6 Monthly Oil Change??

Britannia1863

Hi All,

My BMW 1 series diesel has done 127k miles. I have always had the oil changed every year (approx 8k per year since I've owned it). With its advancing miles and 75% of my journeys being local (3 miles to work and school run etc) is it worth going to 6 monthly (approx 4k) oil changes if I plan to keep the car for a few more years yet, or is it a waste of money and should I stick with the yearly change??

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Goudy

If it was mine I would still plan to change the oil and filter yearly but presuming it has a DPF and uses post injection to regen, I would increase the oil level inspections.

Check and perhaps log the level of engine oil every forthnight. Make sure you test it under the same conditions, like on the flat with a cold engine, say in the mornings.

If it's failing to regen properly, the post injected fuel will find it's way into the engine oil, diluting it and causing the level to rise.
If that happens before it's due a change, it time to change it earlier.

Britannia1863

The engine seems to use little oil and I've had no dpf issues in my 6 years of ownership. I was hoping maybe 6 monthly oil change can help me get to 200k at least!

BOWFER

Have you had it since new?
Even someone driving exclusively on motorways would be doing remarkably well to get 127K without the DPF needing cleaned out properly.

Ebe_Scrooge

It's a good question.  Changing the oil on schedule is probably the simplest preventative maintenance you can do, and arguably it's even more important on a diesel than a petrol.  And if you can do it yourself, it's not expensive in the grand scheme of things.  But personally I'd still stick to the schedule (every x months or y miles, whichever comes first, check the handbook).  If you're not doing many miles, it's probably the "x months" that'll occur first.

But well done for taking a pragmatic approach to maintenance - particularly on a diesel, if you do nothing else then oil changes are probably the single most important element of servicing.

Britannia1863

Yeah I've owned it since 80k when I bought it 6 years ago, and (touch wood) haven't had any dpf issues to date!

Iceweasel

The standard BMW oil changes are scheduled at 18000 miles or 2 years, so you are already treating the engine well with yearly changes at 8K miles.

With my higher annual mileage the 18K comes at approx 18 month intervals - but I change the oil-filter, but not the oil, at the halfway stage.

If you feel like cosseting the car a little more then changing the oil-filter at 4K might be the thing to do - it's incredibly easy and not at all messy to do oneself.- if you use a disposable glove and pop the old filter in a plastic bag - it's also much cheaper than doing a complete oil-change.

The other thing I do more frequently than in the BMW schedule is change the air-filter more often - BMW say to do it at every 2nd oil-change which for some folks could be every 4 years - which IMHO is way too long - so I change it at every oil-change.

A dirty air filter increases fuel consumption and the amount of crud - insects, leaves, cigarette ends and such that is in there after even 6 months is unbelievable and disgusting - often damp and smelly too after a Winter - again a very easy DIY job.

Britannia1863

I usually one year have just the oil and filter changed and the next year have a full service (oil, filter, fuel filter, air filter and pollen filter). Hopefully with this service schedule and sympathetic driving I can hopefully a high mileage from the car!

BOWFER

Britannia1863 said:

Yeah I've owned it since 80k when I bought it 6 years ago, and (touch wood) haven't had any dpf issues to date!

Ok so there's every chance the previous owner cleaned it out or replaced it.
I have strong doubts it's gone 127K without one or the other.

Ebe_Scrooge

BOWFER said:

Britannia1863 said:

Yeah I've owned it since 80k when I bought it 6 years ago, and (touch wood) haven't had any dpf issues to date!

Ok so there's every chance the previous owner cleaned it out or replaced it.
I have strong doubts it's gone 127K without one or the other.

Can't speak for BMW, but my previous car was a Peugeot diesel.  40k miles when I bought it, 185k miles when I sold it, never had an ounce of trouble.  Mind you, I was doing the sort of driving & mileage that's supposed to be good for a DPF.

Britannia1863

I knew the person who had it from new (I'm the 2nd owner) and I'm pretty certain he never had it replaced or cleaned.