Z4M and Mobile 1 ESP

luke111s

Member
Hi all,

Long time since I have posted here, I need to decrease lurking :D

I have seen the question of oil asked a number of times with the answer always Castrol Edge 10W-60, a spare litre of which I have in the garage... However I had an oil service today at a BMW garage and the invoice is "BMW BULK Mobil 1 ESP", which I understand is this stuff and 5W-30: http://www.mobil.co.uk/UK-English-LCW/carengineoils_products_mobil-1-esp-formula-5w30.aspx

Is this something I should be concerned about and bring up with the garage? I have only just noticed now I am home, and it is closed, or I would have asked the guys there.

I'd rather pay for more oil and get it right if there is any concern with it not being the right oil.

Thanks!
Luke
 
They probably have one code for all their oil - but there's no harm in double-checking.
 
this is a concern if not what you asked for , on castrol edge it states for use in bmw M engines mobil one does not , this was discussed in depth when i had my z3mr and mobil one was not reccomended due to vanos issues, it specifies 10 /60 not 5/30 that would be my main concern . I personally would want the exact oil in, if a garage is putting a different oil in your car you must ask yourself why, it must be cost, if mobil one cost more than castrol 10/ 60, would they still be using it. is it part of fixed price servicing , if it is then i think that tells us all we need to know. i dont know the difference between the two but i would want the right oil in my coupe. trouble is , if you supply your own correct oil, short of standing over them you still dont know what they have actually used. do your own oil change for peace of mind ? I do an interim change anyway. tricky one, I would expect to be able to trust the garare to use what I asked for. good luck
 
I've just looked in the handbook for you and it states:
"Preferred Viscosities: SAE 10W-60, alternatively: SAE 5W-40 or SAE 10W-40"

So the oil put in your car is NOT the right spec.

I don't trust any garage to do servicing to the standard that I can DIY.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I have just called them and they have confirmed that it was the Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 and "that is what is recommended for all BMWs". I will do some more Googling today but I expect I'll be putting an order in for some more Edge.

Thanks again.
 
luke111s said:
Thanks for the replies guys, I have just called them and they have confirmed that it was the Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 and "that is what is recommended for all BMWs". I will do some more Googling today but I expect I'll be putting an order in for some more Edge.

Thanks again.
Was this a franchised dealer or an independent?

Either way I'd be going back and pointing out that 5W-30 is NOT RECOMMENDED for ///Ms - and suggesting they replace the oil & filter (although they could simply take the car into the back, leave it for 30 minutes, and bring it back without actually doing anything).

The other thing I'd be concerned about, is if they think this is the correct oil for your car, then did they put the correct amount of oil in?
 
mmm-five said:
luke111s said:
Thanks for the replies guys, I have just called them and they have confirmed that it was the Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 and "that is what is recommended for all BMWs". I will do some more Googling today but I expect I'll be putting an order in for some more Edge.

Thanks again.
Was this a franchised dealer or an independent?

Either way I'd be going back and pointing out that 5W-30 is NOT RECOMMENDED for ///Ms - and suggesting they replace the oil & filter (although they could simply take the car into the back, leave it for 30 minutes, and bring it back without actually doing anything).

It is a franchised dealer.

I did give them a call again and spoke with their "service supervisor" who suggested that they used to use 10W-60 in the past but now 5W-30 is recommended even for the M cars, he is going to check their data from BMW to confirm it. My concern is that I take it back in and they just do nothing as you say...

...And I have a call back, it is indeed TWS oil that is needed for the car, but lo and behold they did put that in in the first place and I have saved £30-odd quid as it was charged wrong. He has checked with the technician and it was definitely TWS.

I don't trust them and will be getting it changed ASAP for the sake of the cost of it.
 
luke111s said:
It is a franchised dealer.

I did give them a call again and spoke with their "service supervisor" who suggested that they used to use 10W-60 in the past but now 5W-30 is recommended even for the M cars, he is going to check their data from BMW to confirm it. My concern is that I take it back in and they just do nothing as you say...

...And I have a call back, it is indeed TWS oil that is needed for the car, but lo and behold they did put that in in the first place and I have saved £30-odd quid as it was charged wrong. He has checked with the technician and it was definitely TWS.

I don't trust them and will be getting it changed ASAP for the sake of the cost of it.
I'd ask for the money back for the oil change because it's clear they've been lying to you one way or another. Name & shame!
 
I would be getting it in writing they put in 10-60 then get it drained and tested.

If they haven't put the correct stuff in, you have them by the balls!
 
They are re-issuing the invoice with TWS listed. For peace of mind I will still be changing it, I presume it is not easy to test what is actually in there?

I would certainly appreciate finding a thread like this if I searched for servicing an M car at this dealer, but I'm not entirely comfortable naming and shaming...
 
judging by their reply and the way the story has changed, I would say that this particular garage probably knows a lot less about BMW's than the say, they are also full of s**t and quite frankly dont deserve your custom. End of !!! :thumbsdown:
 
Hey guys, thought this deserved an update.

I had been on holiday for a week so the car sat waiting for some new oil, on my return I had not heard any more from the local dealership and so found a suitable method to complain about their service.

I received a call from BMW UK the next day who did seem to take the issue seriously and I must have spent 30-45 minutes on the phone with them. They fully understood the issue, apologised and were to get in touch with the dealership to hopefully provide a suitable resolution.

I still don't trust the garage so went ahead and changed the oil myself for the peace of mind.

It has now been a further week and a half since the call with BMW UK, with no follow up from the garage who deserve to be name and shamed as Wellsway BMW in Bath. Don't take your M car there for a service is my advice.
 
Fair enough, they've had suitable time to make a mends, and these days they're all very aware of the forums and discussions about them - they know information spreads pretty quickly.

This thread has reminded me i need to check my oil, don't have much experience of how fast it goes in the ///M yet. Did have Insp2 in January though.
 
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