Servicing my own car?

[PulsarET]

Can check our countryman. Our old 120d was 18k/2 years.

[PulsarET]

Just checked our SD countryman, has 4k on the clock and wants a service in another 16k and/or 07/2015.

[Gizmo]

I don't want to start a internet/forum fight over service schedules, you will never sell me the idea of long life servicing in a million years, and I've been in the trade for 15 years (Bikes). Its just my personal choice of what a know and have seen. I'm out

 

You would cringe at the oil change intervals on a modern 40 Tonne truck then! (well over 70K miles)

 

Oil has evolved a very long way since the days when everything ran on something like 20-50 etc.

[gadgetman]

I don't want to start a internet/forum fight over service schedules, you will never sell me the idea of long life servicing in a million years, and I've been in the trade for 15 years (Bikes). Its just my personal choice of what a know and have seen. I'm out

It's perfectly fine to have a personal view of dislike.

Many members do dislike/not trust, but it's when it's sold to others asking the question that a potentially false idea is spread. I'm all for hard facts though if anyone has any.

[Ootohere]

Companies change things and change them most often & quickest often in Countries or jurisdictions where Legal & Federal Actions are being taken against them.

 

eg US of A, where failures have been occurring and the expense to BMW might be very high.

VAG might act quicker in the EU with their failures if Legal Actions against them had and real outcome.

ie Twincharger Failures which they know the reason for, but they still give owners with faulty engines the run around.

 

http://e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=868291

[bluecar1]

my old citreon BX 1.9 XUD was 5k oil and 30k timing belt changes,

 

but that was in the days of mineral oils, with indirect injection that used to soot the oil something horrible, I missed a service and it came out like tar

 

also in them days it was high sulphur diesel, and if you did not use quality oils the sulphur in the fuel when burnt used to turn into sulphuric acid, so would start to eat the metal once the alkaline buffer in the oil was used up

 

so with low sulphur fuels, modern synthetic oil technology, accurate fuel injection metering and control which limit oil contamination and oil quality sensors are some of the reasons service intervals have increased to variable distances

[Guest]

bluecar is absolutely right about the improvements that have led to increased serviced intervals, especially variable servicing. In the days when I drove 25k per year, I've had cars on variable servicing that have not need anything doing until 30,000 miles. All on the same oil. But as Gadget man says, it's all down to that oil temperature as to whether you can use variable successfully. Diesels are much more prone to oil sludge due their lower combustion temperature, leading to slower warm ups and generally lower operating temps. Petrols are much better in that respect. But neither will avoid sludge on variable servicing if used for shorter journeys. Just how it is.