Maintenance When you car tells you?

[longlasting]

Seems people do oil change spark plugs etc when the maintenance light for service comes on? This would be the best recommended time right ? Or do we as m3 owners do maintenance before the service light comes on ? Im just confused I want to have a healthy motor but not sure if I do the maintenance before service light or just wait for service light then bring into Bmw?

[shortseller]

We as m3 owners usually like to pay early for maintenance services because we have extra discretionary income.

[ntg44]

When I came in for break in service, I asked my service adviser if they had a service schedule. I always ask for one for every car I buy to weigh cost of service/interval/necessity.

He looked at me like a deer in headlights and said BMWs are different, you just come in when your car tells you to. It knows everything that needs to be serviced at the correct time.

I called BS, and just found the service schedule online.

I've attached it here.

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

When I came in for break in service, I asked my service adviser if they had a service schedule. I always ask for one for every car I buy to weigh cost of service/interval/necessity.

He looked at me like a deer in headlights and said BMWs are different, you just come in when your car tells you to. It knows everything that needs to be serviced at the correct time.

I called BS, and just found the service schedule online.

I've attached it here.

Am I missing something, you did read page 3 that refers to CBS?

“Time intervals should be followed using the maintenance interval as indicated by the BMW Condition Based Service.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by shortseller

Am I missing something, you did read page 3 that refers to CBS?

“Time intervals should be followed using the maintenance interval as indicated by the BMW Condition Based Service.

Not sure, but I was referring to my SA telling me service schedule/documentation not existing, not objecting to the CBS. If you read further in the documentation, there's recommended intervals for anything important. That is what I was calling BS on

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

Not sure, but I was referring to my SA telling me service schedule/documentation not existing, not objecting to the CBS. If you read further in the documentation, there's recommended intervals for anything important. That is what I was calling BS on

Yup the CBS is fairly limited in that it only notifies you for services like oil change and brake fluid. It doesnt get into details of other items such as diff fluid, spark plugs, filters, etc.

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

Yup the CBS is fairly limited in that it only notifies you for services like oil change and brake fluid. It doesnt get into details of other items such as diff fluid, spark plugs, filters, etc.

The CBS is for sure BMWs 4 yrs plan, or is it 3 yrs free now, so maintenance will be cost effective for them. For long term ownership a more comprehensive approach is likely a better option.

As to the extras you mention above, Those are usually done at service intervals as well. For instance the second or third oil change depending on mileage or time gets you brake fluid, plugs etc. the diff fluid has become something of a weird spot for bmw, they seem not to require it but most know that to keep long term care helps, so why not replace, but it comes at owners costs.

Also use to be you could squeeze in a brake job when it was 4yrs/50K. Those days seem gone too.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

Yup the CBS is fairly limited in that it only notifies you for services like oil change and brake fluid. It doesnt get into details of other items such as diff fluid, spark plugs, filters, etc.

I was surprised that my Service Required came on today as I was still several months away from my annual service. It was in service on June 22, 2016 and since it is my fun car, annual mileage is low so I do the servicing annually, notwithstanding the 2,000 km break-in service. Then I see the icon was for brake fluid. The car was built in April 2016 so I am guessing the Condition Based Service is based on 3 years for the brake fluid which would have been filled in the factory.

Is this a correct guess? I don't feel any particular need to run in to get the car serviced immediately (7,000 km mileage in total) - I am sure I could put it off till June.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

I was surprised that my Service Required came on today as I was still several months away from my annual service. It was in service on June 22, 2016 and since it is my fun car, annual mileage is low so I do the servicing annually, notwithstanding the 2,000 km break-in service. Then I see the icon was for brake fluid. The car was built in April 2016 so I am guessing the Condition Based Service is based on 3 years for the brake fluid which would have been filled in the factory.

Is this a correct guess? I don't feel any particular need to run in to get the car serviced immediately (7,000 km mileage in total) - I am sure I could put it off till June.

Brake fluid service is typically every two years.

