A friend has a 1998 BMW IL that he bought new. I was speaking with him
the other day and he told me that the owner's manual says that the
recommended oil change interval is 100,000 miles. I told him that can't
be so and that I would check and see what I can find out.

What could he be talking about when he says the owner's manual
recommends 100,000 miles as the oil change interval?

Thanks.

John

<johnandjanet (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

The Service Interval lights will usually call for an oil change at
7500-12000 miles depending on driving style and operating conditions. The
owners manual may be referring to oxygen sensors at 100,000 miles, but
certainly not oil changes.

Kyle.
98 740iL
01 525i

In article <1137947718.155523.41240 (AT) g14g2000cwa (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
<johnandjanet (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
Does he know how to fill the petrol tank or does he have to get it done
for him?

--
*Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.) *

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Isn't that a 50,000 mile job (according to the manual)?

Tom K.

It might refer to the auto trans, which went from XXXXX miles (not sure) to
"lifetime" (laughter appropriate here) to 100,000 miles for fluid changes.

Oil change intervals on the V-8, as indicated by the service interval system
should run 15,000 miles give or take depending (not sure when the system was
introduced) solely on fuel burned: So many liters = oil change.

Oxygen sensors, spark plugs, etc are all on a 100K interval. The service
intervals are in the service handbook that is used to schedule and track
routine maintenance.

R / John

<johnandjanet (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

<johnandjanet (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

No - it's on the lights.

No it doesn't say that, it says according the lights in the dash.

Expect 12- 15k depending on how hard you drive.

Is he talking about ENGINE oil or Transmission oil? I presume a 1998
BMW IL is a 7 Series, it should use synthetic engine oil that should be
changed anywhere from 7500 miles or 15,000 miles depending on the type
of driving you do, i.e., city/urban, heavy stop and go should change
every 7500; all freeway every 15,000 or when the light changes.

If its automatic transmission oil, his "lifetime" fluid, as well as
differential, should be changed every 30,000 miles. Brake fluid and
coolant should be flushed every 2 years. This is the *old* maintainence
schedule and should be followed for "long-life"....

In article <1138038084.829301.20810 (AT) g14g2000cwa (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
bfd <bfd853 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
Using the 'old' lubricants or the long life ones? Seems to me there's no
point in paying for these very expensive lubricants if you're reverting to
old schedules. But then using non approved lubricants may have warranty
issues...

--
*Life is hard; then you nap

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Kyle and Lori Greene wrote:
Transmission fluid begins to degrade below spec at around 100,000 miles
although the manual doesn't specify a service interval at all.

Huw

The point I'm trying to make is BMW went to its "lifetime" fluids and
extended maintainence plans without making any changes to its fluids.
Basically, when it started offering "free maintenance schedule," it no
longer required basic stuff like coolant changes every 2 years, brake
flush every 2years, transmission and differential fluids changes every
30,000 miles. Why not? To save itself money.

As for using "non-approved" lubricants. If you use good synthetic
fluids from reputable companies like Redline and Purple Royal, you
shouldn't have any problems! Further, in the US, BMW coolant is
Valvoline G-48. Saab offers the same "blue" stuff for 1/2 the price....