Oil change

[Perk06]

Just bought a 2006 Z4 3.0 SI with 61000 miles . Looking through the manual it says if you drive 6000 miles or less per year you should change oil at least every two years. Also have a sticker on windshield that says oil was changed 4 months ago and next change is due at 75000 miles. What is the actual recommended oil change interval? I change my other cars at 3000 miles. This is my first BMW so any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

[Bill837]

Me, I say screw a 12,000 mile oil change, barring some pretty serious analysis to back it up. I think a lot of folks will not recommend a 15,000 mile oil change, they, and I see these extended intervals as being driven by a combination of included maint plans with purchase and a cynical long term outlook by the makers. Meaning that when you offer free oil changes for hundreds of thousands of cars for 75 or 100 thousand miles, extending your oil change intervals means the company saves million upon millions of dollars. And if the only downside is a shorter lifespan after 100K, meh, your prime customers and repeat buyers of new cars, they traded that car in or sold it long before the effects made themselves apparent.

Me, with a good full synthetic oil and no modern monitoring system in place, I think 7K is a good compromise between not changing oil too often, that 3K you mentioned, and going too long, the 15K that they said was good. The evidence is pretty clear by now that even in cars that specified a 3K interval back when, using modern oil with extended intervals is just fine. Of course, if you spend a ton of time idling or running 6,000RPM through mud bogs or Baja, that's different, but for most places, a 7K interval should suit you and your engine just fine.

[Perk06]

Thanks Bill837 sounds like a good compromise on the two intervals

[BimmerBreaker]

3k is too short for a modern full synthetic on a street driven car. My BMW's I generally run at 7,500 intervals but I don't worry if I push them too much past that...

[MIKYZZ4]

OP, just to clarify since this is your first BMW, you must use full synthetic oils only on your z4.
BMW recommends 15,000mi or yearly, whichever comes first.
Preferred or forum recommended method is half that - 7500mi.
I adhere to yearly oil changes, as I average between 5~7kmi. per yr.

[Perk06]

Thanks for the responses. Learning about this car as I go and loving driving it.

[psycleridr]

I am also doing yearly and avg a paltry 2500-3000 miles/year. It's a minor expense and 30min max of my time to give me peace of mind and help insure longevity of my car

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[cdsweet]

Appears I am not the only one who thinks the official oil change regiment on a bmw is ludicrous?
I will change the oil on my z4 3.0 once a year due to it won't be driven more than 5k miles annually.
The oil has been changed twice in the 2k miles and just over 6months I have owned it due to not knowing the history, then after the oil/cooler housing gasket updates.
I schedule the oil changes on my kids e30 every 6months whether it has been 3k or 5k as it gives me piece of mind and allows me to perform a full systems checkout.