Conditional Based Servicing - do you rely on it?
Discussion
MattOz said:
CBS for brakes and things is ok. For oil services, I always do an interim (but dont reset the indicator) as I think 15-20k between oil changes is too much. Never had a problem
Agree with this wholeheartedly.I think the rest relies on a bit of commonsense rather than blind faith in the system. If you're doing 5k a year and CBS intervals are therefore quite far apart, it probably doesn't hurt to get things checked/changed ahead of schedule. If you're doing mega miles, the CBS intervals are probably less of an issue as they're likely coming up every year or not far off anyway.
I also agree with the intermediate oil change and do it myself.
I would also check the brake pads rather than rely on CBS. There is one sensor on the front left wheel and one on the rear right, so only two of the eight pads are monitered. It's too much to expect that all pads will wear evenly and at the same rate, especially as the car gets older.
I would also check the brake pads rather than rely on CBS. There is one sensor on the front left wheel and one on the rear right, so only two of the eight pads are monitered. It's too much to expect that all pads will wear evenly and at the same rate, especially as the car gets older.
silent ninja said:
My car has an emissions test due but I've only had it 6 weeks. What's stranger is that I can change the due date and it no longer comes up as a warning. What is the purpose of this?
You can reset most, if not all, of the service indicators without actually doing the service. They're simply a reminder, nothing more.When I bought my ex company car Golf it was configured for VW's 'long life' service schedule which was set up for conditional based servicing. As a result of this the cars service history was quite sparse and didn't instill much confidence so a couple of months after purchase I had a major service and had the service schedule changed back to time / distance.
Unlike BMW, VW's conditional based 'long life' servicing seems to be more about pleasing fleet managers and keeping their costs down, Oil change every 15k??????? Wow my 328 gets fresh oil every 5k'ish as per the service indicator.
Unlike BMW, VW's conditional based 'long life' servicing seems to be more about pleasing fleet managers and keeping their costs down, Oil change every 15k??????? Wow my 328 gets fresh oil every 5k'ish as per the service indicator.
Edited by eztiger328 on Thursday 5th May 13:16
I hear so much either way, modern oils are great and people just need to change with the times vs it's just a sales tactic and if you want your car to go on you need to be more diligent.
I was doing reasonable mileage, so first two services fell in two years, now I'm not so sure. I think like many, I might just do an oil change yearly which in effect will be an interim service.
Having a turbo diesel, I know that premature wear will cost ££ so figure oil once a year is cheaper.
I think some have analysed long life oil and say it's still pretty good?
It would be nice to see lots of 150-200k diesel cars which have had 20k serving, without major mechanicals! I want to keep mine well north of 100k so want to get right now rather than pay later
Who knows!
I was doing reasonable mileage, so first two services fell in two years, now I'm not so sure. I think like many, I might just do an oil change yearly which in effect will be an interim service.
Having a turbo diesel, I know that premature wear will cost ££ so figure oil once a year is cheaper.
I think some have analysed long life oil and say it's still pretty good?
It would be nice to see lots of 150-200k diesel cars which have had 20k serving, without major mechanicals! I want to keep mine well north of 100k so want to get right now rather than pay later
Who knows!
E65Ross said:
There isn't generally a need to go above and beyond the normal scope of oil changes these days to be honest. I know of someone with an E60 530i with 300k on, and he's only ever stuck to what the cbs says....
Indeed. The UK isn't a harsh environment.These cars are designed by Bavarians for the autobahn cruising flat out
all day every day, doing the Austrian Alps up to 9000 feet, surviving a
Bavarian summer of 35C, Austrian winter of -15C etc
To say nothing of the US Rockies, Saudi Arabian summers, Norwegian winters.
I don't the cars will have too much trouble in a small drizzly country where
the maximum speed is 70 mph, the highest public road is 2,000 feet and the weather
only goes below 0C or above 20C for a few days a year.
For those who think 15-20k miles is too long for oil changes, on what information are you basing that? Have you done oil sample analysis? I recall seeing a few years ago someone went through the trouble of getting their oil checked every 2k miles or so past 10k miles, and even at 20k miles it was showing that the oil was still doing a good job.
E65Ross said:
For those who think 15-20k miles is too long for oil changes, on what information are you basing that? Have you done oil sample analysis? I recall seeing a few years ago someone went through the trouble of getting their oil checked every 2k miles or so past 10k miles, and even at 20k miles it was showing that the oil was still doing a good job.
I remember doing 43k miles in the 330d from one mot to the next mot and it went over the oil service by 10k miles so pretty much 30k miles without an oil change and it never gave me any issues, it was still running lovely when it was sold at 157k miles too. Admitted that was a one off and I usually stick to the 18/19k oil changes but it didn't do it any harm.
For whatever it's worth, I've had both my E46 diesels serviced at the car's request - which has ended up meaning every 12,000 miles, or 18-22 months. Doesn't seem to cause a problem. Neither car has driven any differently after having its nearly 2 year old oil replaced.
The manual says not to leave it more than 2 years between oil changes... so I haven't.
I get the brake fluid changed every 2 years.
The manual says not to leave it more than 2 years between oil changes... so I haven't.
I get the brake fluid changed every 2 years.
I take the CBS with a pinch of salt personally.
The mileage it tells you for brakes it completely wrong as well, however it's useful at reminding you to check things.
Regardless of what it says, my car get an oil change every 12 months without fail.
BMW told me last week I need new plugs, after checking my service book I noticed they were changed about 4k miles ago. So that's b
ks.
The mileage it tells you for brakes it completely wrong as well, however it's useful at reminding you to check things.
Regardless of what it says, my car get an oil change every 12 months without fail.
BMW told me last week I need new plugs, after checking my service book I noticed they were changed about 4k miles ago. So that's b
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