Anyone who owns a BMW or a MINI soon notices that the service does not follow a fixed schedule. The dashboard shows the kilometres or months remaining until the next service: this is the Condition Based Service (CBS) system, which estimates the real wear of components based on how you drive.
How Condition Based Service works
The car collects data on temperatures, number of starts, short or long trips and driving style. From this information it calculates the remaining life of engine oil, brakes, filters and fluids. In many cases the engine oil can last for long distances, but two limits are worth remembering: oil also ages with time, and anyone who mostly makes short city trips puts it under much more strain.
What a service done properly includes
- Replacement of the engine oil and filter with a lubricant approved for your engine
- Replacement of the air and cabin filters, and of the fuel filter where fitted
- Checking of the levels and of the condition of brakes, suspension and tyres
- Reading the error memory of the control units
- Resetting the service intervals
When it is worth doing it earlier
If you use the car almost only for short trips, if you cover many kilometres on the motorway under heavy load or in dusty conditions, or if leaks have been reported to you, it is advisable to bring the check forward compared to the indicated due date. The same applies to a used car you have just bought: a first complete service is the best way to start from a known base.
The workshop's advice
Don't put the service off just because the car seems to run well: problems caused by exhausted oil or clogged filters show up when the damage has already started. Always ask for a written checklist: it lets you keep track of your car's history.
- service
- engine oil
- maintenance
