Good morning all. I was curious to receive some feedback about the oil change in my new to me BMW X1. Long story short, I picked up a low mileage 2014 X1 for a killer deal from friends of ours that were relocating Australia. The car was always serviced at our local BMW dealer so I have a complete maintenance history on the car. I had the car serviced before I picked it up, and on the invoice, it shows the dealer used BMW 0w30 oil and a can of BG MOA extended life additive. I wasn't sure if this is BMW dealer common practice or something this dealer does exclusively. I have read about the timing guide and oil pump chain issues but it appears my car was produced after the issue occurred. My oil change regiment will be yearly for I do less than 5,000 miles a yer commuting. Thanks for reading. By the way, this car replaced my wife's 01 E46 XI wagon with 198,xxx miles so I'm pretty familiar with the BMW quirks and expenses.
2014 BMW X1 correct oil?
- Thread starter M1256
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Assuming it has a gasoline engine, the manual probably specifies an oil that meets the BMW LL-01 specification. If a diesel, the LL-04 specification. There are many alternatives to what is sold at the BMW dealer.
They used the correct oil, and BG MOA will do no harm.
Moving forward I'd use an LL01 (any LL01) approved oil and follow the factory schedule.
Use OEM, Mann, Mahle, or Hengst filters.
Moving forward I'd use an LL01 (any LL01) approved oil and follow the factory schedule.
Use OEM, Mann, Mahle, or Hengst filters.
Thanks all for the feedback. Having owned BMW's in the past, I'm familiar with BMW oil spec. I was more curious about them adding the BG additive, possibly for extended oil service ? BMW change the OCI to 10,000 miles from the 15,000 miles in the 2014 model year. Again, I'm doing yearly oil changes for I do less than 5,000 miles a year and for the little twin scroll turbo 4. The positive is I know the previous owner, and when looking into the oil fill hole, the inside of the head is spotless. Big difference from our old E46.
Of course your owner's manual states the following:
Quote
Oil types for refilling
Notes
No oil additives
Do not use oil additives as these may cause engine damage.
So why a BMW dealer would do otherwise is a mystery to me I guess.
This is what BG claims for MOA:
Quote
BG MOA®
PN 110
BG MOA® is the number one engine oil supplement! In a recent survey, dealership service managers chose BG MOA® 8 to 1 over the next aftermarket supplier.
Engines are running at higher temperatures than ever before. This, combined with the increasing regularity of stop-and-go driving, cause rapid depletion of critical oil additives. Without these protective additives, severe engine oil oxidation occurs. Oxidation reduces oil to heavy, black sludge in the crankcase, oil screens, oil passages, rocker arms and other critical areas of the engine.
BG MOA® fortifies all qualities of engine oil, providing superior, long-lasting engine protection and maintain peak engine performance. It prevents engine oil oxidation and thickening under even the most intense driving conditions. When installed by a professional, it keeps engine components clean to help extend engine life and reduce cost of operation.
All of which is a typical claim for aftermarket additive companies, short on specifics and long on seeding doubt in the minds of readers. Note the wording of their claims: "Without these protective additives..." Well sure, but what BMW approved oil doesn't have the proper additives, and how would BG pretend to know they are depleted in a LL-01 approved oil?
Longlife-01 is already geared towards preventing oxidation and sludge as shown in the Lubrizol spider chart. As a result and considering the vague claims for the additive I'd skip it in a heartbeat. Even my old E34 is spotless inside after many miles just using LL-01 oils with no additional additives.
Quote
Oil types for refilling
Notes
No oil additives
Do not use oil additives as these may cause engine damage.
So why a BMW dealer would do otherwise is a mystery to me I guess.
This is what BG claims for MOA:
Quote
BG MOA®
PN 110
BG MOA® is the number one engine oil supplement! In a recent survey, dealership service managers chose BG MOA® 8 to 1 over the next aftermarket supplier.
Engines are running at higher temperatures than ever before. This, combined with the increasing regularity of stop-and-go driving, cause rapid depletion of critical oil additives. Without these protective additives, severe engine oil oxidation occurs. Oxidation reduces oil to heavy, black sludge in the crankcase, oil screens, oil passages, rocker arms and other critical areas of the engine.
BG MOA® fortifies all qualities of engine oil, providing superior, long-lasting engine protection and maintain peak engine performance. It prevents engine oil oxidation and thickening under even the most intense driving conditions. When installed by a professional, it keeps engine components clean to help extend engine life and reduce cost of operation.
