05-03-2012, 09:11 PM | #45 |
Major General
890
Rep 7,047
Posts |
BMW's are quite reliable mechanically.
Generally, BMW's get dinged on those surveys due to the overly complicated electronics they implement, as BMW likes to be at the forefront of technology not behind it. If you're an innovator there is always a risk with being an early adopter. However, over time BMW does respond to the problems and makes serious attempts to fix the issues. When it comes to mechanical things, and especially engines, BMW's are very reliable. The HPFP issue did hurt BMW, but they found an answer, offered a solution, and gave extended warranty on the affected part. That's pretty good imo. Toyota buried their sludging problem pretty well. Think back, when was the last time you heard of BMW engines having problems with extended mileage use? When have you heard of engine problems resulting from a too long oil change interval? For that matter, think about most all car makers. Modern engine building has come a LONG way from the days of leaky gaskets, and faulty rings where blue smoke from the tailpipe was a common feature in nearly all engines. I remember when all GM small blocks were expected to start burning oil by 100K miles, it was given. If you had one of those engines and it didn't smoke it was considered exceptional. Now, if your engine burns oil by 100K miles, that is the exception and not the norm. Those were the oil smokey days of 3000-5000 mile oil changes. It sure didn't help those cars. That was due to engine manufacturing of that era. It's a different manufacturing world now. As well, oil technology is not what it was back then. Even non synthetics are better than they were, and synthetics are amazing at what they can now offer. We have higher powered engines and better MPG these days. Oil tech is part of that success. |
Appreciate
0
|
05-03-2012, 09:16 PM | #46 | |
First Lieutenant
38
Rep 374
Posts |
Quote:
# # # Finis # # #
__________________
'14 328d, '13 M3 ZCP, '12 535i, '11 335d, '09 Z4 DINAN Stage II, '05 330i ZHP, '05 M3 ZCP, '02 M3, '91 328i, '90 535i, '88 528e, '88 M5, '87 M6, '95 Z3, 95 M3, '93 M5, '87 325e, '89 535i, '86 635i, '73 Bavaria. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
05-03-2012, 09:25 PM | #47 | ||
Lieutenant
39
Rep 560
Posts |
Quote:
Quote:
Either way, I think you missed the joke in my post. The quote I replied to stated engineers spent hundreds, thousands, millions of hours into designing and testing these cars as if it never has problems, ever. I mean Ferrari engineers labored hundreds, thousands of hours into the 458 but thing still catches on fire.
__________________
2012 Z4
|
||
Appreciate
0
|
05-03-2012, 09:42 PM | #48 | |
Major
32
Rep 1,285
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
05-03-2012, 09:51 PM | #49 | |
Major
32
Rep 1,285
Posts |
Quote:
It is fascinating how complex the technology is. Each study looks into one characteristic (as is appropriate), but none appear to address the overall functional question in which we are interested. Perhaps there will be a study of medium displacement turbocharged direct injection engines. Then again, probably not. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
05-04-2012, 08:08 AM | #50 | |
Captain
72
Rep 876
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
05-09-2012, 12:58 AM | #51 | |
Major General
890
Rep 7,047
Posts |
Quote:
The main intent is to give a different point of view to viewpoints such as yours. The visual inspection is a poor way by which to judge oil condition. I didn't overstate it at all. Thinking you can judge your oil condition by looking at, is bad advice. I'd counter that you overstated your ability. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
05-09-2012, 01:02 AM | #52 | |
Major General
890
Rep 7,047
Posts |
Quote:
Luckily, most BMW and other brands don't tend to use that much oil. Also, turbo's tend to use more oil than NA engines. I can accept 1 quart every 5000-7000 miles, but not under 5K miles. But not much you can do when the manufacturer says it's "normal". You'll have a fight on your hands. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
05-09-2012, 01:17 AM | #53 |
Major General
890
Rep 7,047
Posts |
Can you please clarify your comment?
My comment is not about isolated problems that can happen in any engine and brand. It's about the "whole" of the brand and series of engines. Is there any fact or even perception that BMW engines do not last beyond 100K miles? Is there public knowledge or talk that BMW engines are of bad quality, and that it's due to long oil change intervals? I haven't seen or read that those things are true, even since the BMW full synthetic change over in around 1999. |
Appreciate
0
|
05-15-2012, 09:11 AM | #54 | |
Major
1533
Rep 1,407
Posts |
Quote:
Now I've got 102k. Last fall I had the valve cover and the VANOS unit off to replace the seals, and I was expecting some serious sludge on the valvetrain and the inside of the cover. Nope. Both looked absolutely brand new, with a thin coat of golden amber-colored oil on everything. And again, this was at an OCI, so this oil was 18k old, and had only been changed 5 times in the vehicle's lifetime. When I replace it with an F30 in a year or two, I have absolutely no qualms about following the recommended interval. And my E46 is in such good shape after doing so, I'm actually thinking about keeping it rather than trading it in. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
11-29-2012, 10:06 AM | #56 | |
Major
127
Rep 1,185
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
11-29-2012, 02:24 PM | #57 | |
Member
55
Rep 249
Posts |
Quote:
But some people still wear Members Only jacket |
|
Appreciate
0
|
11-29-2012, 02:26 PM | #58 |
Member
55
Rep 249
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
07-05-2013, 04:40 PM | #59 |
Jacko 135
0
Rep 31
Posts |
I have a 2012 335 and I changed my oil myself due to currently living in Germany and having BMW change it was going to cost me 280 euro. When I drained the oil at 15000 miles it was so Black and I found metal shaving in the oil and lots of it. I would recommend changing the oil at least every 7500 to 10000. I have had to put 3 quarts of oil in my car between when car was delivered to me and the 15000 miles. m6pwr it looks like you have owned a few BMWs and you worship the BMW company by the way your saying things but, I have spoken to the service techs here in Germany and they told me I would be wise to change it at the half way point between oil changes. I think it sounds like a wise thing to do.
|
Appreciate
0
|
07-07-2013, 10:19 PM | #60 | |
Private First Class
26
Rep 172
Posts |
Quote:
There is no free oil changes outside of N.A. And BMW still recommend 15000 miles change in those countries. We would hear a lot of owners in those countries raise hell if BMW engine fails prematurely because of oil change interval. Last edited by wins76; 07-07-2013 at 10:30 PM.. Reason: None |
|
Appreciate
0
|
04-23-2015, 08:35 AM | #61 |
Captain
271
Rep 739
Posts |
Old thread is old, but I find a lot of the comments interesting.
I am not bothered by long oil changes, as long as there are not issues. As an engineering and someone that cares about the environment, I can see why manufacturers are also trying to extend the life of the oil and oil changes as it also eliminates a lot of waste. I can see most of you do not think about that. |
Appreciate
1
mattpete13122.00 |
08-26-2016, 08:43 AM | #62 | |
Bimmer Fanatic
37
Rep 82
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
10-03-2016, 09:32 AM | #63 |
Lieutenant
178
Rep 461
Posts |
Just got one of those "you car told us it's time to come in" emails. I bought the car about 11 months ago. It had 15k miles at the time. I've only covered 4.5k since purchase. Was going to change the oil this month anyway for peace of mind. Thought I would have to pay for it out of pocket, but I guess I'm good now that the car has "requested" it.
|
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|