[simonbenn]

Hi folks,

My 330d ('55) has started to flash an oil warning every so often in the last week. I've checked the level after a 20 min drive and and it's low, but I had an oil change in Sept. Would you regard this as unusual for a car that does city commute 20 miles a day?

So given that I'm disappearing off to France in the next few weeks I need to get this sorted. BMW want £230 for an oil service! So I'm tempted to get this done cheaper. Should I just suck it up and be done with it?

I'm up to 50K - any truth to the stories that oil starts to get consumed faster / starts to leak from the 3.0 diesels about now? at least that's what my searches suggest.

1. Can someone please look in their manual? - I don't have one to hand at work and tell me the oil grade recommended. (330d auto)

2. Where do I buy this magic elixir in a hurry? retail outlet please.

I think it's this but I'm not sure: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...9&postcount=10

Appreciate any help on this.

Regards

Simon

As an aside I'm also after a detailer who visits in the Harrow area. Any personal recomendations? Thx.

[Jude1]

You'll need an LL-04 approved oil such as Castrol Edge 0w-30 or similar, if you need it today then try your local Halfords as the stock this. Failing this try Opie Oils and they'll have a few options for you and can normally send it for next day delivery. Worst case nip to your friendly BMW Dealer.

[PhilR]

Simon,

I have same car as you (56 plate) and I tend to top my oil every 8 weeks. I have gone through about 2 litres in the past 16 months as top up only. It's done 30K but to be honest it's using less now than it was last Year?

Halfords sell the oil you need. Castrol Edge OW-15 I think but check your manual. It's pricey at around £14 a litre.

I would avoid an oil change at the dealer if at all possible unless it's in for a proper service too. They will charge circa £100 for supply of the oil alone. You could however buy your own and insist they use that - some customers do this.

Not sure exactly how much oil the engine takes but reckon you'll need around 5 litres - this will be in car manual too.

PhilR

[Jude1]

Originally Posted by PhilR

Simon,

I have same car as you (56 plate) and I tend to top my oil every 8 weeks. I have gone through about 2 litres in the past 16 months as top up only. It's done 30K but to be honest it's using less now than it was last Year?

Halfords sell the oil you need. Castrol Edge OW-15 I think but check your manual. It's pricey at around £14 a litre.

I would avoid an oil change at the dealer if at all possible unless it's in for a proper service too. They will charge circa £100 for supply of the oil alone. You could however buy your own and insist they use that - some customers do this.

Not sure exactly how much oil the engine takes but reckon you'll need around 5 litres - this will be in car manual too.

PhilR

Hi Phil,

You are more than likely using 0w-30 and not 0w-15. Your oil useage also appears to be quite high though.

Jules.

[rogerxp]

I'm about to sound a complete novice here but my 330d is my first ever deisel - should I be putting more oil in it compared to a petrol??? Only had the car 9 weeks, it's an '06' Manual on 40k (bought on 39k), but I hardly do any mileage. I presume the car will tell me when it's thirsty???

[Jude1]

On the 335d you have to check the dipstick, whereas on the 335i the on board display notifies you if the oil is low. I would say that the 330d is the same as the 335d.

In the "olden" days then the diesels used to use a fair bit of oil, nowadays the useage is comparable with petrol engines. I thought mine would use more than it has but at 30k in 12 months it's used about a litre or so.

Jules.

[330cdsport]

I have put about a half litre into my car (335d) and it has now done 8.5K in just over a year. I did drive it hard from day one and supposedly this helps it to bed in better and use less oil.

[PhilR]

Originally Posted by Jude1

Hi Phil,

You are more than likely using 0w-30 and not 0w-15. Your oil useage also appears to be quite high though.

Jules.

I stand corrected Jude, it is 0W-30 (not sure where I got the 15 from). I thought the oil usage was high too, even for a diesel. It has slowed of late though and not put any in for the last 8 weeks or so. Maybe the remap has something to do with this?

I've done 22K in 16/17 months and added 2 litres. Bought a gallon of it 2 months ago and not had to use any since - sods law

PhilR

[Jude1]

Originally Posted by PhilR

I stand corrected Jude, it is 0W-30 (not sure where I got the 15 from). I thought the oil usage was high too, even for a diesel. It has slowed of late though and not put any in for the last 8 weeks or so. Maybe the remap has something to do with this?

I've done 22K in 16/17 months and added 2 litres. Bought a gallon of it 2 months ago and not had to use any since - sods law

PhilR

That sounds ok. No engine is the same so useage may vary, plus it sounds like it may have stabilised a little now.

Jules.

[simonbenn]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. It appears that there are 2 common oils approved that meet the BMW LL-04 spec. There are others..

Castrol Edge 0w30 : This is what most of the internet says is recommended for the 3.0d
Mobil 1 ESP 5W30: This is what the service guy at BMW says they use.

So the current price is 44/47 at halfords (groan) and I suspect I need a full 6.4L. Any better deals out there? I can't rely on the internal mail service delivering this stuff, so will have to collect it. PITA.

Still looking for the relevant scans of the manual. Anyone?

Simon

[Jude1]

Simon,

The manual states:

Diesel Engines
Preferred: BMW Longlife-04
Alternatively: BMW Lnglife-01, BMW Longlife-98 or ACEA A3/BA
BMW Recommends Castrol.

It doesn't mention anything about grades.

The important thing is that as long as it meets the aboves criteria it should be fine, with Longlife-04 being the preference, with this in mind then both of the oils you've mentioned are fine, some Dealers are now also using Halvoline and the Comma oil mentioned in the link above is also fine.

There are also the following oils if you can source them:

Motul 8100 5w-40 LL04
Motul 5w-40 LL04
Fuchs Titan GT1 5w-30 LL04 (same as Texaco Halvoline)

Hope this helps,
Jules.

[simonbenn]

Thanks Jules.

So I've just found a stockist of the Comma Syner-Z 5w30 locally to me and he's open until 7pm. He's asking £38.50 for 5l as opposed to 47 for 4l. Much better. If I find any other prices of note I'll just keep adding them for reference in the future.

Regards,

Simon