All of which is a typical claim for aftermarket additive companies, short on specifics and long on seeding doubt in the minds of readers. Note the wording of their claims: "Without these protective additives..." Well sure, but what BMW approved oil doesn't have the proper additives, and how would BG pretend to know they are depleted in a LL-01 approved oil?
Longlife-01 is already geared towards preventing oxidation and sludge as shown in the Lubrizol spider chart. As a result and considering the vague claims for the additive I'd skip it in a heartbeat. Even my old E34 is spotless inside after many miles just using LL-01 oils with no additional additives.
Originally Posted by kschachn
Of course your owner's manual states the following:
Quote
Oil types for refilling
Notes
No oil additives
Do not use oil additives as these may cause engine damage.
So why a BMW dealer would do otherwise is a mystery to me I guess.
Exactly true. The dealership just likes to make money off selling an unnecessary oil additive.
I agree with BMW's admonition to not use oil additives, with one exception: Adding something that you know what is in it ,about half to 3/4 of the way through an oil change, is not a bad idea. Not to fresh oil, only when the additives are broken down some.
Berryman Engine Oil Extender adds dispersant, anti-ox, VII, moly, and zddp, and I sometimes use half a dose later in an oil change. No overdosing.
To have a dealership do this to fresh new LL-01 oil, going against BMW manuals, and charging the customer to boot, is enough to put in a complaint to BMW to try to get them to stop. Sure if the customer asks for it, but you never asked for it.
Of course your owner's manual states the following:
Quote
Oil types for refilling
Notes
No oil additives
Do not use oil additives as these may cause engine damage.
So why a BMW dealer would do otherwise is a mystery to me I guess.
Exactly true. The dealership just likes to make money off selling an unnecessary oil additive.
I agree with BMW's admonition to not use oil additives, with one exception: Adding something that you know what is in it ,about half to 3/4 of the way through an oil change, is not a bad idea. Not to fresh oil, only when the additives are broken down some.
Berryman Engine Oil Extender adds dispersant, anti-ox, VII, moly, and zddp, and I sometimes use half a dose later in an oil change. No overdosing.
To have a dealership do this to fresh new LL-01 oil, going against BMW manuals, and charging the customer to boot, is enough to put in a complaint to BMW to try to get them to stop. Sure if the customer asks for it, but you never asked for it.
Any quality 5/30, 5/40 etc will work fine for a reasonable interval. The revised spec is 10k across the board now, they are having big time issues with the 4 bangers and the long interval. Its asking 5 quarts to do alot, turbo, direct injection, longer interval, small sump. They wouldnt need any additives anyway, and especially not at that mileage, so just stick with the good stuff and have no worries. I would not go 10k though, just for piece of mind. I just did brakes, oil, and brake flush on a 12 328i with 76k today, rattling like crazy, went the full 12k interval like computer says, and camshaft timing faults stored.
Im dying to find an E46 touring and swap the S54 into it, I love wagons.
Im dying to find an E46 touring and swap the S54 into it, I love wagons.
I believe the choice to offer BG products/services is purely made by individual dealers and I honestly can't imagine the the US subsidiary of BMW would be too excited about the idea.
Pretty sure the X1 has a direct injected turbo engine if it is the 4 cylinder, I'm not sure quite what the upgraded engine is (because it was way more than I wanted to pay)....I'd be careful about dumping an additive of unknown composition into its oil.
Pretty sure the X1 has a direct injected turbo engine if it is the 4 cylinder, I'm not sure quite what the upgraded engine is (because it was way more than I wanted to pay)....I'd be careful about dumping an additive of unknown composition into its oil.
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I believe the choice to offer BG products/services is purely made by individual dealers and I honestly can't imagine the the US subsidiary of BMW would be too excited about the idea.
I would bring my BMW Owners Manual to the dealership, before the oil change, ask them if they were going to insist on putting in BG MOA, and then show them the Owner's Manual text about no additives.
Then tell them "Are you guys trying to void my engine warranty?". ... And would be interested in BMW's stated position. Honestly sometimes I think they have NO control over their dealerships though.
I believe the choice to offer BG products/services is purely made by individual dealers and I honestly can't imagine the the US subsidiary of BMW would be too excited about the idea.
I would bring my BMW Owners Manual to the dealership, before the oil change, ask them if they were going to insist on putting in BG MOA, and then show them the Owner's Manual text about no additives.
Then tell them "Are you guys trying to void my engine warranty?". ... And would be interested in BMW's stated position. Honestly sometimes I think they have NO control over their dealerships though.
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I believe the choice to offer BG products/services is purely made by individual dealers and I honestly can't imagine the the US subsidiary of BMW would be too excited about the idea.
