BMW NA counts on it's customers to be ill-informed/oblivious about their cars. Thats why they recommend a dealer visit for EVERYTHING, ranging from putting 78% nitrogen in the tires to picking lint out of the vents per BMW protocol. Has a habit of lining their pockets too .
Like bun says, we 'Mericans are much more concerned about eating, texting, shaving, phoning, watching TV, reading the paper etc. while we drive our cars than what it takes to sensibly maintain them. Sad.
Castrol does not offer that formula here in the US. It is available in other markets worldwide as are several different Edge products/formulations. The stuff Castrol currently offers here as an Edge product does not meet the standards for LL-01. Curious though that this oil you list is the replacement for SLX Longtec, long thought to be the same formulation for "our" Syntec 0W-30 GC (German Castrol) but has much lower TBN (6 vs. 10 for GC) and is an SM rated oil. GC is still SL due to the zinc and phosphorus additives exceeding the limits for SM.
Now some BMW service centers worldwide may be using this oil, but not here. Bets are here they are still using the same ol BMW High Performance Synthetic 5W-30 (and charging customers $10 a qt. for it ) or something else out of a bulk drum.
WOAH, found cheap Castrol Edge 0w30 bulk seller. Saving this for future reference. Only if I had garage space, I'd get myself a large drum of this stuff.
What SAE oil grades are specifically recommended in writing in the pages of the Owners Manual that came with your car when it was first sold in Australia?
here in London I spoke to BMW and they said they have already changed their oil from Castrol and now sell Shell...however, as an alternative, they recommended that I can use Castrol 0W-30...more specific specs about the new one on my DIY page: http://impee.co.uk/bmw_oil_service.htm
People have to be careful with who they think BMW is. BMW is a car maker. They don't retail cars. There are these joe blow garages who pay BMW a large sum of money in order to use the BMW's name to operate a dealership. Even though they may have a big sign on their building that says BMW, they are not BMW. They are in fact still joe blow. Now what joe blow does with the oil is not representative of what BMW does with the oil. I noticed joe blow often use the cheapest crap they can find and put that in your engine.
If you want to see what BMW, the car maker, is doing with the oil, you have to go to the parts department in a dealer. The department is a separate business entity even though it is physically located in a dealer's premises. The parts department is not permitted to sell non-BMW products. If you go to them and ask oil for your car, you will get the oil that BMW, the car maker, want you to use. I am 100% certain that BMW have not changed the oil to shell, nor to Mobil One, nor to Castrol. What you will get is the BMW oil that was manufacturered on their behalf by Castrol.
Next time joe blow says any BS about oil, just walk down to the parts department and verify.
BTW castrol edge 0w30 is not recommended by BMW. It is an oil approved for topping up. Once again what joe blows says about it has no relevance.
This is going to end with GoingNuts trying to prove his irrelevent and totally imaginative point to the rest of the world. Just like that flywheel thread. Or any other one he trolls in.
I've had my car for a year now and have had two oil changes @ a local garage that only does european cars - I really don't like changing oil in the winter - but since it's still warn enough it's DIY time.
I checked my Bentley & it says 5w30 OR 5w40, so I figure I would just pop on the forum and find exactly what brand/weight of oil to use for the Canadian climate for my 2003 325i M54 engine.
Haha, well, 72 posts later & I still dunno!!! :hmm:
I've had my car for a year now and have had two oil changes @ a local garage that only does european cars - I really don't like changing oil in the winter - but since it's still warn enough it's DIY time.
I checked my Bentley & it says 5w30 OR 5w40, so I figure I would just pop on the forum and find exactly what brand/weight of oil to use for the Canadian climate for my 2003 325i M54 engine.
Haha, well, 72 posts later & I still dunno!!! :hmm:
Maybe ask the local garage you used what brand of oil they poured in your engine.
Another approach would be to buy the oil from your local BMW stealership.
I think you'll find that combing the motor oil aisle at Crappy Tire will not yield an LL-01 oil.
If you call BMW North America and talk to them on the telephone they will tell you that any 5w-30 or 5w-40 synthetic oil from a brand name supplier will do in a pinch.
bun owners manual page #146 says "Use only an approved grade of
"Long-life" oil. "BMW Service can provide details of the "Long-life" and "Special" oils approved by BMW for your car's engine. ACEA: A3 mentioned
Viscosities
Choice of the correct SAE oil classification depends on the climatic conditions in which your BMW is operated. BMW recommends the use of oil classified SAE 0W-X or SAE 5W-X. In this case X stands for any upper value, e.g. 30, 40, 50.
I don't have a problem. But this guy ^ above seems to have one. Can anyone tell/decode for me what his problem is ? The BMW oil is not natural, hence it is called a synthetic oil.
Wow I haven't posted on one of these oil threads in a while...
'Recommended' - A marketing term to get people to buy a specific item when there may be other items that meet the same specs.
'Approved' - A term used to encompass all the items that meet the specs set forth by the manufacturer. Also includes the items listed as 'recommended'.
Therefore, ignore the 'recommended' label and buy 'approved' oils. As long as they are LL-01 then they are for all intents and purposes as good as the recommended ones, without the marketing spin.
Hell an 'approved' oil could become a 'recommended' oil one day if Castrol and BMW have a falling out as it meets the correct specs.
Title of document: "BMW Recommended/Approved synthetic oils doc."
Direct quote: "BMW Long-life rating LL-01 Approved Synthetic Oils for the US Market"......"you may top up the oil level with one of the following approved synthetic oils"
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