That's what's recommended and intended. I have 12k miles on mine with the original oil, runs perfect.

Besides if it blows up it's their problem.

 

i wouldn't pay to change it...it's leased and under factory service.

with Audis and their horrid depreciation, it made me smile that while people were gloating by buying used....they were also getting cars that had minimal oil change requirements.

if i would buy a 535i, i'd change at 1K, 5K, then every 5K. Audi's 2.7T engines seem to holding their own with owners that changed every 5K w/synthetic.

i'm leasing my 525xi and am not planning on extra oil changes.

 

if i would buy a 535i, i'd change at 1K, 5K, then every 5K. Audi's 2.7T engines seem to holding their own with owners that changed every 5K w/synthetic.

I bought mine. Have made the first oil change at 1200. I am planing to change oil every 7.5K. Should I shorten it to every 5K?

 

I bought mine, and I am changing at 3K

 

It's pretty safe to say you won't have problems on your lease.

BUT... automotive karma says change the oil every 5-7.5k. C'mon, you're driving a Bimmer, you can afford it, right? You don't even have to take it to the dealer... just specify a good synthetic oil.

The future owner will thank you, and his good experience will help prop up the residuals on your future leases.

 

I know a lot of you are old fashioned and like to change your oil every 3-5K, but do you really think that BMW would suggest 15K if it was bad for the car? If you think that BMW has an incentive to change the oil less frequently, they do, but it is the same interval that applies to BMW's in other markets (i.e. Brazil) where there is no 'free scheduled maintenance'. BMW knows that some will have their oil changed at 5K and others will go 20K. I think that somewhere between 12-15K is fine. This is my 7th BMW in the last 10 years and I have always followed their 'recommendations' and have never had a problem.

 

This has been discussed before, at the end it's like pro-choice vs pro-life...

I think it depends on the environement and driiving style, for normal (long drive on freeway, not dusty, normal ambient temp) I have no problem with 15k.
WOT every time you have the chance, Stop-go traffic short distance, dusty area, 115 degree ambient temp etc, if you own it you'll be nuts to do every 15k. If you lease, it's up to you but I agree with SportUniversaal if in the future it takes more BMW to CPO a car, the residual value of BMW will go down and pushing the monthly payment like Audi.

BTW if you are interested, just search a thread on 3-series BMW, somebody did an oil analysis at 12K and the verdict was engine damage. Now I don't how he drives his car...

 

My '07 530 is coming up on a full year of service in 1 week (I'm leasing it). I was brought up with changing oil after first 1000 miles and then after every 7.5k to 10k miles. The car just turned over 10k miles and I was getting a bit nervous following the BMW reccomended service schedule. Hell, I haven't even opened the hood but once all year to check the coolant.

So I called my local dealer and spoke to a SA. He said that they do perform a "low mileage" oil change/service for cars that have been on the road for a year and have not hit the 15k miles. And it's free (part of the BMW maintenance coverage).

I got an appointment and took the car in yesterday morning and got it back last night. They do an oil/filter change and check all the fluid levels and tire pressure. They also do a visual inspection. The 15k service is still done as before (as if the low-mileage service hadn't happened).

This being my first BMW, I'm just feeling my way through their process...but asking stupid questions of the SA seems to help.

BTW, for all of the negative stuff I heard about Fremont Automall BMW, they did a great job and the SA (Tony) was very professional!

 

that's nice that someone asked the question about oil change because this is my first BMW that goes 15k before the first oil change. with all my previous cars and one other BMW, i have changed it after the first 1k miles then again every 5k miles. so i was a little worry about running 15k miles before changing the oil.

i was puzzle awhile back when the monitor told me that i was low on oil. i added more oil but could not find the dip stick. had to look at the manual to see how i check the oil without a dip stick. finally found it and had to use the idrive to check my engine oil. that was a first for me.

 

the computer on your car keeps track of your driving habits and will adjust the oil change interval accordingly. Synthetic won't break down early. Also the filters on some new high end cars are double valved and sometimes triple valve so it's like adding a new filter when it valves off. I'm also wondering if this is why some owners are having to add oil. Oil fills up the empty filter chamber when the old one valves off which drops the level slightly. Just an assumption. I think that's how they're getting so many miles before oil changes. I had 13600 miles on my 335i when I traded it and the computer said I had 9000 more miles or until August/2008 for the service.