I would bring my BMW Owners Manual to the dealership, before the oil change, ask them if they were going to insist on putting in BG MOA, and then show them the Owner's Manual text about no additives.
Then tell them "Are you guys trying to void my engine warranty?". ... And would be interested in BMW's stated position. Honestly sometimes I think they have NO control over their dealerships though.
Indeed true. Case in point, a few years ago I noticed an engine oil additive product being sold at my preferred dealer. I called BMWNA to ask about it. BMWNA said said no, and the product, temporarily I might add, disappeared from the dealers shelves.
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I believe the choice to offer BG products/services is purely made by individual dealers and I honestly can't imagine the the US subsidiary of BMW would be too excited about the idea.
I would bring my BMW Owners Manual to the dealership, before the oil change, ask them if they were going to insist on putting in BG MOA, and then show them the Owner's Manual text about no additives.
Then tell them "Are you guys trying to void my engine warranty?". ... And would be interested in BMW's stated position. Honestly sometimes I think they have NO control over their dealerships though.
Indeed true. Case in point, a few years ago I noticed an engine oil additive product being sold at my preferred dealer. I called BMWNA to ask about it. BMWNA said said no, and the product, temporarily I might add, disappeared from the dealers shelves.
I know some dealer I bought a car from in the past offered the BG treatment regime.
I was somewhat interested until I saw the prices and then slowly realized that it wasn't something that was backed by the car maker.
I was somewhat interested until I saw the prices and then slowly realized that it wasn't something that was backed by the car maker.
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
They used the correct oil, and BG MOA will do no harm.
Moving forward I'd use an LL01 (any LL01) approved oil and follow the factory schedule.
Use OEM, Mann, Mahle, or Hengst filters.
^^^^
What he said. I would just pick up Castrol 0W40 in Wal mart.
I would stay away in future from any additives.
They used the correct oil, and BG MOA will do no harm.
Moving forward I'd use an LL01 (any LL01) approved oil and follow the factory schedule.
Use OEM, Mann, Mahle, or Hengst filters.
^^^^
What he said. I would just pick up Castrol 0W40 in Wal mart.
I would stay away in future from any additives.
Originally Posted by kschachn
So why a BMW dealer would do otherwise is a mystery to me I guess.
I suspect BG bothers a lot of dealers to use this as an upsell. I've seen it at more than one dealer here. If a dealer has an additive upsell in their oil change package here, it's going to be BG. My response would be that if they have no faith in their service fill, why don't they change service fills.
So why a BMW dealer would do otherwise is a mystery to me I guess.
I suspect BG bothers a lot of dealers to use this as an upsell. I've seen it at more than one dealer here. If a dealer has an additive upsell in their oil change package here, it's going to be BG. My response would be that if they have no faith in their service fill, why don't they change service fills.
BG used to come to every dealer I was at and push for the sales. You kept the caps with a code on it, and turned them in for I think 1$ per cap, so it was a little bonus to the techs to upsell besides the usual easy labor. I remember we had a huge machine that was like $5K from them just to do their "performance brake flush" You hooked up all the bleeders to the machine and screwed the cap on, and the machine "performance flushed" the lines, multiple times. It was a $185 brake flush 15 years ago, I sell "normal brake flushes for 125-145 at my shop now, with my 125$ power bleeder thats 5 years old and still works, so gives you an idea of how much they were overcharging. Theyd also sell you their brake pad conditioner, which was pretty much just liquid graphite youd soak into the pad face which added about 20 mins to the brake job while you waited for it to dry. Never worked on the higher performance Brembo style brakes on the ML500 and ML55 at the time and I remember them taking longer to break in. I would consistently get into scuffs with the advisors who would just add those services onto the estimate and try to upsell. Most times it was done already and I would mention to check the VMI, they wouldnt care it was another 100-150 in their pocket and most times the customer would not know what was done previously. I moved up to the prep department right after and it was alot better running Mercedes internal lines for repairs needed right off of the car carrier, as opposed to the customer. This was before the collapse as well, so they may run a tighter ship now.
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Originally Posted by M1256
All good points of interest. Since I'm only doing 5,000 to 6,000 miles a year, I'm going to use Castrol 0w40, and a Mahle oil filter, exactly what I used in our old E46.
Since? You believe that's all it's good for?
All good points of interest. Since I'm only doing 5,000 to 6,000 miles a year, I'm going to use Castrol 0w40, and a Mahle oil filter, exactly what I used in our old E46.
Since? You believe that's all it's good for?
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