Originally Posted By: TambourineMan
I am trying to find out which oils are BMW approved in case there is a problem with my engine while it's still under warranty. If I were to have a problem while under warranty and they found that I had used an unapproved oil, they could deny coverage. I called BMW and they verbally told me the approved brands and the SAE's, but what good is that 3 years from now? I did not record the conversation. There are numerous references in this thread about unapproved oils, so somewhere there must be information about which ones are approved. Why is it such a big secret?
No secret - if you're that concerned use the dealer supplied oil - it's as good as any aftermarket product, it's approved and it's not over-priced.
As for what's approved for your engine, there is a dealer-only document that indicates which "approvals" like LL-xx are "approved" for which engine family. As for which oils meet those specs, just look on the bottle. BMW stopped publishing a list of approved oils in 2006 or so.
Generally, if it's LL-01 it's approved for any non-M engine up until about 2005 or so. It's ok for most after that too, but there might be some restrictions because of Valvetronic that change the situation some. That I don't know.
I am trying to find out which oils are BMW approved in case there is a problem with my engine while it's still under warranty. If I were to have a problem while under warranty and they found that I had used an unapproved oil, they could deny coverage. I called BMW and they verbally told me the approved brands and the SAE's, but what good is that 3 years from now? I did not record the conversation. There are numerous references in this thread about unapproved oils, so somewhere there must be information about which ones are approved. Why is it such a big secret?
No secret - if you're that concerned use the dealer supplied oil - it's as good as any aftermarket product, it's approved and it's not over-priced.
As for what's approved for your engine, there is a dealer-only document that indicates which "approvals" like LL-xx are "approved" for which engine family. As for which oils meet those specs, just look on the bottle. BMW stopped publishing a list of approved oils in 2006 or so.
Generally, if it's LL-01 it's approved for any non-M engine up until about 2005 or so. It's ok for most after that too, but there might be some restrictions because of Valvetronic that change the situation some. That I don't know.