In the Age of "Maintenance Free" Cars

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

When I grew up, car maintenance was extensive and at times expensive. A tune-up was required periodically (points, plugs, condenser), oil was to be changed every 3k miles, mufflers had to be replaced regularly (see Midas commercials of the day), tires were crap, and so on.

Now, not so much.

My wife's Beemer (2017 3-series) has only required an oil change when the car tells you (roughly 10k miles), and...that's been about it.

But she "loves" this car and is threatening to keep it until they pry Charlton Heston's gun from his cold, dead hands. We are at about 76,000 miles, and it has been a flawless, trouble-free, inexpensive ride until now. For some reason we are going through a quart of oil every 1500 miles or so; not sure whether to press the Panic Button over that. (There is no dip stick; the car tells you when your oil is low, and you have to let the car check it self while the engine is idling).

But I think I have to bite the bullet. A combination of BMW owner sites and the owner's manual recommend several things either now or shoulda been done already, namely,

• Replace brake fluid (water gets into the lines and causes rust),
• Replace engine coolant (similar),
• Spark Plugs,
• Ignition Coils (I don't even know what that is. Are there four of them or only one?), and of course,
• Oil and filter.

Transmission fluid and other fluids seem to be "permanent." In fact, they tell you NOT to change the transmission fluid.

Anyone here knowledgeable to add any thoughts? I think this whole service is going to run about $600 - NOT at the BMW dealer. The good thing is, my mechanic will not do anything that isn't necessary. He has proven invaluable in similar situations in the past with European cars.

Yes. Former BMW owner. If you are not mechanically inclined, then it's going to cost you. My M3 & M5 were mostly engineered for track speed and handling, and that came with the pitfalls of such.

However, if you want to do any of the above you mention, which is all solid info., there are instructional videos that could probably help you out at about 1/3 cost from your local auto parts store. Use your Inn3rt00bz.

If you choose to trust your mechanic, hopefully he'll keep it running for a long time. If successful, Beemers can be incredible automobiles. Tons of fun.

 

[Clipper]

When I grew up, car maintenance was extensive and at times expensive. A tune-up was required periodically (points, plugs, condenser), oil was to be changed every 3k miles, mufflers had to be replaced regularly (see Midas commercials of the day), tires were crap, and so on.

Now, not so much.

My wife's Beemer (2017 3-series) has only required an oil change when the car tells you (roughly 10k miles), and...that's been about it.

But she "loves" this car and is threatening to keep it until they pry Charlton Heston's gun from his cold, dead hands. We are at about 76,000 miles, and it has been a flawless, trouble-free, inexpensive ride until now. For some reason we are going through a quart of oil every 1500 miles or so; not sure whether to press the Panic Button over that. (There is no dip stick; the car tells you when your oil is low, and you have to let the car check it self while the engine is idling).

But I think I have to bite the bullet. A combination of BMW owner sites and the owner's manual recommend several things either now or shoulda been done already, namely,

• Replace brake fluid (water gets into the lines and causes rust),
• Replace engine coolant (similar),
• Spark Plugs,
• Ignition Coils (I don't even know what that is. Are there four of them or only one?), and of course,
• Oil and filter.

Transmission fluid and other fluids seem to be "permanent." In fact, they tell you NOT to change the transmission fluid.

Anyone here knowledgeable to add any thoughts? I think this whole service is going to run about $600 - NOT at the BMW dealer. The good thing is, my mechanic will not do anything that isn't necessary. He has proven invaluable in similar situations in the past with European cars.

BMW stands for "bring my wallet". Your first mistake was listening to BMW's 10,000 mile oil change reccomendation. The only way an engine will last with 10,000 mile oil changes is if the mileage is mostly highway, & I don't care what car makers reccomend. If I were you I would start changing the oil every 5000 miles using FULL synthetic & hope for the best. If you're lucky the engine isn't loaded with carbon which is what happens when oil changes are not done. If it is, get rid of it unless you want to spend $10,000 on a new engine.

 

[Clipper]

Do everything on the list and have someone determine the cause of your oil leak, or better yet, grab a couple jack stands and secure it when jacked up and look it over from underneath. Be sure to wipe everything down, use a degreaser if you have to, and then look it over again in a few weeks. As a VW owner, I've learned these German cars only get expensive when you ignore doing regular maintenance on them, otherwise they are far more dependable than their American counterparts.

They are expensive to repair if you don't look for replacement parts from elsewhere. My window switch bank on the drivers side door lost a couple swtiches working (likely due to a design flaw that allows water onto them when opening door in the rain) so I bought the 4 switch bank at the dealer for $150, only to find something identical on Amazon for $25. Thankfully I returned the part to the dealer and got my refund. The Amazon switch bank was exactly the same as the original VW part.

Eurooean cars ain't what they used to be. At 70-80,000 miles they turn into money pits because they're cheaply made, poorly designed & engineered & loaded with plastic parts that eventually crack etc.

 

[sparky]

Anyone here knowledgeable to add any thoughts?

well DG, anything i'd have to add would be old news....

~S~

 

[Clipper]

there is no oil leak. I wonder if a heavier oil could help. The book says 0-20. I trust my mechanic. I'll be interested to see what he thinks (Thursday).

Do NOT put heavier oil in that car. If you do you'll destroy your engine. Use what is in the manuel & that's it.

 

[Clipper]

Here is an image of the ignition coils, which now plug right into the spark plugs.

There is no reason to replace one that is working, and no wear goes on over time. They just randomly fail eventually.

Yep & OEM coils are a must. Aftermarket coils are crap & can cause all kinds of problems.

 

[Cellblock2429]

BMW stands for "bring my wallet". Your first mistake was listening to BMW's 10,000 mile oil change reccomendation. The only way an engine will last with 10,000 mile oil changes is if the mileage is mostly highway, & I don't care what car makers reccomend. If I were you I would start changing the oil every 5000 miles using FULL synthetic & hope for the best. If you're lucky the engine isn't loaded with carbon which is what happens when oil changes are not done. If it is, get rid of it unless you want to spend $10,000 on a new engine.

/——/ Full synthetic every 4,000 miles for my Volvos.

 

[Clipper]

/——/ Full synthetic every 4,000 miles for my Volvos.

Good idea. Oil changes are cheap compared with engine rebuilds, replacements.

 

[DudleySmith]

Motor oil breaks down over time just sitting there, so it needs to be changed at least once a year whether the car is driven or not. I change mine every 3 months in the summer, less frequently in cooler weather; I own three vehicles, I rarely put over 3,000 miles on any one of them, my wife averages 5,000/year. It gets really hot here so frequent changes are a good idea. I flush the transmissions every two years, brakes every 3. The type of gas you burn also is a factor in how well your motor oil stands up. Burn dirty crap fuel and it degrades the motor oil.

 

[Jarlaxle]

BMW stands for "bring my wallet". Your first mistake was listening to BMW's 10,000 mile oil change reccomendation. The only way an engine will last with 10,000 mile oil changes is if the mileage is mostly highway, & I don't care what car makers reccomend. If I were you I would start changing the oil every 5000 miles using FULL synthetic & hope for the best. If you're lucky the engine isn't loaded with carbon which is what happens when oil changes are not done. If it is, get rid of it unless you want to spend $10,000 on a new engine.

Depends in part on the oil capacity. I drove trucks with 10K oil change intervals, and 300,000+ miles was normal. Of course, they held 16 quarts of oil. The trucks at work go 20K...and hold 9.6 gallons.