BMW Dealership using BG Products for Driveline & Brakes

[jeepman3071]

People love Amsoil and Redline who skirt around approvals. Why is BG any different?

FYI, I only buy lubricants with actual approvals. The thought that third-party testing has taken place gives me peace of mind.

I don't think the issue is with BG products, it's with a dealership upselling services the customer likely doesn't need (nothing new) and not using BMW approved fluids, which is abnormal for a dealer.

The BMW dealers around me aren't great, and are definitely the type where if you used non-approved oil and had a warranty issue they would fight you over it, which is why I find this whole thing interesting. Like I stated before, the only thing I'd be a bit concerned about is the X-Drive fluid, just because the specs seem so specific for that fluid, but otherwise I wouldn't worry. I wouldn't change out the diff fluid, that would be a waste of money and time for a gain of possibly .2 mpg.

 

[BMW Dom]

For one thing, both Amsoil and Red Line at least give a list of specifications and approvals for which they consider a product to be suitable or recommended. And in the case of Amsoil some of their products do have actual approvals and licenses.

And they’re not trying to sell an additive for everything

 

[64bawagon]

Its all about the $$$$$$ I have heard about the BG sales pitches to techs and service writers.

 

[edyvw]

IIRC, BMW uses a either a BorgWarner or Magna(former New Venture Gear) t-case, not far off but not a one-to-one similarity to the same units on a F-150/Expedition/Navigator or Tundra/Sequoia(BW) or a GM/Mopar truck(Magna) that calls for ATF(GM/Ford/Mopar) or 75W GL-4 oil(Toyota, and they sell it as Transfer Oil LT). Red Line says their MTF/MTL works in the BMW and Toyota cases.

It is not similar. BMW xDrive is developed out of Land Rover and whatever further developments happen, it is unique to BMW and BMW family vehicles.
Borg/Warner and Magna make a lot of various T cases for various manufacturers, and they are all unique to those vehicles. Yes, some might be same or very similar, but usually that is find in cheaper vehicles.

 

[edyvw]

People love Amsoil and Redline who skirt around approvals. Why is BG any different?

FYI, I only buy lubricants with actual approvals. The thought that third-party testing has taken place gives me peace of mind.

It is VERY different!
Amsoil actually has various approvals, and Redline has different philosophy as what oils it makes. They explain their philosophy and what vehicles their products fit.
BG is just selling something.

 

[edyvw]

An awful lot of scaremongering on this thread, especially towards what is effectivley a reputable manafacturer.

Doesn't the transfer case have an oil quality sensor also? Surley if there was an issue with this lubricant it would have flagged a fault and/or there would be driveability issues.

Two cans of BG 244 saved me from a £2,000 turbo replacement back in 2014. For that alone I'm not one to talk bad of their products.

How are they reputable? What manufacturer uses their products?

There is no oil quality sensor. The sensor is not Blackstone. BMW's will throw messages to change transfer case fluid based on numerous factors, primarily the way the vehicle is exploited. After TS fluid change, adaptations are reset so that DME knows that fluid is changed which also adjusts how TC operates.

And PLEASE explain to us this turbo part?

 

[Bailes1992]

How are they reputable? What manufacturer uses their products?

And PLEASE explain to us this turbo part?

They're a large manafacturer of automotive care products that have been around for an awful long time. If there products were blowing up cars left right and centre then we'd know about it. Therefore it's safe to say they are a reputable manafacturer.

I had sticky vanes in a VNT turbo. If you accelerated hard and fast then the car would go into limp mode and log an overboost code. Several garages looked at it and tried various different methods to try free it up and failed. Was advised by said garages that the next stop would be turbo replacement. 2 cans of BG244 and a stready drive to Belgium and back, I planted my foot up a long steep incline for a mile or so and a load of thick black smoke ejected itself out of the back end and I never had an issue with the turbo ever again.

 

[kschachn]

I had sticky vanes in a VNT turbo. If you accelerated hard and fast then the car would go into limp mode and log an overboost code. Several garages looked at it and tried various different methods to try free it up and failed. Was advised by said garages that the next stop would be turbo replacement. 2 cans of BG244 and a stready drive to Belgium and back, I planted my foot up a long steep incline for a mile or so and a load of thick black smoke ejected itself out of the back end and I never had an issue with the turbo ever again.

