A common question we hear from BMW owners is, “how often should I bring my car in for servicing?”. The easy answer is routine. Keeping your vehicle on a regular schedule will ensure that your engine is performing at tip-top shape.

We recommend that you follow what the owner’s manual says, you need to bring your vehicle every 15,000-miles or within 12 months. It is easier to remember to schedule a maintenance trip to the shop once a year for your car, but it is essential that you also stay within that 15,000 markers. After the 15,000-miles, though your engine will still be a beautiful piece of machinery, it won’t be performing at optimal levels. This can start declining how good your gas mileage is, wares on the brakes, and soon the engine will be struggling to perform.

At your first 15,000-mile check, you will need to order an oil change, fluid top offs, tires rotated and balanced and replace the air filter. This is to check and ensure that you don’t have any leaks or breaks in your hoses since your engine is still breaking in it is good to check that your car is settling healthily.

The next check at your 30,000-mile marker is a little more in-depth. By now, your engine has “broken in” (mechanic term), and this is your “Inspection 1” in your owner’s manual.  Your 30k check-up isn’t a peek under the hood. This is when the undercarriage is being checked, and every aspect of your car is being inspected from top to bottom, inside and out. During this inspection, you will have all of the same maintenance items done as your 15,000-mile inspection, but in addition to that list, you will want to add checking the brake pads, suspension, and shock check and check and replace the fuel filter.

As you own your vehicle longer, your shop will be able to instruct you how much or little maintenance your BMW will need, and if you ever have any questions about your service schedule, we, at BMW Service San Diego, would love to answer any questions you may have about your BMW or to schedule your routine maintenance for your BMW.