Oil change interval in negative numbers?

[wdb]

Should the oil change interval have a minus sign at the beginning? I just bought this car and it is my first BMW, thus my first exposure to their notification system. I'm hoping that I didn't buy a car that is past due for service...

[RobMCoupe]

No. It means you are overdue for inspection or oil service.

[wdb]

Poo. To the phones...

[Twixboy]

Doh, how many negative miles to service and how many total miles on the car? If it's near the 60,000 mark then you could've negotiated another $1000 off for the full inspection II service including oil service, manual transmission fluid, diff fluid, brake fluid flush, coolant flush, engine air filter, cabin air filter, and spark plugs.

[itdnwiwbp]

I think at -60,000 since an oil change you probably should have run the other direction. Hopefully it's significantly less than that.

[Westersund]

The car might be serviced but they forgot to reset the service interval indicator, wouldn't be the first time.

[elerner61]

One might think at -60,000 miles the car would have the hands-free phone system say something like "COME ON, CHANGE MY DAMN OIL!!"

[Kimo]

The guy just bought his first BMW, a Z4, has 30 posts, never said that his car said MINUS 60K, and we're scaring the shite out of him?

To the OP: Not sure what your 2007's mileage is, but at 50K the car is out of warranty, and many of us choose to forgo the formal dealer inspection and service and either DIY or take it to an indy, who may or may not reset the lights.

If you can determine what service was was actually done, and when, great. If not, change your fluids (esp. oil and brake), check your brakes, CHANGE your cabin microfilter that is sure to be stuffed with leaves if never changed (search here for DIY), check your soft top drainage tubes for clear flow, search here for how to reset your service interval lights, and then go out and enjoy your new car at the price you negotiated it at. No need to doubt yourself - plenty of nice examples with errant service interval indicators.

Service Engine Soon or SRS light? A completely different story.

[Twixboy]

Originally Posted by elerner61

One might think at -60,000 miles the car would have the hands-free phone system say something like "COME ON, CHANGE MY DAMN OIL!!"

LOL, I was asking how many miles were on the car. 60,000 miles on the car means the service indicator is telling the OP it's time for the expensive Inspection II service plus the other fluid changes I noted in my post above.

[wdb]

44.5K miles and I don't scare easily.

Seriously, thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. It turns out that there is an indy shop near me that has a very good online rep. I had planned on taking the car there anyway, but this accelerated the timetable. The car is going there next week. In the meantime it will sit very still.

Truth be told, I bought the car ~80% on impulse. I saw it, loved the look, drove it, and had to have it - or one like it. I did some research but obviously not enough. If I come out of this with only an overdue oil change I'll consider myself very fortunate.

[Efthreeoh]

So resetting the service lights on the 2006 and up E85/E86 Z4 is a PIA, which is why it probably was not reset at the last service. I have the Bav Tech scan tool and it does not reset the service interval. The service interval with the N52 is a hybrid of BMW,s conditioned based service for the N52 and the "Inspection 1" / "Inspection 2" service scheme of old. The resetting of the service lights is a bit complicated on the E85/E86 2006 on up. I can't speak to the pre-N52 cars however. There is a DIY to reset the service intervals. I suggest performing an Inspection 2 service (includes an engine oil change and air filter) to baseline the service intervals on the car and start from there. Being this is your first BMW you'll find the oil change interval to be too long as compared to what you are used to. The OCI can go up to and past 15,000 miles. It freaks most people out.

Good luck.

[Vanne]

I wouldent worry too much.. :-D
Ring the dude you bought the car from, see whats what, if it wasnt done, dont worry, take it to an indy and get it done. pretty simple.

Its not like your driving an iminent exploding bomb.
Unlike some other brands we won't speak of

[wdb]

Thanks, that's good advice on setting a personal maintenance baseline. Indy shop has the full BMW setup for accessing computers/codes so I'm confident they'll be able to handle the service indicator. They even do keys, which I need because the car only came with one.

[Twixboy]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So resetting the service lights on the 2006 and up E85/E86 Z4 is a PIA, which is why it probably was not reset at the last service. I have the Bav Tech scan tool and it does not reset the service interval. The service interval with the N52 is a hybrid of BMW,s conditioned based service for the N52 and the "Inspection 1" / "Inspection 2" service scheme of old. The resetting of the service lights is a bit complicated on the E85/E86 2006 on up. I can't speak to the pre-N52 cars however. There is a DIY to reset the service intervals. I suggest performing an Inspection 2 service (includes an engine oil change and air filter) to baseline the service intervals on the car and start from there. Being this is your first BMW you'll find the oil change interval to be too long as compared to what you are used to. The OCI can go up to and past 15,000 miles. It freaks most people out.

Good luck.

But most people don't go 15,000 miles between oil changes. Do it every 7,500 and you'll be good to go. Actually the OP said in another thread this is going to be a weekend car so he will probably just change the oil once a year regardless of mileage.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Twixboy

Actually the OP said in another thread this is going to be a weekend car so he will probably just change the oil once a year regardless of mileage.

True and true.