Maintenance Questions

[ed116]

Hey guys my bmw is at 108,000 KM 2015 X5 35i

I was recently getting an oil change and they were trying to sell me on a few services

a) fuel injector flush ... is this such a thing? I've never heard of this ... but then again this is my first bmw ... does the n55 have fuel injection?

b) coolant flush ... front desk said it was black should be blue ... does coolant even go bad?

These were quoted at $189/199 + applicable taxes (CAD)


Also should I be doing any transmission flush/diff flush? is that more preventative or required

Also at what Kms should i do my spark plugs?

Car runs flawlessly right now and would like to keep it this way

FYI 108,000 Kms is roughly 67000 miles

i hardly drive anymore since i got a job thats a 20 minute walk ... i dnt beat on the car hardly carries more then 2 people now adays

[Chicane_S54]

Yes, coolant goes bad, it breaks down just like oil and it gets contaminants just like oil. Coolant flush is legit. Injector flush? Just buy yourself some Techron and drop it in the tank every oil change.

There is a BMW injector cleaner but it is made for use when pulling the injectors and using an injector cleaning machine. I can guarantee you that is not what they are talking about doing. They are just going to drop some Techron in your tank.

It;s early to do tranny flush but at 67K I would do the plugs.

[turboawd]

Waste of money.
Coolant lasts a long time. Just wait until you have to change any coolant system parts to do so.
And just use techron or similar in tank cleaner every so often. But even that is not necessary.

[Chicane_S54]

Not a waste of money. A very prudent thing to do and something that can easily be done by any shade-tree mechanic. 2 Gallons of Zerex G-48 $36 2-3 Gallons of distilled water $3. That's $40 for piece of mind. And no special tools. Good strong, coolant inhibits corrosion and prevents overheating.

That is cheap protection for a very expensive engine.

[smyles]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Waste of money.
Coolant lasts a long time. Just wait until you have to change any coolant system parts to do so.
And just use techron or similar in tank cleaner every so often. But even that is not necessary.

This.
And I'd recommend OEM coolant.

[Chicane_S54]

Zerex G48 is the OEM fluid.

[Qsilver7]

BMW USED TO recommend changing the coolant on a 2-4 year interval. You can also have it tested to check if it is up to par.

Currently, it looks like BMW has put the coolant on the same “lifetime” schedule as transmission fluid.

See TIS info: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...enance/1DUJMrq

[Chicane_S54]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

BMW USED TO recommend changing the coolant on a 2-4 year interval. You can also have it tested to check if it is up to par.

Currently, it looks like BMW has put the coolant on the same “lifetime” schedule as transmission fluid.

See TIS info: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...enance/1DUJMrq

Right and as we ALL know those "lifetime" schedules are a joke and were ONLY put in place to save BMW money on their maintenance plans. If BMW recommends lifetime service then why is the BMW DEALERSHIP recommending that he change and pay for coolant change??

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by Chicane_S54

Right and as we ALL know those "lifetime" schedules are a joke and were ONLY put in place to save BMW money on their maintenance plans. If BMW recommends lifetime service then why is the BMW DEALERSHIP recommending that he change and pay for coolant change??

Simple. It's easy money for them. That's if they even change it because you won't be able to tell by looking.
You can't compare lifetime coolant to lifetime trans fluid. Totally different.
Coolant isn't like transmission fluid that gets burnt and dirty. There's no parts that wear in the coolant system. Coolant doesn't get burnt. Coolant circulates in a closed system and just transfers heat.

[Chicane_S54]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Simple. It's easy money for them. That's if they even change it because you won't be able to tell by looking.
You can't compare lifetime coolant to lifetime trans fluid. Totally different.
Coolant isn't like transmission fluid that gets burnt and dirty. There's no parts that wear in the coolant system. Coolant doesn't get burnt. Coolant circulates in a closed system and just transfers heat.

And my response to them is going to be "but lifetime coolant" and their response is going to be what I just said in the above post, it's to save BMW maintenance money.

As far as replacing the coolant itself, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about get yourself an education:

https://www.cbac.com/clermont/media-...-a-coolant-fl/

And stop spreading false information.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Simple. It's easy money for them. That's if they even change it because you won't be able to tell by looking.
You can't compare lifetime coolant to lifetime trans fluid. Totally different.
Coolant isn't like transmission fluid that gets burnt and dirty. There's no parts that wear in the coolant system. Coolant doesn't get burnt. Coolant circulates in a closed system and just transfers heat.

The PH level of all coolant changes over time. It certainly wears out eventually.

[sukhk527]

100% need to flush coolant every 2 years or 20k miles. No question. Same goes for brake fluid.

ZF recommends gearbox service as early as 40-50k miles which is what I follow. I’m at 72k and have already done the trans service twice and all driveline fluids are due again at 80k.

Plugs every 30k on a stock tune car.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

100% need to flush coolant every 2 years or 20k miles. No question. Same goes for brake fluid.

ZF recommends gearbox service as early as 40-50k miles which is what I follow. I’m at 72k and have already done the trans service twice and all driveline fluids are due again at 80k.

Plugs every 30k on a stock tune car.

This seems a little overly cautious, but if it works for you go for it.

Plugs on the n55 are called for only every 60k. Is you car the v8?

[sukhk527]

Originally Posted by tlow98

This seems a little overly cautious, but if it works for you go for it.

Plugs on the n55 are called for only every 60k. Is you car the v8?

Nah it’s the N55. I started getting cold start misfires around 35k miles on my own car so ended up replacing them at that time. But agree, I’ve gone a bit further in the name of reliability and longevity.