the car was no longer in the country. THere is a BMW UK number you can call which will tell you which dealer the car visited on which day. You should then be able to contact that dealer with your VIN number to find out what they did.
Click to expand...

That's very interesting thanks, and could be quite good for building a more complete service history of my Zed.
Anyone happen to know what that number is?
 
Its low miles for a 9 yr old car & as you have no real history to draw on i would get the fundamentals sorted then crack on knowing its cared for .
Plugs , air filter , oil service , gearbox oil is a possible but if you find your box ok then your miles are so low id probably leave that for another 15k/20k ?
Change the cabin filters if still original & if approaching 2 yrs on current brake fluid change that along with fresh coolant .
Leaves you good to go
ps , if you do find a garage wanting to change your power steering fluid avoid them :D you haven't got any :P
 
mr wilks said:
Its low miles for a 9 yr old car & as you have no real history to draw on i would get the fundamentals sorted then crack on knowing its cared for .
Plugs , air filter , oil service , gearbox oil is a possible but if you find your box ok then your miles are so low id probably leave that for another 15k/20k ?
Change the cabin filters if still original & if approaching 2 yrs on current brake fluid change that along with fresh coolant .
Leaves you good to go
ps , if you do find a garage wanting to change your power steering fluid avoid them :D you haven't got any :P
Click to expand...
Cheers Mr Wilks.
hehe.. yeah I forgot about the EPS :oops:
By 'oil service' do you mean just the engine oil, or other oils as well? I've been doing my engine oil annually.
Brake fluids been done.
I think plugs, air filter and cabin filter might be the way to go for now. :thumbsup:
 
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