Are you sure that wasn't due to the higher EGT and flow through the turbocharger? The reason I ask is because it's hard to imagine that any of the lower molecular weight solvents in BG244 surviving the combustion chamber to have an effect on the vanes. Gasoline is pretty much reduced to carbon dioxide and water at that point and I'd assume that's the same for the BG244.

 

[dogememe]

Are you sure that wasn't due to the higher EGT and flow through the turbocharger? The reason I ask is because it's hard to imagine that any of the lower molecular weight solvents in BG244 surviving the combustion chamber to have an effect on the vanes. Gasoline is pretty much reduced to carbon dioxide and water at that point and I'd assume that's the same for the BG244.

Yeah, I would suspect the specific driving condition solved the problem, not some additive. But nobody will ever really know. In the meantime, it's another story with anecdotal "evidence" and that is why products like BG, Lucas, etc. sell $$$$$$

 

[edyvw]

They're a large manafacturer of automotive care products that have been around for an awful long time. If there products were blowing up cars left right and centre then we'd know about it. Therefore it's safe to say they are a reputable manafacturer.

I had sticky vanes in a VNT turbo. If you accelerated hard and fast then the car would go into limp mode and log an overboost code. Several garages looked at it and tried various different methods to try free it up and failed. Was advised by said garages that the next stop would be turbo replacement. 2 cans of BG244 and a stready drive to Belgium and back, I planted my foot up a long steep incline for a mile or so and a load of thick black smoke ejected itself out of the back end and I never had an issue with the turbo ever again.

Hmmm, I don't think so. Also, a product like that doesn't just affect the problematic part, but every other part in the engine that has contact with that fluid.
That is why most manufacturers make sure they have a section in the manual that says: no additives!

 

[edyvw]

They're a large manafacturer of automotive care products that have been around for an awful long time. If there products were blowing up cars left right and centre then we'd know about it. Therefore it's safe to say they are a reputable manafacturer.

I had sticky vanes in a VNT turbo. If you accelerated hard and fast then the car would go into limp mode and log an overboost code. Several garages looked at it and tried various different methods to try free it up and failed. Was advised by said garages that the next stop would be turbo replacement. 2 cans of BG244 and a stready drive to Belgium and back, I planted my foot up a long steep incline for a mile or so and a load of thick black smoke ejected itself out of the back end and I never had an issue with the turbo ever again.

No you would not know bcs. all evidence is anecdotal.
But if they are the best in business, I am not sure why their oils are not approved etc.
But, as I said, as long as there is sheep, there will be wool.

 

[Bailes1992]

Are you sure that wasn't due to the higher EGT and flow through the turbocharger? The reason I ask is because it's hard to imagine that any of the lower molecular weight solvents in BG244 surviving the combustion chamber to have an effect on the vanes. Gasoline is pretty much reduced to carbon dioxide and water at that point and I'd assume that's the same for the BG244.

I can only talk about the experience I had with the product.

The car was a 2008 Ford Mondeo with a 1.8TDCi engine. The car was fully 'deleted' and had a stainless 3" downpipe off the turbo and straight through to a small back box and tailpipe. The car did 99% of it's driving on the motorway at 70mph with cruise control on. I probably averaged 100miles a day in it during the working week. In addition I only ever run it on performance diesels such as BP Ultimate or Shell V-Power. I think the car at the time had 150k on the clock and was 5 years old when I started having issues with the turbo.

As I said before, the issue I was having was if I quickly put the engine under load the car would slam into limp mode and I would get an overboost code stored. If I ramped the throttle gradually it was usually okay. Several garages looked at it and tried various different methods to free up the vanes but all came back with a reccomendation to replace the turbo.

I bought two cans of BG244, put the first one in drove to Belgium, had a few days in Brugge and then drove to Cornwall where we had to fill up again adding the 2nd can of BG244. Had a few days in Cornwall before driving back to South Wales. If I remember correctly I commuted for a few days on the remainder of that tank before I had to fill up again.

