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      04-05-2019, 09:28 PM   #1
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Bmw M2 service intervals

Has anyone found the M2 service intervals? I've been looking around but all I have found are the inspection 1 and 2 guidelines, nothing about the diff fluid or transmission fluids or m2 specific info.

Does ISTA tell you service required everytime you plug into your car based on elapsed miles or is this something we have to keep an eye on ourselves?
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      04-06-2019, 03:35 AM   #2
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The transmission has the Filled for Life stuff in it, so it won't need changing for a long time (and certainly not every 2 years as you might have needed to do in the past).

Otherwise the car will tell you when it thinks it's due either on time or mileage, and then it's Inspection 1 or 2 depending on what you had last time.
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      04-06-2019, 04:23 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
The transmission has the Filled for Life stuff in it, so it won't need changing for a long time (and certainly not every 2 years as you might have needed to do in the past).

Otherwise the car will tell you when it thinks it's due either on time or mileage, and then it's Inspection 1 or 2 depending on what you had last time.
Thanks for the reply!

Yeah that filled for life stuff is completely wack and probably not a good idea for track use. I wish there was a service guide, maybe I'll just swap fluids for the tranny and diff when I do the diff inspection.

The car doesn't say too much from what I'm aware of, just the extreme basics and the inspection 1 & 2 doesn't say too much about the diff or tranny either. I guess I'll just do everything periodically, say a couple of years.
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      04-25-2019, 08:06 PM   #4
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I would suggest emailing Mike Miller, Rech Talk for Roundel magaxpzine and requesting his “Old-School Maintenance Manual”. I follow it religiously...it’s basically what BMW recommended for maintenance before maintenance was included free on new cars!

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      04-25-2019, 09:32 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wacobipe View Post
I would suggest emailing Mike Miller, Rech Talk for Roundel magaxpzine and requesting his “Old-School Maintenance Manual”. I follow it religiously...it’s basically what BMW recommended for maintenance before maintenance was included free on new cars!

mikemillerroundelmag@drivewheels.hush.com
Thanks I appreciate it!

Do you have a copy of it via pdf? If so could you maybe send it to me so I don't have to email him?

Also pre-service bmws were N/A and didn't have sophisticated electronic locking diffs like the new cars including the m2, so I'm wondering if this even applies to the m2.
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      04-26-2019, 11:34 AM   #6
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It's probably worth noting that - if the customer was paying - BMW were happy to help generate work for their dealership workshops. So service it often using products that need changing regularly.

Now they are paying (at least in the US), they use longer-lasting products and change them less frequently.

It's also worth noting that in the UK - where the customer is still paying - they specify the long lasting stuff and recommend 15k miles or two years for change intervals.

Thats for road use only mind and the climate is less extreme (plus the fuel quality is better...)
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      04-26-2019, 02:58 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
It's probably worth noting that - if the customer was paying - BMW were happy to help generate work for their dealership workshops. So service it often using products that need changing regularly.

Now they are paying (at least in the US), they use longer-lasting products and change them less frequently.

It's also worth noting that in the UK - where the customer is still paying - they specify the long lasting stuff and recommend 15k miles or two years for change intervals.

Thats for road use only mind and the climate is less extreme (plus the fuel quality is better...)
Yeah that's true, but I think 15k miles is way too long for an oil change, which could be why BMWs fail so often. I personally do it every 5k km, but it ends up being every 2-3k km because I don't drive it enough every year to hit 5k.
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      04-26-2019, 03:04 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F87source View Post
Yeah that's true, but I think 15k miles is way too long for an oil change, which could be why BMWs fail so often. I personally do it every 5k km, but it ends up being every 2-3k km because I don't drive it enough every year to hit 5k.
15K with synthetic oil is fine. Changing it more often is just a waste of time.

If you have BMW Connect active your cell phone has the mileage or dates when all recommended service is due. I do agree that lifetime fluids are a joke. Once every two or three year to change the “lifetime fluids” is good. Note that the coolant fluid is never mentioned. 2-3 years is good for that fluid change also.
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      04-26-2019, 03:58 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DanG View Post
15K with synthetic oil is fine. Changing it more often is just a waste of time.

