Getting my first oil change. Mobile1 5/30 is fine right.

[Shaymer]

Just bought my 04' 325xi with 110k. Want to change the oil and auto tranny fluid. I've searched and read the debates over which oil, but whatever the personal preferences are, I'm good with Mobile1 5/30 full synthetic right?

Also, I want to get the auto tranny fluid flushed and changed. Is there a specific kind I should request or are they all about the same.

I'm looking forward to doing this stuff myself in the future, but my wife and I are between houses, all my tools are in storage, and the family we're staying with has no garage and a gravel/dirt driveway.

Thanks for the input
Seamus

[bmwdirtracer]

Welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place.
#1: Yes, Mobil 1 5/30 will be fine. We don't do the "oil wars" thing much at this forum, for brands and preferences.

#2: OH, HELL NO !!!!!
First, it's probably not a good idea to do a "FLUSH" on a 110 k mile transmission. This MIGHT just break loose solid deposits in the transmission, which might clog important passages. It's safer to do a "filter and fill", which exchanges about half the fluid, allowing the fresh detergents to gently remove any solid deposits.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: BMW used at least two different transmissions in this year : one's a ZF, one's a GM. They use ENTIRELY different fluids, and these fluids are NOT interchangeable. You MUST use the correct fluid for the transmission which is in your car. You fill it from the bottom, by the way, engine running and at a specified temp (50 degrees C will work), using a pump. (I did a bit of research: looks like the AWD xi used a GM transmission....but I can't finish my research because I don't know if your car has an M54 or M56 engine. Was your car originally from Massachusetts or New York? (These are M56 states) (Does your engine have a metal valve cover or plastic one?)....Or, just post the last 7 of your VIN number.

Do not take this to a generic shop: you need to take it to a BMW place that will do the job correctly, with the correct fluid.

[MarcoZandrini]

I’m sorry, but I must disagree with my friend, bmwdirtracer. Chris, Mobil 1 oils run thin. That is, the oil’s viscosity at 100*C is at the low end of the range. The only Mobil 1 oil that WAS BMW LL01 certifies was the 0W40 oil. It’s no longer certified.

OP, buy an oil that has “BMW LL01” on the label. That way you’re buying an oil that meets BMW’s requirements. Also, buy a Mann oil filter. There are horror stories about aftermarket oil filters that disintegrate after 7000 miles. Mann is the supplier to BMW.

BMW sourced automatic transmissions from GM of France and ZF of Germany for the E46. As Chris noted they are different transmissions. The way to tell which version is in your car is to look at the transmission fluid pan. The fluid pan for the GM transmission has smooth sides. The fluid pan for the ZF transmission has ribbed sides.

Do not flush the transmission. Perform repeated fluid changes. The first step is to search YouTube for the vid on the proper procedure for changing the fluid and filter for your transmission. Then, buy a complete kit:
- fluid
- filter
- gasket
- bolts
Bolts? You’ll likely damage at least one pan bolt when you remove the pan.

Drive the car for 1000 miles and change the fluid again. Repeat twice.

[02Pilot]

Just to muddy the oil waters further, Mobil1 produces several different versions of 5w30, and on top of that some of the certifications seem to have changed recently.

My general practice has been to go by the ACEA A3/B4 certification, which seems to be what LL-01 is based on (I dug into the ACEA certs a while back and the differences escape me, but they were relatively minor IIRC). Even this may be overkill if doing normal as opposed to extended change intervals, but it helps me sleep at night.

OP, understand that there are two broad considerations when it comes to lubricants: suitability to the task and longevity. Almost any oil that is in the correct viscosity range will lubricate your engine just fine, but how long it continues to do so is another matter entirely. LL-01 as a spec is definitely focused on longevity, and becomes less of a factor if you're not relying on the oil to last through an extended interval.

Mobil1 does run thin in-grade (except for the High Mileage versions), but it's not likely to cause an oil-related failure; it's possible you may see increased consumption. Whatever you choose, use a quality filter, change it more frequently than BMW tells you to, and you'll be fine.

[bmwdirtracer]

Well, okay. My Redline GROUP 5 polyol ester based 5-40 actual REAL full synthetic probably doesn't meet the BMW LL 01 standard based on a GROUP 3 hydro-fracked dino oil. Still, I'm fine with that; and I think the Mobil 1 GROUP 4 oil will be just fine, too....And whichever oil you use, change it every 6-7000 miles, and you'll be good.

Sorry, but I don't hang my oil choices precisely on BMW specs...after all, BMW says it's okay to go 15,525 miles between oil changes, on the car in question. If someone recommends that, I'm not believing their advice on oil.

Mann, Mahle, and Hengst are all OEM manufacturers of oil filters for BMW.

[MarcoZandrini]

I chimed in with the “BMW LL01” imprimatur because most folks need a quick way to identify the “right” oil for their bimmer.

Good to know that there other oil filter suppliers. I’ll keep them in my leaky memory!!!

[02Pilot]

I chimed in with the “BMW LL01” imprimatur because most folks need a quick way to identify the “right” oil for their bimmer.

You mean everybody doesn't read ACEA spec sheets before deciding?! I'm shocked, shocked!

[bmwdirtracer]

I've never had a car with ACNE.

At work, of course, we buy our European made oils in 55 gallon drums, after carefully checking that they meet the specs of BMW, MB, VW and Porsche. We have two drums open at all times: One for gas engined cars (meets BMW LL 01), one for diesels (meets LL 04). Of course, these also meet the various specs of the other manufacturers too (let's see, MB 229.51, et al).

