If I only drive 4000 miles/year on '23 X1 & '24 530i, can I only change oil yearly?

[SpaceSilver.X1]

If I only drive 4000 miles/year on '23 X1 & '24 530i, can I only change the oil & filter yearly?

Actually, after my 530i arrives in a couple of months, I'll probably end up with just 3000 miles per year on each of those two cars. Some times I don't even put any miles on my '23 X1 for almost a month.(like this past October when it just sat in the garage completely) I do have a 3rd car that I use as a daily driver and grocery getter.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm a little old school. On all of my previous cars, I change the oil every 5000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. I always believe that synthetic oil is way cheaper than a replacement engine.

However, that was when I drove a lot(about 16000 miles/year). So I'm not sure what to do anymore, now that I drive relatively few miles.

[Tejas1836]

5,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first

[M3SQRD]

Agree with Tejas1836, change the oil every 5k miles or a max duration of 1 year between oil changes. I’m always running out of time between oil changes instead of reaching 5k miles in a year.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

5,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first

LOL. The real answer is 10,000 miles or 1 year which ever comes first.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by DanG

LOL. The real answer is 10,000 miles or 1 year which ever comes first.

That’s if your car is still under the BMW free maintenance program.

[Tejas1836]

Originally Posted by DanG

LOL. The real answer is 10,000 miles or 1 year which ever comes first.

I'll rephrase that. For a turbo ice: every 5K miles or once a year.

[alex2364]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

I'll rephrase that. For a turbo ice: every 5K miles or once a year.

Not according to BMW.

[Pauly Wauly]

Originally Posted by SpaceSilver.X1

If I only drive 4000 miles/year on '23 X1 & '24 530i, can I only change the oil & filter yearly?

Yes.

[Tejas1836]

Originally Posted by alex2364

Not according to BMW.

Your money, your car, do as you wish

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

Your money, your car, do as you wish

As an answer to the thread starter, he is fine with once a year oil changes. He doesn’t exceed either the 5K or 10K a year. But studies have shown that a synthetic oil is good for 10K miles. A Dino oil is not. But BMW only uses full synthetic oil.

[Tejas1836]

Low milage city driving is the hardest on oil. Like I said above

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by DanG

LOL. The real answer is 10,000 miles or 1 year which ever comes first.

Originally Posted by M2siast

This is correct. Don't worry OP.

+1 - this is true. BMW has been doing 10k mile synthetic oil changes for over 20 years now and there’s been no increase in engine failures in all that time.

[SpaceSilver.X1]

Originally Posted by M2siast

We all agree city driving/short distance driving is the harshest on the oil.

Given this information was not provided by the OP, especially because he said he has a daily/grocery getter, how did you infer that his use is severe?

for the last 8 months, my '23 X1 did at least 90% highway driving at 70mph or above... so I'm guessing that it's less harmful? Of course, i also do the occasional Italian tune-up or launch control, which I believe helps reduce carbon build-up? When the 530i arrives, I expect basically similar usage, mostly highway.

P.S. don't be deceived by the words "slowest BMW driver ever" under my user name on the left.

[Opie55]

I decided on 7,500 miles or a year long ago. I never drive 7,500 miles a year, so I change it once a year.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

+1 - this is true. BMW has been doing 10k mile synthetic oil changes for over 20 years now and there’s been no increase in engine failures in all that time.

My brother-in-law is a BMW master tech and he’s seen far more engine failures post 2000 than pre 2000. Is it due to solely the change in OCI? I doubt it but it’s certainly a contributor/variable. Synthetic oils for cars have been around since the 1970s and became popular in the early 1990s. I started using synthetics in 1992 and my OCI increased from 3k to 5k miles. Could I have gone with an even longer OCI? Yes but I’ve stuck with 5k OCIs since 1992. Is there one correct OCI? No.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

My brother-in-law is a BMW master tech and he’s seen far more engine failures post 2000 than pre 2000. Is it due to solely the change in OCI? I doubt it but it’s certainly a contributor/variable. Synthetic oils for cars have been around since the 1970s and became popular in the early 1990s. I started using synthetics in 1992 and my OCI increased from 3k to 5k miles. Could I have gone with an even longer OCI? Yes but I’ve stuck with 5k OCIs since 1992. Is there one correct OCI? No.

