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      06-27-2016, 11:13 AM   #1
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BMW Free Maintenance = No Maintenance

I took my M235i to service on Saturday for its 30K mile service.
I had previously only done 10k and 20k mile services which amounted to nothing more than oil changes and micro cabin filter change at 20k

I was expecting a little more to be done this time around at the 30K mark.
To my surprise, the SA tells me that the car is not asking for anything more than the oil service.

I ask for intake engine air filter replacement and spark plug replacement, and I am told that I would have to pay out of pocket for either, as the normal interval per BMW for both of these maintenance items is 50K and the car is not asking for either one...

At this point I lose it a little and get into a heated argument and ask to speak to a guy I have known for a long time instead of the SA that had been helping me.. Long story short, my guy confirms the same thing.. BMW now seems to think that an engine intake air filter does not need replacement for 50K miles (which of course coincides with the end of the free maintenance period)
Can you imagine how insanely filthy and clogged an intake filter would be at 50K !!! Heck I thought 30K was on the limit !!

I end up paying out of pocket for the engine air filter and I will buy my own speak plugs this week...

What I have learned this weekend is that BMW Free Maintenance = Complete Utter BS = No Maintenance whatsoever = 4 free oil changes or about $400 especially now that the brakes won't be covered starting with MY 2017
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      06-27-2016, 11:30 AM   #2
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Honestly, I kind of trust the manufacturer on this one. Plus manufacturing tolerances are much tighter now then they were a decade ago. While I agree they are stretching the limits on what they need to pay for, none of this to me seems like it's at the expense of motor reliability down the road.

It's not uncommon to see 100K intervals for spark plugs these days. My S2K was 100K interval and that was 16 years ago. As for air filter, how did it look? Often these are items that you don't change unless they need to be changed. If it's black you might have a case, otherwise if it's fairly clean probably no need to make the change.
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      06-27-2016, 11:30 AM   #3
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lol, its ridiculous how big companies like BMW scam their customers in order to make more money

1st they introduced those 15k intervals for oil changes which they change back to 10k for some reason starting with 2013/2014. Now since 2017 they cut "free maintenance" to 3 years and 36k miles lol, which is basically 3 oil changes (I bet they cut it because some customers ended up getting free brakes/rotors between 40-50k)

On top of it every fluid is now "lifetime" which I find BS especially for manual tranny and LSD

As far as air filter and plugs.......air filter is every 30k I think, plugs are every 50-60k
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      06-27-2016, 11:34 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pz619 View Post
Honestly, I kind of trust the manufacturer on this one. Plus manufacturing tolerances are much tighter now then they were a decade ago. While I agree they are stretching the limits on what they need to pay for, none of this to me seems like it's at the expense of motor reliability down the road.

It's not uncommon to see 100K intervals for spark plugs these days. My S2K was 100K interval and that was 16 years ago. As for air filter, how did it look? Often these are items that you don't change unless they need to be changed. If it's black you might have a case, otherwise if it's fairly clean probably no need to make the change.
Lexus requires spark plugs to be changed at 60k miles on NA engines, turbo engines usually need them replaced more often, but 50-60k should be good in my opinion

But trusting manufacture is kinda funny, considering all they really want is to save money and dont really care if your car falls apart past the warranty
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      06-27-2016, 11:49 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyan2k View Post
Lexus requires spark plugs to be changed at 60k miles on NA engines, turbo engines usually need them replaced more often, but 50-60k should be good in my opinion

But trusting manufacture is kinda funny, considering all they really want is to save money and dont really care if your car falls apart past the warranty
Well the cynical part of me would agree with you. The even more cynical part of me would say other manufacturers lessen their maintenance cycle so you have to go the dealership more often to pay for these services.

But I think in this day and age they care about consumer report rating and general quality ratings. While I don't necessarily live and die by those I know a lot of people do, like my parents. It's exactly why they keep buying Lexus. Plus a large amount of buyers do purchase the extended warranty, so it's not like they are completely out of the woods after 50K. But who knows.

