Oh no, what happened while i was gone (castrol content...)

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Feb 16, 2011
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Hi guys! I've been away for a long while. Long story short, i switched jobs a little over 5 years ago and no longer needed to commute, so i put my 07 BMW 328 in storage. I'm moving houses and need to move the car, so i pulled it out after an >5 year storage period and it fired right up.

Of course, I need an oil change so I strolled over to Autozone to look for some German made 0W-30 Castrol oil. Was surprised to see not one bottle of castrol that i looked at had the BMW approval printed on the back. The Castrol website confirms 5w40 is the only oil they have with the BMW approval?

I have owned the BMW since very near new and it has always run on German Castrol, it has about 95k on it and i'm looking to return it to road service, but it looks like i need to find a new oil.

What happened to Castrol's euro oil program that they dropped BMW approval for most of their lineup, specifically my much loved 0w-30 oil, the old green stuff???
 
Castrol Edge Euro 0w-40
doesnt seem to carry the BMW spec anymore,..

oil.JPG
 
What happened to Castrol's euro oil program that they dropped BMW approval for most of their lineup, specifically my much loved 0w-30 oil, the old green stuff???
Couple of years ago, the BMW LL-01 specification was revamped, and it appears that no 0W-XX oil can meet it. It's not a Castrol thing. You will see that other oil manufacturers' 0W-XX oils no longer meet it either.
 
Ask the dealer what oil they use now? or have them change it with genuine BMW certified oil. I never thought of Castrol as a German oil, I guess you learn something new once in a while.
 
Years ago the Castrol Euro 0w30 was made in Germany and loaded with PAO it ended up being referred to here as German Castrol. You can still get it at AAP but it's a virtual clone to Wally's 0w40 not much point they carry the same specs and neither has LL-01.
 
What about Castrol Edge Euro 5W40 ?

It carries BMW LL-01, as well as SN/CF, A3/B4, MB 229.5, Porsche A40 and VW 502/505. According to the Castrol USA web site.

This oil was recently reformulated as previously it was only MB 229.3, not the present and better MB 229.5.

I‘m no BMW oil expert, but I recall the difficulties was possibly something to do with a recent increase in bio-diesel compatibility requirements.
 
Castrol Edge 0W-40. $25 at The Mart of Wall/thread 😁

I'd be way more worried about the effects of a 5 year nap on other things before I got spun up about no more GC.
 
Get Castrol 0W40 or M1 0W40 in Wal Mart. LL01 us irrelevant in N51/52 as long as oil has MB229.5.
Exactly. Heck, my M52TU. originally specified LL-98 - I don't go looking for that on the bottle. IMO, BMW should have just gone to a new designation when they changed requirements. I assume LL-98 was issued in 1998 and LL-01 came out in 2001? If so, why change the requirements retroactively?

What I've gleened is that if it holds the Porsche & Mercedes certification, it'll be fine (perhaps excepting vehicles under warranty).
 
Exactly. Heck, my M52TU. originally specified LL-98 - I don't go looking for that on the bottle. IMO, BMW should have just gone to a new designation when they changed requirements. I assume LL-98 was issued in 1998 and LL-01 came out in 2001? If so, why change the requirements retroactively?

What I've gleened is that if it holds the Porsche & Mercedes certification, it'll be fine (perhaps excepting vehicles under warranty).
All certifications are updated ocassionally.
But yes, it would be much easier if they just issued new ones.
 
These days i order pretty much everything i need online, so probably going with motul from amazon.
 
Hi guys! I've been away for a long while. Long story short, i switched jobs a little over 5 years ago and no longer needed to commute, so i put my 07 BMW 328 in storage. I'm moving houses and need to move the car, so i pulled it out after an >5 year storage period and it fired right up.

After more than five years of storage I'd definitely change all operating fluids and thoroughly inspect the tires.
.
 
After more than five years of storage I'd definitely change all operating fluids and thoroughly inspect the tires.
.
yea, that's the plan. tires are good. Just bought a nice new AGM battery. Biggest problem i see right away is the weatherstripping around the windshield is dry rot and deteriorating very badly. gotta figure out a solution there.
 
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