[gspannu]

I am at 2000 miles on an E92 330D. I would like to do an oil change.

BMW recommend BMW LL04, so i am thinking about Castrol Edge Turbo Diesel 0W-30.

One mechanic (private garage) told me that BMW use special oil for new cars (some additives basically), so I should not replace this with a normal oil?

Is it true that the original oil in a new car is different or is the mechanic talking crap?
Is the original oil in a my new car the equivalent of LL04 or 0W-30?
Is it safe to put 0W-30?
Will this void my warranty as I will get this done from a normal local garage (along with a filter change).

Any help much appreciated?

[F32Fleet]

Why not just go buy the oil and filter from the dealership? That's what many of us in the U.S. do.

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by Socom

Why not just go buy the oil and filter from the dealership?

The dealer is charging something like £17 per litre while I can buy the Castrol 0W-30 for less than £5 from a autostore !

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by gspannu

The dealer is charging something like £17 per litre while I can buy the Castrol 0W-30 for less than £5 from a autostore !

Does the BMWUK website not have a list of approved domestic brands?

[montr]

Check this site for a list of LL04 equivalent oil
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-686-bmw-longlife-04.aspx

[gspannu]

Thank you all for your help. Castrol 0W-30 is equivalent to LL04.

However, my queries as in the original post are still unanswered...

One mechanic (private garage) told me that BMW use special oil for new cars (some additives basically), so I should not replace this with a normal oil?

Is it true that the original oil in a new car is different or is the mechanic talking crap?
Is the original oil in a my new car the equivalent of LL04 or 0W-30?
Is it safe to put 0W-30?
Will this void my warranty as I will get this done from a normal local garage (along with a filter change).

Q: Is the original oil in a brand new car equivalent to LL04 or does BMW put in s pecial oil the first time around?

[R1200RT]

Where does it say in your instruction manual that you have to change oil now and waste money.

Be smart and wait for the car to tell you that you need an oil change. My 335d is at 4,500 miles right now and I don't expect it to alert before 18,000 given the current indicators.

Spend your money on a nice mod!

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by R1200RT

Where does it say in your instruction manual that you have to change oil now and waste money.

Be smart and wait for the car to tell you that you need an oil change. My 335d is at 4,500 miles right now and I don't expect it to alert before 18,000 given the current indicators.

Spend your money on a nice mod!

You are right, it does not say in the manual, yet there are tons of posts on many BMW forums talking about changing oil earlier than what the car tells you.

My query was simple: If i do decide to change the oil, is BMW LL04 (equivalent to castrol Edge 0W-30) the oil to go for, or does BMW put some special oil the first time around.... and I would actually cause damage by changing the original oil

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by gspannu

You are right, it does not say in the manual, yet there are tons of posts on many BMW forums talking about changing oil earlier than what the car tells you.

My query was simple: If i do decide to change the oil, is BMW LL04 (equivalent to castrol Edge 0W-30) the oil to go for, or does BMW put some special oil the first time around.... and I would actually cause damage by changing the original oil

Basically what you're asking is whether or not BMW fills their cars with break-in oil from the factory. The official answer is that nobody really knows. The oil that BMW dealerships use when doing oil changes isn't any more special than the oil you can buy retail (assuming it meets BMW LL spec).

Here's a little history lesson on BMW maintenance. IIRC..prior to the late 1990's all BMW cars had an initial fluid service at ~1200 miles which included an oil change. Since that time only the "M" cars get a break in service at this mileage. The fact is that many people change oil earlier because #1 they want to, #2 they don't believe BMW, #3 because they did so on their other cars. The reality is that advancements in synthetic oil and manufacturing allow us to have extended oil changes.

Mike Miller who's a well known BMW maintenance guru in the U.S. (He writes for Roundel and Bimmer) has said time and time again if you want to keep the car over 100k miles then you should follow a more stringent maintenance interval (ie. oil changes every 7500 miles). If you don't plan on keeping the car over 100k miles just follow BMW maintenance.

[ECSTuning]

We have our oil service kits available:

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E90-335...aign=postreply

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by Socom

Basically what you're asking is whether or not BMW fills their cars with break-in oil from the factory. The official answer is that nobody really knows. The oil that BMW dealerships use when doing oil changes isn't any more special than the oil you can buy retail (assuming it meets BMW LL spec).

Here's a little history lesson on BMW maintenance. IIRC..prior to the late 1990's all BMW cars had an initial fluid service at ~1200 miles which included an oil change. Since that time only the "M" cars get a break in service at this mileage. The fact is that many people change oil earlier because #1 they want to, #2 they don't believe BMW, #3 because they did so on their other cars. The reality is that advancements in synthetic oil and manufacturing allow us to have extended oil changes.

Mike Miller who's a well known BMW maintenance guru in the U.S. (He writes for Roundel and Bimmer) has said time and time again if you want to keep the car over 100k miles then you should follow a more stringent maintenance interval (ie. oil changes every 7500 miles). If you don't plan on keeping the car over 100k miles just follow BMW maintenance.

Thank you.... I will not be changing oil at the moment now. Will stick to what BMW say.... Once I get the first service done (probably 18,000 miles), I'll shift to a more frequent oil change.

Thank you all...

[stubenhocker]

I have an E46 with 151,000 miles on the odometer and I have only done BMW recommended maintenance schedule and have used NO oil between changes and have had NO engine problems!
Go ahead and do it if it makes you feel good, but all it does is enrich the oil co's IMHO. BTW I also have an E91 with only 35000 and it too has never use any oils between change and it also only gets changed when the service reminder indicates that it is due!