At the end of the day it's hard to tell. Which is why I suggest a visual inspection. Air filter and spark plugs can be visually identified if they are worn to the point of replacement.
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      06-27-2016, 11:54 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pz619 View Post
Well the cynical part of me would agree with you. The even more cynical part of me would say other manufacturers lessen their maintenance cycle so you have to go the dealership more often to pay for these services.

But I think in this day and age they care about consumer report rating and general quality ratings. While I don't necessarily live and die by those I know a lot of people do, like my parents. It's exactly why they keep buying Lexus. Plus a large amount of buyers do purchase the extended warranty, so it's not like they are completely out of the woods after 50K. But who knows.

At the end of the day it's hard to tell. Which is why I suggest a visual inspection. Air filter and spark plugs can be visually identified if they are worn to the point of replacement.
I am actually having same debate with Lexus. Their transmission is lifetime fill and lots of forum members are having transmission issues past 100k miles and blame dirty out of level tranny fluid. I personally know a guy whos tranny fell a part closer to 140-150k

PS. Honda spark plugs are rated 100k, but its 30k for manual and 15k for LSD....those are lifetime per BMW

Last edited by Kolyan2k; 06-27-2016 at 12:29 PM..
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      06-27-2016, 11:59 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyan2k View Post
I am actually having same debate with Lexus. Their transmission is lifetime fill and lots of forum members are having transmission issues past 100k miles and blame dirty out of level tranny fluid.

PS. Honda spark plugs are rated 100k, but its 30k for manual and 15k for LSD....those are lifetime per BMW
Ahh I see you have a S2K as well. Yeah I got pretty good a fluid changes on that car. Also extremely good at swapping out timing chain tensioners.
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      06-27-2016, 12:12 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pz619 View Post
Ahh I see you have a S2K as well. Yeah I got pretty good a fluid changes on that car. Also extremely good at swapping out timing chain tensioners.
my tensioner was fine at 80k replaced only lower thermostat in 10 years
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      06-27-2016, 12:58 PM   #9
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FYI, my washable K&N filter on my previous e46 M3 would be filthy at 10k intervals, I can't even imagine an air filter at 50k

And the plugs on my previous N54 335 were almost melted at 30k miles (granted that car was tuned, but still)!!
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      06-27-2016, 01:08 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramos View Post
FYI, my washable K&N filter on my previous e46 M3 would be filthy at 10k intervals, I can't even imagine an air filter at 50k

And the plugs on my previous N54 335 were almost melted at 30k miles (granted that car was tuned, but still)!!
Interesting.....maybe its N54 and/or turbo thing. I took out plugs from S2000 at 50k and they were like new so i figure 100k interval for that car is pretty adequate
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      06-27-2016, 01:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyan2k View Post
Interesting.....maybe its N54 and/or turbo thing. I took out plugs from S2000 at 50k and they were like new so i figure 100k interval for that car is pretty adequate
It's definitely a Turbo thing yes, also tuning and hard driving will dramatically shorten the life span of spark plugs.
A tuned N54/N55 car would need new plugs every 20K miles, 50K is a very big stretch on a stock N55 imo
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      06-27-2016, 03:35 PM   #12
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I've always felt the free maintenance has always been for marketing purposes only, not really about maintenance. Now that BMW sales have grown substantially, they probably aren't feeling the need to subsidize sales with free maintenance. On several of my BMWs, the first oil change wasn't indicated until 16-17k miles. Of all the BMWs I've owned, I've always paid for service in between factory specified ones. That means I received a set of new wipers every year and two to three paid oil changes. The brakes or clutches never needed replacing within the first 50k on any of them. So I have basically looked at the free maintenance program as a small bonus, not anything worth factoring into price or value. Now warranty, that I have used on many occasions. I do notice on our '16 750 that the first oil service is called for at 10k, which means it is at a prescribed mileage rather than at a certain wear/contaminant level.
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      06-27-2016, 04:05 PM   #13
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I don't know if you noticed but,every time I start the car it tells me when my next service is due.
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      06-27-2016, 05:25 PM   #14
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The N55 has an oil capacity of just over 7 quarts. That's quite a bit of oil for a 3L motor and that capacity greatly extends the life expectancy of the oil. Motor oils, gear oils, and transmission fluids are far more robust than they used to be even just 10 years ago. There is plenty of used oil analysis (UOA) data out there that suggests used oils with 7-10K miles taken out of N54 and N55 are still well within a useable range.

