Hi all,I'm looking at a 2001 E39 BMW 530i with 140k. It has FSH with the last stamp at 139k. There are 6 stamps in total, meaning that this car has covered an average of 23k miles between services.Now, to me, this seems like a long time. Is it at the top end of what you can generally eek out of a car like the 530i when most of your journeys are long distance Motorway cruises, or is there a worrying possibility that the previous owner of this car has been driving around with the Red service light showing?I am aware that the distance the car travels between services is calculated using the average mpg of the car - this particular car is a manual, so reasonably economy is possible on Motorway journeys at sensible speed..For what its worth, the car has had just one owner from new - so I'd like to think that if you've paid £32,000 for a brand new BMW you would then at least service it properly..Any ideas?Cheers,Michael

The service intervals are much more complex than that - the ECU monitorsthe condition of the oil as part of it's decision making. A 530i willhave been a director's company car, no doubt, which means it'll havespend a lot of time cruising up and down motorways where oil will remainin good condition for many miles. I wouldn't worry about it myself.

E39 530i Service Intervals - Maximum safe interval?

Aug 30, 2006 23 Replies

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Adrian 19 years ago

Jeff Strickland ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I've got one with a 1500 mile engine oil change interval.

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Fred W 19 years ago

That doesn't seem to account for the real need to change the oil more often if you make a lot of short trips.

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Pete 19 years ago

"Fred W" wrote

Well, it kind of does, because short trips = cold engine = higher fuel consumption. And aside from the mileage, there is also the time factor. Doesn't the manual say you should change the oil once a year, regardless of miles?

Pete

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PC Paul 19 years ago

My old Supra used to change it's own every 1000 miles or so...

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