[Vaspadmanabhan]

I’m in the process of buying BMW approved used 2015 M3 from a BMW dealer. The car has done 62k miles and the service history provided by the dealer is as follows

24/03/2015 1389 miles Running in Service
08/01/2016 18017 miles
23/01/2018 37917 miles
04/02/2020 61841 miles

Since 2nd service and the car has done 20k miles and 24k miles between services
Is this normal ? I’m new to BMW, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[MrSmartyPants]

Originally Posted by Vaspadmanabhan

I’m in the process of buying BMW approved used 2015 M3 from a BMW dealer. The car has done 62k miles and the service history provided by the dealer is as follows

24/03/2015 1389 miles Running in Service
08/01/2016 18017 miles
23/01/2018 37917 miles
04/02/2020 61841 miles

Since 2nd service and the car has done 20k miles and 24k miles between services
Is this normal ? I’m new to BMW, any help would be greatly appreciated.

For such an expensive car with equally expensive engine/trans/diff I would not purchase that. Not unless you get a complete service history (it was likely serviced elsewhere when not at the dealer). If it was actually serviced only at those intervals I wouldn't touch it personally.

[agentrnge]

its probably OK. but 3x the interval I am comfortable with for oil changes. No way to know if the previous owner did their own oil changes or anything else in between. I would avoid this one myself.

[Vaspadmanabhan]

Thank you for the reply. The dealer said “ The service intervals on BMWs now is every 18,000 miles, 24 months or condition based, depending on your driving style the car will tell you when the next service is due “

So by their own admission it looks like its been driven more than 6k miles over the limit before the last service.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by Vaspadmanabhan

Thank you for the reply. The dealer said " The service intervals on BMWs now is every 18,000 miles, 24 months or condition based, depending on your driving style the car will tell you when the next service is due "

So by their own admission it looks like its been driven more than 6k miles over the limit before the last service.

Run away very fast from this dealer.... For oil changes on the F8x, the standard BMW interval is 10k miles or 1 year. There are other different service intervals for different maintenance items, but the oil is clearly the "life blood" of the car. The fact that your dealer told you that info for service intervals, without providing additional applicability info, clearly indicates they don't know what they are talking about or just want a quick sale (or both)...

[maniz]

Originally Posted by ntg44

Not sure, but I was referring to my SA telling me service schedule/documentation not existing, not objecting to the CBS. If you read further in the documentation, there's recommended intervals for anything important. That is what I was calling BS on

I must be missing something. I got excited when I saw your attachment but I don't see any recommended intervals anywhere in it. Pages 4-7 simply say to follow the CBS (the same thing the SA told you) for various service intervals. Where it mentions an actual interval is for the spark plugs but it again says the CBS will push for it at every 3rd oil change or approx. 30K miles. The air and cabin filters are the two exceptions I see on here.

It is still a good document because it talks about different services performed with each CBS indication, because that isn't usually mentioned in BMW maintenance literature but still not the typical "maintenance schedule" we are used to seeing from other manufacturers.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by maniz

I must be missing something. I got excited when I saw your attachment but I don't see any recommended intervals anywhere in it. Pages 4-7 simply say to follow the CBS (the same thing the SA told you) for various service intervals. Where it mentions an actual interval is for the spark plugs but it again says the CBS will push for it at every 3rd oil change or approx. 30K miles. The air and cabin filters are the two exceptions I see on here.

It is still a good document because it talks about different services performed with each CBS indication, because that isn't usually mentioned in BMW maintenance literature but still not the typical "maintenance schedule" we are used to seeing from other manufacturers.

Sure, it's not 100% comprehensive, but from this document, I got answers for:

- transmission fluid
- differential fluid
- coolant
- spark plugs
- O2 sensors
- air filters
- ventilation filter

What I couldn't find specifically in the doc:
- Engine oil, but it's common knowledge this is 5-10k miles/1 year with synthetic oil on almost any car
- Brake fluid, which from my research every 2 years is recommended.
- Belts

I don't necessarily love the answers in the doc to every maintenance item, but I can't think of anything missed that isn't already naturally changed at a "CBS" as-needed interval, such as brake components, shocks, and battery. A lot of the above piggybacks off of which # oil change, but to me that's just another way of describing it vs. saying something like "at every 20k miles."

It may not be as specific as we're used to, but I think it's good enough for most as a general guideline, and certainly better than my service adviser telling me the entire car is CBS, which is what motivated me to find the above doc in the first place.