[minifridge1138]

I'm a long time gear head, but this is my first BMW.

It's a great car and a lot of fun to drive.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but the iDrive system tells me how many miles are left on my oil, brakes, etc.

I've had the car for 2 weeks and put a few hundred miles on it (I'm looking for excuses to drive) and the numbers haven't budged.

As I'm driving, shouldn't those numbers go down?

Thanks everyone!!!

[rrpeinha]

Well, it sort of depends. The Condition Based Service system factors in a bunch of crap to calculate the mileage remaining for a particular service. When reset, they default to standard distance or future date, but as you drive, that distance remaining may remain the same or even increase based on how the vehicle is being driven. If, for example, the mileage remaining is based on your car being driven stop-and-go for awhile before you got it, but now you're doing a lot of interstate driving (operating at a diff. engine temp, RPM, speed, etc.) then the system has to sort of readjust itself based on these new parameters. Additionally, I have found the system is certainly not very "precise" or "sensitive". For instance, mine usually only tells me to the nearest hundred miles (like 9400 remaining, but not 9374); and much like yours sounds, it will often have the distance remaining until service not change for a period of time, but then all of a sudden change a significant amount. But, If you're a gear head anyway, i think you'll be like most of us - credit the system as helpful, but use it as a general gauge of your vehicle condition, still physically inspecting and maintaining your vehicle regularly, regardless of the CBS Indicator.

[Chriztofor]

^ +1.

I treat service indicators like idiot lights. Ie: you are an idiot to wait for the light to come on telling you about your oil level being too low. Also, if you wait for the oil service to countdown, you will change your oil at around 20,000 miles. No thanks, I'll spend $70 a year to change my oil twice.

[minifridge1138]

ok, that makes more sense.

Thanks for the PDF. That helps a lot.

And I completely agree about them being idiot lights.

I like to do my own work and usually change my oil every 4k or 5k miles (I used to do it every 3K, but got a bit lazy and since the oil/car said every 7,500 I decided I could let it go longer).