Z4 e89 Service opinions

R

Rossi51

Member
Hi,

Just a quick question to get an opinion. My 15 plate 3.5is only has one oil and filter change stamp in the book done in 2018 at 5000mls cant remember exact date. Car has been with me since April and now on 8000mls I am thinking maybe get another oil and filter change just to get a stamp in the book or should i consider a major service?? No service light on in car due to low miles.

Thanks in advance.
 
In my experience the car is CBS Conditional Based Servicing and will tell you when it needs a service. I tried this year to get and oil based service done with 1400 miles to go as it was in for something else, so I thought kill 2 birds with 1 stone and the dealer told me after reading the key it was to soon! 3 months later and 600 miles, the car wanted an oil service.
 
Service every 2 years or mileage reached, whichever is first. 15 plate car oil service due 2017 then inspection 1 2019. Brake fluid every 2 years.
That's how I figure servicing is needed.
 
Regardless of what BMW say I would at least do an oil and filter change every year, it's their CBS that caused a lot of problems with some of their engines (N47 I think, amongst others).
 
Every year or 5000 miles. The engine is direct injection and the oil gets filthy, I was surprised to learn this myself but I never argue with a pro. Oil is best bought from opie oils online, put OEM castrol in it, if BMW use it, you should..
 
Well Castrol is what BMW used when most of our cars were built, but my BMW Indy told me a couple of years ago that BMW use Shell Helix Ultra now.
 
Mr Tidy said:
Well Castrol is what BMW used when most of our cars were built, but my BMW Indy told me a couple of years ago that BMW use Shell Helix Ultra now.
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I think this just goes to show that as long as you use a good quality oil that meets the correct specifications then all will be well.
 
Z4Sparky said:
I think this just goes to show that as long as you use a good quality oil that meets the correct specifications then all will be well.
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Yes, I would have thought any oil that says it meets BMW LL04 specification should be fine (although I'm not sure I'd use the Tesco own brand that I've seen)!
 
My indie - 'Your little treasure' as my wife calls him - saves me a fortune. He doesn't believe in oil changes at all and says that adding oil when the warning light comes on refreshes the 'old' oil and keeps it working. He doesn't change the oil filter, either, but just gives it a good rinse out with paraffin. The exhaust smokes a bit, but he says that's normal with BWMs.
 
Busterboo said:
My indie - 'Your little treasure' as my wife calls him - saves me a fortune. He doesn't believe in oil changes at all and says that adding oil when the warning light comes on refreshes the 'old' oil and keeps it working. He doesn't change the oil filter, either, but just gives it a good rinse out with paraffin. The exhaust smokes a bit, but he says that's normal with BWMs.
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I'll have a pint of whatever you're on :rofl:
 
There are two divergent schools of thought on this..

If the car is a keeper then you can never over-service the car..most people who specialise in running vehicles to high mileages suggest for BMWs of your vintage either an annual or 5,000 miles oil change with filter whichever comes first

If its not a keeper and your paying BMW main dealer then do the minimum required to 'look good' on the service book..

Of course if you sold it to the 'cognescenti' they would appreciate more frequent oil changes
 
Silverstar said:
Regardless of what BMW say I would at least do an oil and filter change every year, it's their CBS that caused a lot of problems with some of their engines (N47 I think, amongst others).
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True, but I think the N47 cam-chain issues are more related to the design than infrequent oil changes.

I bought my 123d (with N47) in 2008 and as they had only been around for a year nobody knew it was an issue at the time! Anyway it was under warranty and had a 5 year Service Pack, so it only got serviced based on the OBC but still survived until I sold it on 81K miles. It passed an MOT this February at 108K miles so I'm assuming it hasn't suffered cam-chain failure!

My current E86 had a service in June 2017 and didn't get another until June this year. But it only did 8K miles in that time and had 2 litres of fresh oil in top-ups! The OBC was still showing over 10K miles until the next service, but I stuck to the 2 year interval.

That seems frequent enough for me, although I know some people change the oil every year.
 
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