Service Interval for E90..

[anxious]

AB Pg uses Shell Helix Ultra AB 6.5l which costed my friend RM487.50 (E60 250i).

I believe Shell Helix Ultra AB is 5w-30.

The Shell Ultra you get outside isnt. Should you be mixing different grade oils should you go outside AB in b/w your scheduled services @ AB.

I totally agree that 25000km service interval is absurd and a 12500km change in b/w should be practised if you want to keep your car for more than 3-4 years but changing oil outside would invariably mean using different grade oil, which may not be ideal.

Food for thought.

 

[studio28]

I hope nobody still buys that 25,000km oil service selling point. In Asia, the weather here does not, i repeat does not back the 25,000km CBS up. It will only bring oil sludge to your engine and you'll be stuck with a big pile of sludge to deal with whichever dealership you end up going to.

It's just a selling point, never meant to be taken seriously. Just ask around if don't believe : )

 

[astroboy]

Some say the SC oil is 5w-40. Really don't know who's right.

 

[bimmerdude]

as usual, consumers here in malaysia always get the short end of the stick.

 

[X6M]

Some say the SC oil is 5w-40. Really don't know who's right.

has anyone here tried barging in onto the service bay, either at IA, AB or now Quill? :65:
just to take a peek at the lub packs at the bay? or has someone tried and was chased out by the security....:68:

 

[bimmerdude]

ok i'll volunteer this fri and pretend to accidently walk into the service bay armed with my camera of course.

 

[astroboy]

has anyone here tried barging in onto the service bay, either at IA, AB or now Quill? :65:
just to take a peek at the lub packs at the bay? or has someone tried and was chased out by the security....:68:

Ya.. the few of us had the "privilege" to go in and out of service bay but all you will see is they insert a metered nozzle into your engine oil inlet and squeeze the nozzle like how we pump petrol. Its bulk pack engine oil that comes in drum, stored else where out of sight and piped to each service bay.

 

[Schwepps]

You can also check the top-up bottles at the spares counter. At IA, they're 5W-30 on the label and the guy told me they're packed with Syntium LL.

 

[bimmerdude]

so the conclusion here is that now that its been proven that the absurd 25k service interval will create sludge in our engines, BMW Malaysia has conveniently introduced a NEW CONDITION BASED SERVICE, where we can only go in for free service if OBD says so. But then, in the same breath they tell us that we 'should' do an intermediate oil change out of our own pockets so we dont end up claiming engine warranty from them.

SMART.

 

[viewfinder]

Hmm that's ~RM75 per liter. Outside fully synthetic is about RM50/liter but different grade (I think it's 5w40 Shell Helix Ultra) as you said.

520i needs 6.5liter also? Isn't that the same as 525i or 325i?

AB told me the service interval is 20K km post the first 10K. I think the 25K is the old rule... they may allow change at ~18K. But highly recommend to do intermediate... this is what the dealer people on the front line are consistently telling customers. Their feedback just get ignored by BMW Malaysia management... probably their accountants and finance department have done the calculation and customer satisfaction is not in the financial consideration. And nobody sue them before perhaps for sludge build up. In the US I would guess things like would have led to class action law suit.

AB Pg uses Shell Helix Ultra AB 6.5l which costed my friend RM487.50 (E60 250i).

I believe Shell Helix Ultra AB is 5w-30.

The Shell Ultra you get outside isnt. Should you be mixing different grade oils should you go outside AB in b/w your scheduled services @ AB.

I totally agree that 25000km service interval is absurd and a 12500km change in b/w should be practised if you want to keep your car for more than 3-4 years but changing oil outside would invariably mean using different grade oil, which may not be ideal.

Food for thought.

 

[Schwepps]

Hmm that's ~RM75 per liter. Outside fully synthetic is about RM50/liter but different grade (I think it's 5w40 Shell Helix Ultra) as you said.

Bro, we've established before in this forum that the Helix Ultra 5W-40 that you can get outside is not a fully synthetic although the label says it is. The MSDS on the Shell website states that it's a hydrocracked mineral oil. Anxious is talking about Helix Ultra AB 5W-30, which is a fully synthetic and costs RM80+ per litre.

 

[astroboy]

I did made a trip to my neighborhood Shell station and checked out their Shell Helix Ultra 5w-40 and true enough, it comes with BMW LL-01 label. Its a pretty convincing oil if you ask me but I going down the 0w-30 or 5w-30 path for my "under powered" 4-potter.. :rock:

 

[Schwepps]

There is no doubt that it's a good oil, and as good a Group III oil as you can get. Only don't be fooled by the fully synthetic label (like most labels out there) It's a hydrocracker-refined mineral oil, and it says so on Shell's own Material Safety Data Sheet.

 

[bimmerdude]

There is no doubt that it's a good oil, and as good a Group III oil as you can get. Only don't be fooled by the fully synthetic label (like most labels out there) It's a hydrocracker-refined mineral oil, and it says so on Shell's own Material Safety Data Sheet.

but as you've said bfore, if we do intermediate oil changes this grade would be more than good enough. Anything beyond this would be a waste of money. I'm assuming the slightly aggressive driving style here.

 

[viewfinder]

but as you've said bfore, if we do intermediate oil changes this grade would be more than good enough. Anything beyond this would be a waste of money. I'm assuming the slightly aggressive driving style here.

And neither can the truly 'fully synthetic' last 20,000 km. What about 17,500km or at least 15,000km? Otherwise, ... from price perspective (~RM90/liter vs ~RM50/liter), it's quite logical would just go with the hydrocracked-fully-synthetic @ ~10 to ~12,000km service interval.

ps/ is the Castrol 0w-30 (from Nissan serv center) truly PAO fully synthetic or not?

 

[Schwepps]

For sure any good G-III is good enough if you're going to change at 10-12k or 6 mths. I still prefer to use a PAO though, although I change at 6 mths. What's a few bucks versus a sludged engine?

Re-the Castrol, if you can find the MSDS, perhaps we can tell. However, not all blenders are so forthcoming with such info. :wink:

 

[Ennui78]

Hmmm.....has anyone used Mobil1 on their UDMs? Or is it not good enough?

 

[astroboy]

Mobil1 has lots of fakes... be careful!

 

[Ennui78]

Oh dear......... it's back to castrol then!

 

[astroboy]

One of our member tried Castol SLX 0w-30 on his N52B25. +1L warning comes up after 4,000km... doesn't seem good also.. best try it out yourself and share with us.