(We've used LiquiMoly and Motul in the past, now use Ardeca, from Belgium). We use ONLY oils which meet manufacturer's specs, because CoverYourAss.

And sure, when I want to do a quick oil change and haven't ordered in my RedLine, I'm fine using any of these. Clean oil is king.

Interestingly, for my car, BMW officially gives me a choice of LL-01 5/30, or Castrol TWS 10/60.....which of course, are VASTLY different. (Just pour a bottle of each, side by side).

Note that BMW approves LL 04 for gas engined cars, everywhere EXCEPT the U.S. Our supplier, who brings the Ardeca, LiquiMoly and Motul, says that LL 04 is thinner than LL 01. But he doesn't know Group 3 from Group 5.....

I have a friend / co-worker / tech, who's a Mercedes guy. He HATES all Mobil 1 products, loves Motul. He loves the MB F-1 team, and Lewis H., in their Mobil 1 livery.....but he swears that the oil is crap, even though MB and Porsche call for it.

Personally, AINOKEA.

(Cutesy "Hawaiian" slang.....try pronouncing it awhile, it'll come to you.)

[ross1]

Okay, gotta run my mouth here.
When considering oil and the factory recommendations remember that the recommendations are always changing. I suspect this is as much because of vendor and cooperative marketing relationships as it is because of performance.
The fact is a new engine would probably survive the warranty period running the drain oil from grand dad's Buick.
Correct viscosity and frequent changes, more than the Bavarians suggest, are key. The notion that European oils are somehow superior is nonsense but I understand the KYA aspect regarding paid professionals.
Back in the seventies I worked for Mazda. A district service rep decided to experiment and did not EVER change the oil on an RX-2 but only replenished(they consume oil by design)and replaced filters. The car had something on the order of 60k miles when it was crashed.
No need to nit pick oil. Having said all this I have had two engines that didn't "like" Mobil1.
My $.03

[Shaymer]

Wow- thank everyone.
There's a BMW specific garage near where I work called Northeast Motor Werks. He's highly rated and said what you guys said about the tranny fluid. I'm having him look over the car this week.

I know like most topics a group of people are passionate about, opinions vary and that's cool.

Thanks for the feedback
Shaymer

[MIKYZZ4]

Mobil 1 was highly rated and reviewed in the past,
but according to more recent ratings and reviews,
it appears that Castrol has surpassed it.

Castrol 0W-40(European Formula only) is my go-to oil for all my vehicles:https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...HebECgQQ6SQIXQ

[bmwdirtracer]

Okay, gotta run my mouth here.
When considering oil and the factory recommendations remember that the recommendations are always changing. I suspect this is as much because of vendor and cooperative marketing relationships as it is because of performance.
The fact is a new engine would probably survive the warranty period running the drain oil from grand dad's Buick.
Correct viscosity and frequent changes, more than the Bavarians suggest, are key. The notion that European oils are somehow superior is nonsense but I understand the KYA aspect regarding paid professionals.
Back in the seventies I worked for Mazda. A district service rep decided to experiment and did not EVER change the oil on an RX-2 but only replenished(they consume oil by design)and replaced filters. The car had something on the order of 60k miles when it was crashed.
No need to nit pick oil. Having said all this I have had two engines that didn't "like" Mobil1.
My $.03

Please note, my friend, that I never suggested in any way that Euro oils are superior. My favorite oils are made by the fully 'Murrican RedLine. Why? Dunno. Maybe it's the Group 5, maybe it's because it pisses off the eurotrash oilheads?

Or maybe it's just because AINOKEA.

But, I've got to ask: How do you know when your engine doesn't like Mobil 1 ? Pees on the carpet? Spits lifters out the valvecover? Refuses to eat Brussels sprouts?

[ross1]

Please note, my friend, that I never suggested in any way that Euro oils are superior. My favorite oils are made by the fully 'Murrican RedLine. Why? Dunno. Maybe it's the Group 5, maybe it's because it pisses off the eurotrash oilheads?

Or maybe it's just because AINOKEA.

But, I've got to ask: How do you know when your engine doesn't like Mobil 1 ? Pees on the carpet? Spits lifters out the valvecover? Refuses to eat Brussels sprouts?

I understood your KYA caveat about the Euro oils.
One was a Ferrari v-12 that immediately began to "pee on the carpet"(that doesn't happen when switching to synthetics, right), the other is the wife's M52 which had a lifter tick on start up. The latter engine always lets me know when it wants fresh oil this way, usually just short of 5k intervals on most any other synthetic.

[bmwdirtracer]

Send me the Ferrari. I'll give it a reason to pee.

[02Pilot]

I've heard several people complain of increased consumption and/or noise when using Mobil1. I strongly suspect it is due to M1 running thin in-grade when compared to some other oils; I think a lot of their efficiency gains, especially in the early days, came from building a thinner than usual oil that also managed to meet spec and degrade slowly.

[MarcoZandrini]

The reason why BMW doesn’t put an LL04 oil in American gas powered cars is that our gas is not ultra low sulphur, like gas (sorry petrol) is in most of Europe. As some of us remember, BMW screwed up big time years ago when it sold V8 engines with a nichel based coating on the cylinder walls. Our wonderful sulphuric gas ate that coating in short order. BMW ended up replacing a bunch of engines for free.

Our diesel fuel is ultra-low sulphur, which is why dealers sell LL04 oil.