All I can say is people are not posting about that on BMW enthusiast forums and people certainly love to post about everything that goes wrong with their BMW. Consumer Reports did a big study probably thirty years ago now with dino oil to test whether there was any difference in engine wear between 3,000 mile oil changes and 6,000 mile oil changes. They did a longer interval, too, but I can’t remember exactly what it was. Something around 10,000 miles. Anyway, with dino oil they found no measurable difference in engine wear between a 3,000 mile oil change and a 6,000 mile oil change. I first used a synthetic oil (I’m thinking probably not fully synthetic) in my 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme that I bought in 1980.

In 2010 I got the chance to see inside a 2007 or 2006 X3 N52 motor that had one oil change in 36,000 miles. It looked absolutely brand new. The oil had 18,000 miles on it. It was a lease return from the proverbial little old lady. She got her first CBS oil change notice at 18,000 miles and had the oil changed. Then she turned the car in with 36,000 miles and it got its second oil change. The dealership wanted to CPO it, but BMW required them to pull the valve cover and send them photos before they would accept it into the CPO program.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by SpaceSilver.X1

for the last 8 months, my '23 X1 did at least 90% highway driving at 70mph or above... so I'm guessing that it's less harmful?

Yes, less harmful in every way. In your specific situation I think you could just as easily go 12K miles and a yearly oil change, so at 4K a year you're good.

[tracer bullet]

I only put a couple thousand miles a year on my 135i. I use synthetic LL-01 oil from either Motul or LiquiMoly. I used to change it 2x per year, but switched to 1x per year. I send samples to Blackstone to analyze and it always comes back that, even at 1 year, there's tons of life left in it. Additives are still present, no fuel or water dilution, etc.

I could probably go well over a year but it just feels wrong. I will certainly agree that, with the right car and conditions of course, a year is A-OK.

[SpaceSilver.X1]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

I only put a couple thousand miles a year on my 135i. I use synthetic LL-01 oil from either Motul or LiquiMoly. I used to change it 2x per year, but switched to 1x per year. I send samples to Blackstone to analyze and it always comes back that, even at 1 year, there's tons of life left in it. Additives are still present, no fuel or water dilution, etc.

I could probably go well over a year but it just feels wrong. I will certainly agree that, with the right car and conditions of course, a year is A-OK.

I really hate it when car manufacturers stop putting dipsticks for engine oil. Beside the ability to check the oil level with my own eyes, not having a dipstick also makes it difficult to get a few drops of oil to see its condition.(with my eyes or running it between my fingers)

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by SpaceSilver.X1

I really hate it when car manufacturers stop putting dipsticks for engine oil. Beside the ability to check the oil level with my own eyes, not having a dipstick also makes it difficult to get a few drops of oil to see its condition.(with my eyes or running it between my fingers)

Absolutely. I'm still mourning the loss of the dipstick in my M2. Thankfully I still have one in my Exige and RDX.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by M2siast

Well, then you should be thankful they removed the dipstick, because running the oil through your fingers only accomplish the goal of getting your fingers dirty with oil. Nothing more.

You cannot assess oil by looking at or touching it. Untold benefit of no dipstick.

Incorrect.

In the case of low mileage, and if you should change your oil, it's beneficial to feel and smell the oil to see if it should be changed. The higher the milage, the less it matters.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

BMW has been doing 10k mile synthetic oil changes for over 20 years now and there’s been no increase in engine failures in all that time.

No, not 20 years. It used to be CBS 15K/24 months prior to MY 2014. But BMW revised this in 2013 reducing the OCI from 15K to 10K (and 24 months to 12 months). The service bulletin is posted here:

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=868293

The 15K OCI started when BMW started paying for oil changes. My first E36 was 10000 km (6200 miles) or once per year.