How to change the oil on a 2006 BMW 530I 3.0 L I6

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
BMW's supposed to be for enthusiastic car driver, the ones that like to tinker with their cars and DIY'ers.

Really? I suspect only a small minority of BMW owners are DIY'ers. Most just take advantage of the free maintenance and then trade it in at the end of the lease period. That is the kind of customer that BMW is after. They are not after tinkerers and DIY'ers.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Does Audi S5 have a disptick ?

No, but at least it still has a dipstick tube, so it's an easy fix.

 

[fredfactory]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Originally Posted By: Patman
I'm confused, how can you possibly add oil without lifting the hood?
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Osmosis.

Had to clean keyboard. Thanks!

First patent for a top-of-dash oil filler pipe coming soon!!!

 

[fredfactory]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR

For cars that have MSRP under $20k the cost saving of $20-30 with no dipstick tube may make sense, for cars over $40-50k it doesn't make any sense trying to cut $20-30 manufacturing cost.

Of course those cheaper cars don't have one of those electronic sensor modules submerged in the oil pan either, a bigger expense in the first place. Its an oil quality sensor too, BTW, some more expense there. I do wish BMW had both a dipstick and the electronic sensing, really to warn you if you get low on oil and forgot to check the stick in that case.

 

[deven]

I got frustrated with my Audi's electronic oil monitoring system. One day it would show a notch below the max line and the next day it would show at the full mark. So much so frustrated I bought a dipstick. Did an oil change last week, the dipstick showed the oil to be on the full mark but the MMI screen showed it to be overfilled. The next morning checked the MMI screen again and lo and behold it shows the oil to be on the max line. Go figure

 

[Pesca]

All these technical stuff put in the car are aimed at the lease crowd that will not check their oil level (I will get dirty opening the hood... I don't even know how to open it anyway), and will not go change their oil if not ask to.

Like QP said, they are the main buying target for them, moving from leases to leases, and just happy that they can say to their friends that they drive an Audi/BMW/Mercedes.

Did you notice how many white cars there are on the road? It is because it is a no extracost color, so that is what you take when you lease and do not want to pay too much.

 

[Leonardo629]

Originally Posted By: Pesca
All these technical stuff put in the car are aimed at the lease crowd that will not check their oil level (I will get dirty opening the hood... I don't even know how to open it anyway), and will not go change their oil if not ask to.

Like QP said, they are the main buying target for them, moving from leases to leases, and just happy that they can say to their friends that they drive an Audi/BMW/Mercedes.

Did you notice how many white cars there are on the road? It is because it is a no extracost color, so that is what you take when you lease and do not want to pay too much.


A lot of negative sentiments toward leasing folks....there's essentially no difference between leasing and buying a car with installments, just different financial vehicles.

But again, what do I know, I can top off my oil without ever lifting the hood.

 

[Pesca]

I don't see leasing as a sound financial move, but I may have missed something, I don't know.

From what I can see, you can finance a civic or an Accord for the same montly payment as leasing a 3-series or a C-class. Difference is after 3 to 5 years, you have a car on one side which is yours and worth something, and nothing on the other side.

If I missed something, let me know, I am all ears, I am here to learn.

 

[deven]

Originally Posted By: Pesca
I don't see leasing as a sound financial move, but I may have missed something, I don't know.

From what I can see, you can finance a civic or an Accord for the same montly payment as leasing a 3-series or a C-class. Difference is after 3 to 5 years, you have a car on one side which is yours and worth something, and nothing on the other side.

If I missed something, let me know, I am all ears, I am here to learn.

Some people like to change cars every couple of years for whatever reasons. For them leasing is cheaper than buying. You usually can get a much lower monthly note if you lease a vehicle. Just look at BMW 5 series and MB E class can be leased for $469/month or so for a 2 year lease. If you change cars every 2 years leasing is the way to go. People who lease BMWs and C-Class are not going to buy Civics and Accords.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: Pesca
I don't see leasing as a sound financial move, but I may have missed something, I don't know.