Comparing wear items between stock and modified cars isn't applicable here either because no manufacturer covers increased maintenance due to modifications. N54's tend to be hell on spark plugs due to how hot the motors run and their different ignition systems compared to the N55.

Air filter replacement are largely based on the conditions of where you live. For some, you could go 10K miles and need a replacement and others could go 50K before needing replacement. Contrary to popular belief, it takes quite a bit of dirt and debris to cause an intake restriction. Also, K&N filters are covered in oil which makes them visually appear dirtier than they really are and in the end, they're just junk anyways and are a great way to coat the MAF elements in a thin layer of oil which can cause drivability issues. Same goes for the brakes. BMW will cover the brake within the warranty period if they're outside of the wear spec.

BMW's free maintenance program is a bit of gimmick; however, the program is quite specific about what's covered and how the program works. This information readily available to someone PRIOR to purchase thus there should be no surprises. You can't walk into a BMW shop and tell them what you want replaced under the maintenance program. It doesn't work that way.
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      06-27-2016, 06:15 PM   #15
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Good info,

So you think I'll be ok until my lease ends (45k miles) on the original plugs?

And yes my anxiety is coming from having owned an N54 that went through plugs every 20k miles.

Regardless I'm happier having paid for the filter and knowing that my engine is breathing clean air!! Even if it's just psychological.
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      06-27-2016, 06:24 PM   #16
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How much is the job anyway? At the dealer

I sold my N54 with original plugs at just over 45-47k....had no issues. It was running JB+ for 1 year too

Last edited by Kolyan2k; 06-27-2016 at 06:30 PM..
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      06-27-2016, 06:55 PM   #17
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Air filters aside, what other car manufacturer even offers free oil and cabin filters or brake fluid change?

Better than a poke in the eye.
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      06-27-2016, 06:59 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWZ4 View Post
Air filters aside, what other car manufacturer even offers free oil and cabin filters or brake fluid change?

Better than a poke in the eye.
Well it's not really free....you pay 50k for a car and get 3 free oil changes

I don't know what other brand do, but Lexus for example is cheaper and some of it maintenance costs 50% less then BMW charges
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      06-27-2016, 07:02 PM   #19
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My wife drove a Lexus and their fees were brutal. Car hit 90k kms and we unloaded that thing asap. Repairs were getting costly ($1.2k) for 4 rotors and pads, not to mention their $125 oil changes and $65 cabin filters...

That car was also $50k loaded and no oil cabin or brake fluid changes. so I look at the bimmer maintenance as free.
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Last edited by BMWZ4; 06-28-2016 at 06:22 AM..
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      06-27-2016, 07:08 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWZ4 View Post
My wife drove a Lexus and their fees were brutal. Car hit 90k kms and we unloaded that thing asap. Repairs were getting costly ($1.2k) for 4 rotors and pads, not too mention their $125 oil changes and $65 cabin filters...

That car was also $50k loaded and no oil cabin or brake fluid changes. so I look at the bimmer maintenance as free.
I paid $75 bucks for oil on IS350. Also asked how much to replace plugs on V8 ISF, it's like $350-400, was $700-800 on M3
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      06-27-2016, 07:09 PM   #21
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This is Canada! Car maintenance is generally more costly up here.
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      06-27-2016, 07:36 PM   #22
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I look at it this way. If you plan on keeping it your better off using the free maintenance as a supplement. For instance I did a break-in o/c on my new M235i b/c I didn't want to leave that oil in there for 10k miles. I'll probably pay for a o/c in between the free one for piece of mind. When it comes to air filters and the like I'll do the same thing.

Now my last F30 that I loathed only got the services that were free. I didn't care about that car but this one I do.
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