Nearing end of warranty - what to change?

[tranquility]

I'm nearing the end (almost 80,000kms / 49,700 miles) and wonder what do I need to change besides the oil/oil filter? So far, the dealer has recommended the following:
-spark plugs (I think that I need this)
-alignment (not sure)
-injector flush (I only use premium gas: is this even necessary despite my high mileage?)
-brakes (discs+pads for all 4) (I have squealing brakes, probably need this, but discs+pads or just pads? I assume that it must be for all 4 wheels.)

Do you agree with the above? Are there items that should be / not be included? I have a 35i w/ DCT if useful. I've tried to read the lifetime maintenance schedule for our cars and the only thing that popped out are the spark plugs as a MUST CHANGE. I'm not sure about the various other fluids in the car, could you please give me some advice on what MUST be done? I plan on keeping this car for a long time. Thx in advance.

[jparnes1]

Like you, I keeping this car for the long haul. If you mean you read Mike Miller's maintenance schedule, then you should know that more things need to be changed prior to 50K miles than spark plugs. But bascially this is what I do: diff @ 30K, tranny @60K, engine oil @ 7500, spark plugs @ 45K, air filter @ 30K. Microfilter @ 30K,coolant x 2 years, brake fluid x 1 year. Fuel injector cleaner is good to use about every 5K. The injector flush they offer at the dealership is a rip off. Alignment is also something that needs to be determined. Does your car track true? Are your tires wearing evenly?
Rotors are replaced when they're worn too thin, so that has to be determined. My experience, with my style of driving, is that rotors are good for 2 pad changes.
Hope that helps.

[rking117]

Originally Posted by tranquility

I'm nearing the end (almost 80,000kms / 49,700 miles) and wonder what do I need to change besides the oil/oil filter? So far, the dealer has recommended the following:
-spark plugs (I think that I need this)
-alignment (not sure)
-injector flush (I only use premium gas: is this even necessary despite my high mileage?)
-brakes (discs+pads for all 4) (I have squealing brakes, probably need this, but discs+pads or just pads? I assume that it must be for all 4 wheels.)

I usually change discs with pads on all my cars. Sprak plugs are not necessary, they will last well over 100K and even longer if fuel is good and vehicle doesnt overheat. Injector flush - prolly not either premium fuels do a good job if you never use the cheap stuff, AND drive the vehicle more than one a week. If you are in an area where there is ethanol in the fuel it can cause the injectors to gum up if it sits more than a month or so. Ethanol is not good for engines. Alignment, if you dont have unusual tire wear then leave it alone. NO MONKEY WITH ALIGNMENT.

Now what should be changed, tranny fluid for sure, Engine oil and filter, Differential oil is a maybe, Have them check the ball joints upper and lower for excess play. These cars are tight so they have a lot of stress on them. Also flush radiator and note the color of brake fluid. If discolored change it. Have them service and look for leaks/weak spots on the tops hydrolics. and if you still have a few dollars left after all of this then get it washed and waxed.

But seriously though, that is about it. usually nothing else goes bad on these cars or needs to be replaced regularly. I will say the bare minimum i would do is engine oil and tranny fluid. You will be glad you did.

[tranquility]

Hmm, I thought that there would be unanimity re spark plugs. Tranny fluid is coming up. Agree re injector flush....seems like a gimmick anyway. The alignment seems unnecessary as well as my car is still tracking straight and tires look alright.

Would like to hear more views. Thanks for the input so far.

[tranquility]

Ok, so I think that I have to get the brakes changed at the dealership because of the rear brake setup, so no getting around that. How about the oil/oil filter change ($160) and sparkplugs ($290)? Are these prices too high? Did a search and shall I continue using Castrol Edge synthetic 5W-30? Not sure about the type of oil filter, what is the recommended? I read that the sparkplugs are another touchy topic (since a specific type is recommended?), should I stay with the dealership or go to a 3rd party?

Re the tranny and differential fluids, the dealerships are claiming that it's 'lifetime', the fluids are sealed and they're not touching it. Confused here.

Thx in advance.

[ManiacGT]

DCT Transmission fluid and Differential are also considered lifetime here in the UK.

[teagueAMX]

When you talk about rolling over a car warranty, the high points are those suggested above by others, and here's a few of my own. I mention it below, but as a general rule a lot depends on the type of miles you put on the car and your personal driving style and only you can be the judge of that. "k" is us miles x 1,000.

