[Benandluna]

Any one get a oil level reached minimal level, add a quart message.

Oil change isnt recommended til another month. Will BMW just do it early, or do i need to just top it off.? Just trying to save money

[BMWZ4]

Just top it off. After 23k kms I've had to add ~2 quarts. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're seeing puddles under the car...

[Thebush121]

Just top it off... I purposefully keep a litre of oil in my car just for these occasions. Better safe than sorry.

Actually, don't since you're trying to save money. Just run the risk of the car running out of oil. /S

[usafmike]

My oil level was about a quart low before my first oil change. I checked it three days in a row and got the same reading. Took the car to BMW to get a quart of oil and the mechanic wanted to check it out. The oil reading ended up being perfect when he checked it so I am not sure what happened there and why the level decided to be full. I even took a picture to show my CA. I miss having a dipstick to manually check the oil. Car has been fine ever since.

[Benandluna]

Thanks All. lol

alright ill just top it off, you guys just go with the manual recs, or prefer something better?

[overcoil]

Don't overfill.
I'd use what dealer uses, if your just topping off, if you buy Redline for example - it'll just get diluted.

[pz619]

You can take it to the dealer for a top off as well. That's what I do when my light turns on. Twice now...

[STR8-6IX]

I would add 250-500ml of oil and take it straight to a different mechanic and have it changed.

BMW's OCI is very lengthy. I used castrol 5w40 and the oil smelled/looked DISGUSTING when i had it changed at 6000miles. will never go past 5k again.

my lifters quieted down alot when I put fresh oil into there. cant believe you guys go twice this mileage..

[fiehlsport]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

I would add 250-500ml of oil and take it straight to a different mechanic and have it changed.

BMW's OCI is very lengthy. I used castrol 5w40 and the oil smelled/looked DISGUSTING when i had it changed at 6000miles. will never go past 5k again.

my lifters quieted down alot when I put fresh oil into there. cant believe you guys go twice this mileage..

Color and scent are not indicative of oil quality. If it is dark, it is doing its job, and the filter is filtering out anything that would cause harm to the engine.

Nobody is reporting failures due to BMW's OCI on these engines, and mine looks spotless inside (perfectly clean metal) at 57,000 miles and it has always had a 12-13k OCI. 5K is ridiculously short - you should do some research on used oil analysis and oil chemistry, it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

[p912guy]

New M235i owner here. No matter what others say, I plan to change my oil and filter every 5K miles. Maybe it's not necessary, but I am okay with that. So I'll change myself between intervals. Am I correct there is no dipstick on the N55? I purchased an oil change package (filter and BMW oil) from Get BMW Parts and it came with 7 quarts of oil. Will I need all 7 quarts or is capacity slightly less than that? For those that do this service themselves, do you remove the drain plug or is there a method to pump the oil out? I am sure ALL the answers to my questions could be found in the manual or in other threads so I don't need a recommendation to do those things. If someone who knows the answers to my questions would be so kind, it would be appreciated. Thxs.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by p912guy

New M235i owner here. No matter what others say, I plan to change my oil and filter every 5K miles. Maybe it's not necessary, but I am okay with that. So I'll change myself between intervals. Am I correct there is no dipstick on the N55? I purchased an oil change package (filter and BMW oil) from Get BMW Parts and it came with 7 quarts of oil. Will I need all 7 quarts or is capacity slightly less than that? For those that do this service themselves, do you remove the drain plug or is there a method to pump the oil out? I am sure ALL the answers to my questions could be found in the manual or in other threads so I don't need a recommendation to do those things. If someone who knows the answers to my questions would be so kind, it would be appreciated. Thxs.

Have a 235, like doing my oil changes every 5k or so.
1) jack my car with a 3ton rated jack and use short blocks of wood as safety stands, my front spoiler would rub on my ramps.
2) like using pan drain plug ( used to use a Topsider on my Mercedes)
3) there is a little flap door which a little screw driver release the tab and can then pull it down.
4) place a plastic homemade guard at the flap so when you unscrew drain plug oil doesn't seep into carpet like flap material.
5)latter on when adding oil put in about 6-1/4 quarts at first, then drive a few miles, and use iDrive oil level reading to dial in to near MAX level - dealer fills to MAX when doing free mantinance.
6) large socket needed to unscrew oil filter cap, I purchased one specifically for the car.
7) I soak all the gaskets in fresh oil before inserting on filter housing, Make sure ALL old rubber gaskets are removed, make sure drain plug metal gasket is removed.
8) believe drain plug tightened to 20 nm and filter cap are tightened to 25 Newton meters.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by p912guy

New M235i owner here. No matter what others say, I plan to change my oil and filter every 5K miles. Maybe it's not necessary, but I am okay with that. So I'll change myself between intervals. Am I correct there is no dipstick on the N55? I purchased an oil change package (filter and BMW oil) from Get BMW Parts and it came with 7 quarts of oil. Will I need all 7 quarts or is capacity slightly less than that? For those that do this service themselves, do you remove the drain plug or is there a method to pump the oil out? I am sure ALL the answers to my questions could be found in the manual or in other threads so I don't need a recommendation to do those things. If someone who knows the answers to my questions would be so kind, it would be appreciated. Thxs.

you drain the oil through the plug at the bottom just like any other car.

5k miles is not "too short" of an interval or "a waste of money"

dirty oil means it is contaminated and should be changed regardless of whether is doing its job or not. oil that has a strong smell to it is a strong indicator that it needs to be changed.

following BMW's oil change may be OK if you are using a good quality oil that doesnt shear like shell rotella t6, but with castrol or especially Mobil 1, you are just damaging your engine with these sort of ridiculous intervals. my lifters were getting pretty noisy on cold starts, and I had the infamous N52 HVA lifter tick until my oil came up to temp. I was shocked with how smooth and quiet my engine ran after changing the oil at roughly 6000 miles. the difference was like night and day. lifters? almost silent. the tick was completely gone.

I have never waited past 5-6000 miles, and never will. its not a waste of money, or unnecessarily short intervals if you care about the health of your motor.

the only time I would very consider going closer to 8000 miles is with shell rotella t6 (an excellent heavy duty diesel oil which has been put to the test, does not shear and provides excellent protection through a wide range of conditions and temperatures) and an oil filter change at around 3-4000 miles.

for those of you out there using Mobil 1 or Castrol, beware. these oils shear down a weight every 2-3000 miles and do not adequately protect your engine past 5000 miles, and I am talking about 5w40 here..

if you want the best for your engine, consider liqui moly, motul, or shell rotella t6 5w40.