From what I can see, you can finance a civic or an Accord for the same montly payment as leasing a 3-series or a C-class. Difference is after 3 to 5 years, you have a car on one side which is yours and worth something, and nothing on the other side.

If I missed something, let me know, I am all ears, I am here to learn.


The difference is warranty or lack thereof and taxes for self-employed. BTW unless you're buying a stripped down model in which case a comparison is moot you'll never have an Accord paid off in 3 years of 3 series level lease payments.


Some people prefer to own a depreciating asset otherwise prefer to rent.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Does Audi S5 have a disptick ?

No, but at least it still has a dipstick tube, so it's an easy fix.

Audi S5 isn't cheap, MSRP staring at more than $50k but doesn't included oil dipstick but has a tube for it. How cheap are German Luxury car makers can be ?

My 2000 E430 didn't have ATF dipstick, the tube was sealed because MB thinks that ATF for that model year was lifetime fluid. I had to buy the so called ATF measuring cable, also bought the seal for the tube. I think that MB was cheap for not include the dipstick for ATF, now BMW and Audi is even much cheaper.

 

[Patman]

I don't think it's a matter of being cheap, it's just new technology that a lot of people on here can't seem to embrace. We don't use a dipstick for our fuel tanks do we? So why do we need one for the oil? Porsche has used an oil level gauge on the dash of their 911s for a long time, so this is not even something all that new.

My wife's 328 has the electronic dipstick and I honestly love it. I've always hated regular dipsticks, I have found them to be very inaccurate and inconsistent in a lot of cars I've owned and I honestly don't even check the oil in my other cars anymore. When I drain the oil I measure how much comes out so I know how much topping up needs to be done on the next OCI. This method has worked well for me for at least the past ten years now.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Audi S5 isn't cheap, MSRP staring at more than $50k but doesn't included oil dipstick but has a tube for it. How cheap are German Luxury car makers can be ?

Maybe Audi doesn't want you to see how filthy the oil is after 10K miles in a DI turbo/SC engine. Using the electronic dipstick prevents you from seeing it, so you don't ask too many questions.

But seriously though, the tube is there to allow for extraction. The dipstick is not necessary when you have an electronic oil level sensor. At least in theory. Again, consider the target market and it all makes sense.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Patman
I don't think it's a matter of being cheap, it's just new technology that a lot of people on here can't seem to embrace. We don't use a dipstick for our fuel tanks do we? So why do we need one for the oil? Porsche has used an oil level gauge on the dash of their 911s for a long time, so this is not even something all that new.

My wife's 328 has the electronic dipstick and I honestly love it. I've always hated regular dipsticks, I have found them to be very inaccurate and inconsistent in a lot of cars I've owned and I honestly don't even check the oil in my other cars anymore. When I drain the oil I measure how much comes out so I know how much topping up needs to be done on the next OCI. This method has worked well for me for at least the past ten years now.

My 2000 MB E430 has dipstick and on-board oil level checking. I prefer the actual dipstick for reason:

When I change oil in Fall I prefer slightly less than full by about 1/2 quarts, the sump is 8.5 quarts I use 8 quarts for a little faster war up in cooler winter temp(not as cold as snow belt but cooler than 80-90F).

I early summer I would like to have full 8.5 quarts in the sump to keep the engine a little cooler in summer heat, with dipstick I now exactly how much I need to add.
-----------------

Before I change the oil with a fluid extractor I check the level on dipstick and verify that with level in the Mityvac container. If the level in the Mityvac is less than what I saw on the dipstick I would try to extract more. And I filled the sump with 8 quarts if I could siphon all used oil. In 10-13k miles my E430 may use up to 1/2 to 1 quart, I don't rely on how much I extract from the sump to fill the engine with same amount.