Oil/Fluids
Engine oil - The enemy of engine life is dirty oil and heat breaking down viscosity, especially with a turbo charged engine that make a lot more heat particularly on the exhaust side, plus the engine's oil lubricates/cools the turbos. I disagree with BMW's oil change schedule - I think the intervals are too long, but it also depends on the type of driving you do. If you live in a congested area with a lot of stop and go driving, it's best to change at 3k - 4k miles, otherwise 4k - 5K is good.

DCT fluid - I think that lifetime transmission fluid is wrong as well. What does BMW consider "lifetime" - 100,000 miles, 200,000 miles? Heat is the biggest killer of oil/fluid and a sealed DCT will run pretty cool. Honda's also claim to have lifetime transmission fluid for their pure manual transmissions, but my concern is the dual clutch (friction disks) which share the same fluid as the transmission gears. The DCT clutches don't take as much abuse as automatic transmission clutch packs and you would change that fluid at 60K mile max. The problem is DCTs are relatively new, so the court is still out on this issue. Just a guess but I would suggest 100,000 miles is Ok, but again a lot depends on the type of miles you put on the car and your personal driving style.

Rear end fluid - It doesn't hurt to change it now, but unless you flog the car pretty hard, changing the rear end fluid at 50K miles may be a bit premature. Ask your dealer on this one.

Engine Air filter - it's good to change them along with your engine oil. It's a good idea to change the cabin air filter too.

Spark plugs - With high compression engines and direct injection, spark plugs are good up to at least 45k to 50k miles, some say more, but I agree, now's a good time to change them and then you're good until 90k.

Injector flush - Take that and put it in the same trash bin as nitrogen in your tires. Dealers love to sell gimmicks. Our fuels today have several detergents for this purpose, and Canadian fuel is pretty good quality.

Radiator fluid - Not a bad idea, but I'd change according to dealer recommended schedule, meaning this is not critical at this time and be done at a later date with no real affect to the engine life.

Brakes - I don't put a mileage mark because I take the wheels off and look at mine to decide when to change them, but you don't have luxury. A squeal may be a sign, but might not. Some disk brakes squeal for various reasons and one of them is wear. More likely sound of advanced wear is the metal to metal growling which can also be felt in the pedal. I doubt you have that. The front brakes wear out much faster (approx 2:1 typical) than the rear brakes because of the front braking bias built into your brake system. Otherwise, if your rears braked equal to or harder than the fronts the car would try to swap ends during hard braking. So, you may need only front brakes. If you want to replace them all around, it's OK if you have a better comfort feeling and money isn't a concern.

Alignment - I wouldn't touch it unless you see signs of wear in your tires. Here's a site HOW TO READ TIRE WEAR that shows the signs of excessive tire wear and the causes. Feathering, One Side Wear, and Cupping are definite signs of a poor alignment, otherwise don't mess up a good thing. This goes for the rears as well. BMW has significant negative camber in the setup that causes advanced rear inner tire wear. From the rear of the car get down on your hands and knees to look at your tires at pavement level, and you may notice there is less tread on the inner tire edge. This is due to significant negative camber. A good alignment shop with the latest Hunter alignment equipment can dial out a little bit of the negative camber to extend your tire life.

Dampers - Typically not a problem with only 50k miles, but worth a mention. If you go around a turn quickly or hit bump and notice a "porpoising" motion like a bouncing boat, you may have (a) bad damper(s) that need replacing.

The rest are normal wear and tear so no need to replace early unless called to do so by your dealer, such as a recall.

Good luck and cheers - I hope your Z enjoy many happy and carefree miles.

[tranquility]

Thx, Lion King!

[rking117]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Re the tranny and differential fluids, the dealerships are claiming that it's 'lifetime', the fluids are sealed and they're not touching it. Confused here.

That is what they told me too on my E85. Lifetime tranny fuild... UNTIL... it started making a noise then they were like well we might have to replace the tranny. Ok sure i get it, all they did to fix it was flush the tranny and refill. They did that at 47000 and 97000 miles. both times there was a rubbing sound between SOME gears when shifting hard.

So I DO NOT believe them whent hey say lifetime anything!!!. Take alook on the E85 board there are many post on the subject.

Yes i get that these transmissions are different than the E85. THE fluid is not.

So as for me, I will not be risking it. A new tranny for one of these, well lets just say I hope you have 10k in the bank. 10k = tranny + labor