[Colmsport]

New to BMW & never had any kind of service plan on any car before. Plus even though the supplying dealership are apparently putting one on the car I've never been one to suscribe to the extended 2 year / 18k mile service interval.

I'm also not sure how the car analyses when it needs a service under the CBS.

So the question I have is - if I decide to have an interim oil change completed by the dealership in between the services (that would be covered under the service plan), will this affect anything or prolong the service interval???

What I don't want to do is carry out oil changes if it pushes the actual services back to the point that I wouldn't be able to maximise the benefit under the service plan.

Appreciate that some favour interim oil changes & others don't see the need for it, but I expect to keep the car long term & want to try & look after it. Anyone have any views / experience on the above?

Cheers.

[TripleD]

Service plan covers the services (minus the wear and tear parts) that the car says it needs.
If the oil service is saying 8000 mile until due, and you want the oil changed, you pay for it, but then IMO it's pointless having a service plan if you don't intend on using it.

[Sasquartch]

I think what the OP is getting at is whether the car bases the time to next oil service on the condition of the oil

My understanding is that there isn't any monitoring or analysis of the oil as such, the service interval is calculated from the engine knowing how many cold starts, high speed runs, total engine revolutions since last oilchange, that sort of thing.

If anyone can confirm this it would be useful - as if that's the case then the car will be none the wiser about interim oil changes which of course will be beneficial to anyone keeping a car long term, even if they wont be recorded on the idrive.

[Colmsport]

Thanks guys & apologies for any confusion.

Sasquartch - you're correct, I probably didn't word my question very well.

[robbiep]

Yes, you should be able to have an interim oil change carried out. They can do this but just not reset the 'service due' on the OBC, but they can log the oil change as having been carried out on the onboard service record. It's what I have. Services at 10k (interim), 18k, 27k (interim), and last scheduled service was at 36k.

If they say they can't do it (and some dealerships have been known to claim this) then ask them to contact Halliwell Jones in North Wales, who seem to manage it perfectly competently, and they can hopefully teach them how it's done.

[simon the pieman]

Just wondering why you want an oil service between oil services. I appreciate you want to look after your car as we all do but modern engines are designed to go longer periods with out oil changes now. Oil is much better too.
Back in the day you'd change every six months or so.
As mentioned above the service pack is for when the car is requiring something to be done not when the customer wants I done, so yes you'd have to pay the extra. I have service pack and it's only had one oil service on 10k. I'm on 20k now and the car is 3.5 years old and is telling me it's due in January for a service.
I just see it as your paying £150+ for something that's already paid for when the car requires it.
Obviously I won't hurt but is it necessary?
I'm not telling you what you should do just an opinion

[Sasquartch]

I cant help feeling that things like timing chain problems on the N47 as well as other makes (some VAG and Peugot engines) have partly come about because of extended service intervals.
In the old days (eg M54 engine) it was virtually unheard of for things like the timing chains to wear out, however the oil change interval was probably half that of modern CBS engines
The industry has gone towards making cars need minimal routine maintenance for the first 3 or 4 years, after which they're someone elses problem

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

I cant help feeling that things like timing chain problems on the N47 as well as other makes (some VAG and Peugot engines) have partly come about because of extended service intervals.
In the old days (eg M54 engine) it was virtually unheard of for things like the timing chains to wear out, however the oil change interval was probably half that of modern CBS engines
The industry has gone towards making cars need minimal routine maintenance for the first 3 or 4 years, after which they're someone elses problem

And that's exactly why I have 10k oil changes carried out.

I used to work for one of the oil majors in technical oil development and testing. No way in hell I want oil in my engines that's done the thick end of 20k miles.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

I think what the OP is getting at is whether the car bases the time to next oil service on the condition of the oil

My understanding is that there isn't any monitoring or analysis of the oil as such, the service interval is calculated from the engine knowing how many cold starts, high speed runs, total engine revolutions since last oilchange, that sort of thing.

If anyone can confirm this it would be useful - as if that's the case then the car will be none the wiser about interim oil changes which of course will be beneficial to anyone keeping a car long term, even if they wont be recorded on the idrive.

I was corrected on this before by someone, apparently there are sensors that monitor the condition of the oil!

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by teaston

I was corrected on this before by someone, apparently there are sensors that monitor the condition of the oil!

I doubt it very much. When I've had intermediate services carried out, the 'countdown mileage' has carried on precisely as before. If it was monitoring the condition of the oil, then you'd expect a significant change in rate.

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by robbiep

I doubt it very much. When I've had intermediate services carried out, the 'countdown mileage' has carried on precisely as before. If it was monitoring the condition of the oil, then you'd expect a significant change in rate.

Yes there is an oil condition sensor. I imagine the oil would have to be pretty bad to trigger it, which normal service intervals don't allow that point to be reached.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

Yes there is an oil condition sensor. I imagine the oil would have to be pretty bad to trigger it, which normal service intervals don't allow that point to be reached.

Ah, I think it was you that corrected me! Didn't realise it's only there to tell you when the oil has turned into bisto gravy though!

[Tengocity]

I'd do the interim change but not have the service interval set. If you do this at a BMW dealer you might struggle to have it work out how you want, so perhaps use an independent for those.