Through the trip I'd driven the car reasonably gently. Usually sat on motorways as usual, at 70mph with cruise control on. One morning after the two tank treatment I put my foot down on a local road and let the engine pull hard up the graident through 2nd, 3rd and 4th. I had a ridiculous amount of thick smoke out of the back end to the point I couldn't see out of the rear mirror and I genuinly though I'd broken something. After that, no more smoke and no more limp mode.

The majority of the driving was no different to my commute and I always used good quality diesel. I have no reason or explination for this other than it must have been the BG244.

 

[HankHill]

I don't think the issue is with BG products, it's with a dealership upselling services the customer likely doesn't need (nothing new) and not using BMW approved fluids, which is abnormal for a dealer.

The BMW dealers around me aren't great, and are definitely the type where if you used non-approved oil and had a warranty issue they would fight you over it, which is why I find this whole thing interesting. Like I stated before, the only thing I'd be a bit concerned about is the X-Drive fluid, just because the specs seem so specific for that fluid, but otherwise I wouldn't worry. I wouldn't change out the diff fluid, that would be a waste of money and time for a gain of possibly .2 mpg.

The dealerships cost for BG products is lower than their cost for BMW fluids, out of the mouth of a service manager who knows me from family. Upselling BG is a higher profit for them. I hate snake oil..

 

[CBR.worm]

I was disappointed many years ago when I took my Infiniti FX45 in to the dealer for its first ATF change and a brake fluid flush. Primarily because I didn't have time and I knew they would use the correct fluids. When I saw that they used BG ATF and a modifier to make it equivalent to Matic S, I never went back. This was probably 10 years ago and I left it in there for ~40K miles. The transmission is still going strong at well over 200K miles, so I'm pretty sure it didn't do any harm - it could have even been better than OEM, but if you go to the dealer - especially for a BMW, Mercedes, or the like, you expect them to use the exact fluids the MFG recommends - even if it is $60 a quart.

 

[edyvw]

I was disappointed many years ago when I took my Infiniti FX45 in to the dealer for its first ATF change and a brake fluid flush. Primarily because I didn't have time and I knew they would use the correct fluids. When I saw that they used BG ATF and a modifier to make it equivalent to Matic S, I never went back. This was probably 10 years ago and I left it in there for ~40K miles. The transmission is still going strong at well over 200K miles, so I'm pretty sure it didn't do any harm - it could have even been better than OEM, but if you go to the dealer - especially for a BMW, Mercedes, or the like, you expect them to use the exact fluids the MFG recommends - even if it is $60 a quart.

The thing is it is not $60, and that BG brake fluid with that snake oil conditioner is much more expensive than BMW branded brake fluid.

 

[JXW]

I had front diff and tsfr case done this week. BMW dealer used my fluids and even said to me " i did not put the MOA in this time" when I was paying the bill.

I buy Ravenol products and ask for the dealer to install mine vs. BG or bulk oils. Exception was the transmission and rear diff on the 528i xdrive.

$600 this time for oil change, diff front, tsfr case and coolant change. I used the dealer coolant.

 

[BMW Dom]

I had front diff and tsfr case done this week. BMW dealer used my fluids and even said to me " i did not put the MOA in this time" when I was paying the bill.

I buy Ravenol products and ask for the dealer to install mine vs. BG or bulk oils. Exception was the transmission and rear diff on the 528i xdrive.

$600 this time for oil change, diff front, tsfr case and coolant change. I used the dealer coolant.

What fluids did you have them install

 

[edyvw]

I had front diff and tsfr case done this week. BMW dealer used my fluids and even said to me " i did not put the MOA in this time" when I was paying the bill.

I buy Ravenol products and ask for the dealer to install mine vs. BG or bulk oils. Exception was the transmission and rear diff on the 528i xdrive.

$600 this time for oil change, diff front, tsfr case and coolant change. I used the dealer coolant.

Wait, $600 just for labor? Which 528? E60? F10?

 

[JXW]

What fluids did you have them install

I used Ravenol for everything. Oil 5w40, diff 75w90, diff was the special stuff cannot remember the exact spec.

 

[JXW]

Wait, $600 just for labor? Which 528? E60? F10?

F10, $600 was labor + parts. Total of 3.5 hours billed to me.