If you have BMW Connect active your cell phone has the mileage or dates when all recommended service is due. I do agree that lifetime fluids are a joke. Once every two or three year to change the “lifetime fluids” is good. Note that the coolant fluid is never mentioned. 2-3 years is good for that fluid change also.
The car doesn't say when to service things like diff fluid, or transmission fluids etc which is concerning. So I guess I'll have to make up my own intervals lol. I wonder if ISTA has anything to say about this stuff.

No 15k Is way too much synthetic or not, the whole reason why bmw engines fail so soon is because of the infrequent oil changes, especially when driven hard.
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      04-26-2019, 04:14 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F87source View Post
The car doesn't say when to service things like diff fluid, or transmission fluids etc which is concerning. So I guess I'll have to make up my own intervals lol. I wonder if ISTA has anything to say about this stuff.

No 15k Is way too much synthetic or not, the whole reason why bmw engines fail so soon is because of the infrequent oil changes, especially when driven hard.
Diff and transmission fluids are considered lifetime fluids. So you will not see a service interval.
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      04-26-2019, 05:05 PM   #11
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In the 1990s - also in the UK - the service intervals were 12 months/12k miles.

Most cars were not using fully synthetic engine oils either.

Less powerful too mind.
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      04-26-2019, 05:25 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DanG View Post
Diff and transmission fluids are considered lifetime fluids. So you will not see a service interval.
Yeah that's annoying.
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      04-28-2019, 02:50 PM   #13
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If they don't need changing for 10 years in normal use, how so?

There are a bunch of marketing types with the mechanical understanding of a humanities student who need you to explain to them how something that is more than sufficient is not - so they can sell you more of the same at an increased margin...
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      05-04-2019, 01:11 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
If they don't need changing for 10 years in normal use, how so?

There are a bunch of marketing types with the mechanical understanding of a humanities student who need you to explain to them how something that is more than sufficient is not - so they can sell you more of the same at an increased margin...
Just run a few fluid analysis tests after hard consecutive track days and then tell me it's a life time fluid instead of speculating...

Tell me, how does a life time fluid deal with increased metal content from wear and tear?
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      05-04-2019, 03:57 PM   #15
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Ah - Confirmation Bias to the fore.

If you're ragging it on a track day there may well be reason to change the engine oil before and after, but that still won't be due to the fully synthetic oils involved breaking down.

Plus, unless your filter is gash, none of that is getting pumped around the engine - it's all being safely collected in the sump.

HTH
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      05-04-2019, 05:31 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
Ah - Confirmation Bias to the fore.

If you're ragging it on a track day there may well be reason to change the engine oil before and after, but that still won't be due to the fully synthetic oils involved breaking down.

Plus, unless your filter is gash, none of that is getting pumped around the engine - it's all being safely collected in the sump.

HTH
No not the engine oil, the diff and transmission oil even with standard driving those "lifetime" fluids still degrade and become contaminated.

In regards to the engine oil you'll see increased fuel content from the combustion process and small bits of fuel making it past the piston rings which will degrade oil. Heat cycling to 270*F will degrade your synthetic oil.


You do whatever you want, but if you take a look at every performance shop analyzing why bmws break down so much more frequently compared to other brands it is attributed to infrequent maintenance such as oil changes, fluid swaps, and using crappy parts like chinese oil filter elements.
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      05-04-2019, 05:52 PM   #17
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They are still fully synthetic and not subject to contamination by combustion products so won't degrade at a significant rate. If you're subjecting the transmission to heavy use you want the fluid to trap the wear products and hence it's a good idea to change the fluid more frequently.

But otherwise in normal use they are good for more than the 2 years of a non Life Time Fill fluid.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I changed the Life Time Fill fluid on my superannuated E46 at 150k miles and it made a significant difference to shift quality (the colour of the stuff that came out was soot black), but it was still working - and continues to do so some 5 years and 30k miles later using just regular MTF fluid changed every couple of years.

Once more, HTH.
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      02-16-2020, 06:01 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DanG View Post
Diff and transmission fluids are considered lifetime fluids. So you will not see a service interval.
Quote:
Originally Posted by F87source View Post
Yeah that's annoying.
according to this post diff fuild is every 5 years/50k

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...68&postcount=4
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      02-16-2020, 06:39 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewc89 View Post
according to this post diff fuild is every 5 years/50k

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...68&postcount=4
Thanks for the update!
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