Yes, the on-board oil level check of my 15 years old E430 doesn't tell the exact amount, it only says: Add, Okay and Overfill.

But in general, electrical sensor of any kind is know to fail after number of miles/years, replacing those sensors are costly compares with dipstick(s). I truly believe in the saying "if it works don't fix it" for the oil dipstick and tube.

I do embrace new techs if it let me do my work better and more efficient, Mityvac 7201 is the kind of new tech I like compares with the old way of oil drain from bottom of the engine.

 

[fdcg27]

On the contrary, many people lease Benzes and BMWs because they can then pretend to be able to afford owning one.
These people would otherwise be buying Civics or Accords and ending up with something to show for the payments they've made.
A lease gives the buyer nothing at its end.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
On the contrary, many people lease Benzes and BMWs because they can then pretend to be able to afford owning one.
These people would otherwise be buying Civics or Accords and ending up with something to show for the payments they've made.
A lease gives the buyer nothing at its end.


Or they simply just don't want to own one of these cars out of warranty. Trust me on this. While what u say is true for many buyers under 30-35 it's usually not the case for the older buyer.

 

[fdcg27]

There are BMWs I'd be happy to own out of warranty, while there are other models I'd avoid.
The original delivery of most of these cars will probably be for a lease, and the leasee isn't too worried, since BMW has their back under warranty if anything goes wrong and they have free maintenance (or lack of adequate maintenance) as well.
The next owner is the guy you want to hear from on the BMW boards.
He's the one who'll do the beta testing to find all of the early failure issues that BMW hadn't yet fixed.
This is how you'd identify which BMW models are worth buying and keeping, just like older folks with money used to do with Mercedes Benz cars back in the day.
We have a number of old BMWs represented here, ranging from my lo-cal 318i 'vert to a hair-chested M5.
Most of us here have had good experience with our old BMWs.
For most of us, they haven't been money pits or especially troublesome to own.

 

[CBR.worm]

I'm surprised there is so much debate about a dipstick. Differentials don't have them, transfer cases don't have them, manual transmissions don't have them, now many autos and engines don't have them.

When was the last time a mainstream BMW had an oil dipstick? Our '04 Audi had one but the dipstick and its plastic tube both broke before 50k miles - so...

Personally I like both approaches and would not avoid purchasing a vehicle due to oil level checking method.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
I'm surprised there is so much debate about a dipstick. Differentials don't have them, transfer cases don't have them, manual transmissions don't have them, now many autos and engines don't have them.

When was the last time a mainstream BMW had an oil dipstick? Our '04 Audi had one but the dipstick and its plastic tube both broke before 50k miles - so...

Personally I like both approaches and would not avoid purchasing a vehicle due to oil level checking method.

Did you watch the video linked by Quattro Pete, first response to OP ? It is a real mess changing oil the old fashion way, oil splashed on over the places, the mechanic had several towels to minimize the mess.

You also see that the cartridge oil filter is on top of the engine, changing both oil and filter can easily done without getting under the car, if there is a dipstick tube to siphon oil with an extractor.

I done changing oil and filter in my MB E430 with dress cloth, and not a single drop of oil got on my cloth or on garage floor.

The main point here is with a good oil dipstick tube one can change oil much easier/faster and no mess with a right tool.

If you ever changed oil and oil filter in a Mercedes' engine with a good fluid extractor, you never understand why no other manufacture do the same.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
I'm surprised there is so much debate about a dipstick. Differentials don't have them, transfer cases don't have them, manual transmissions don't have them, now many autos and engines don't have them.

When was the last time a mainstream BMW had an oil dipstick? Our '04 Audi had one but the dipstick and its plastic tube both broke before 50k miles - so...

Personally I like both approaches and would not avoid purchasing a vehicle due to oil level checking method.



Some of their current diesels have dipsticks. While it's true that differentials and transfer cases don't have them, the issue with these parts revolves around the lack of a drain bolt (BMW differential) or an awkward placed fill hole.