[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

<E34> '89 535i service intervals

James <tangile@domain.elided> said:

> I just purchased a 1989 535i ... the car had only 10,000 miles 
> so it is practically a new car ...  

Good move.

> I was also wondering when is an Inspection II usually done 

Normally you would go by the service interval lights, bottom
center in the instrument cluster.  To see them, turn the key
to the ignition position, but do not start the engine.  You
will see, from left to right, five green lights, one yellow,
and one red.  Just after a service, all the green are on and 
the others off.  As you roll up miles, the green go out one
at a time from left to right.  When the last green goes out,
the yellow goes on, and a message is displayed (Oil Service, 
Insp I, or Insp II) saying what's needed.  If you ignore this
too long, the red comes on.

A special oil change is due at 1200 miles.  After that the order
is Oil Service, Inspection I, Oil Service, Inspection II, ...

And now for the religion.  The Service Interval Thang decides 
when the car needs service based on how it is driven.  Rather 
than speculate or generalize, I'll give the results of my 
exhaustive, carefully controlled, double/triple-blind study with 
a sample size of one.  On an '89 535i with 125 kmiles, subjected 
to mostly city driving with often several short trips per day, 
the services came up about every 9 kmiles.  Sometimes they were 
done before the last green light went out -- maybe 1-2 kmiles 
early.  The average interval over 125,700 miles was 8,979 miles.

More religion: Since 9,000 miles seems to me like a long time
between oil changes, I did an extra oil and filter change about 
4,500 miles after each service.  I think this is a common habit 
among bmw-digest readers.

> Is there such a thing as an Inspection III? ...

No.  But there are a few additional preventive maintenance items:

     Brake Fluid - Change every year
     Coolant - Change every other year
     Oxygen Sensor - Change every 50 kmiles
     Annual Inspection - Includes brake fluid, headlight aim, misc.
     
> The car has low miles but I am thinking of having a full service 
> done just because of the age of the car.

Good idea.  It is possible that the previous owner never reached the 
first Oil Service interval.  Perhaps another digester will volunteer 
whether you should do an Inspection I or II now; I don't recall what
the extra items are for a II.  I recommend also doing a coolant 
and brake fluid change unless you know that these were done recently.

Curt Ingraham
'89 E34 535i - wife
'89 E30 325is - son
'72 2002tii - me
'95 Suburban - motor pool