My BMW X3 (F25) is closing in on 500,000 km, still covering around 1,000 km a week. I have started shopping for its replacement, but the odometer is nearly at a number worth celebrating, so it gets whatever maintenance it needs until then.
This time that meant an engine oil change in my own garage, plus the F25 oil change reset on the instrument cluster afterwards. Here is how it went.
Service notes:
- Odometer: 479,432 km (25,906 km since the last change)
- Interval: about 7 months (last change January 2025)
- Oil used: Mikado Oil PREMIUM SP C3 0W-30, 1 L, plus Shell Helix Ultra Euro SN/C3 5W-30, 4 L
- Filter: an AliExpress part that looks convincingly like the genuine one
- Total oil: 5.0 L
A ¥584 oil filter from AliExpress
I had run out of my stock of filters, so I gambled on the cheapest thing I could find on AliExpress.
The filter itself was ¥275. With shipping it came to ¥584, roughly $3.90.
On a car with nearly half a million kilometres on it, I can live with the risk of a cheap part. If it goes wrong, so be it.
This is the one I bought.
The listing quotes BMW part number 11428507683, which covers the N47 plus N57 diesels across the X3, X5, 328d, 535d, F06, F15, F21, F22, F34, F35, F80. Searching that number on AliExpress brings up dozens of sellers.
Delivery was slow this time: about three weeks.
As expected, I cannot tell it apart from the genuine part.
The O-ring was in the box, which is not always a given at this price.
Shell Helix Ultra 5W-30, blended with leftovers
I had about a litre left over from the previous change, so that went in first. The rest came from a 20 L drum of Shell Helix Ultra Euro SN/C3 5W-30, roughly 4 litres of it.
I share these oils with our G05 X5, which keeps waste down. Even so, awkward part-litres always end up sitting on the shelf.
The leftovers from the previous change.
Blended. Five litres total, same as every previous change.
Blending two oils is not ideal, but this engine only has to last another 20,000 km or so. I am not losing sleep over it.
Extracting the old oil from the top
The job happened in my garage, as always. The garage even has air conditioning, which felt like a luxury right up until this summer’s heat made me sweat through the whole job anyway.
Sucking the old oil out from the dipstick tube with an oil changer. No jacking, no sump plug.
Once it starts flowing I swap the filter while I wait.
The new element goes into the cartridge, then the housing goes back on.
On the F25 the housing cap takes a 27 mm socket, not a spanner. A multi-size set is the cheap way to cover that plus whichever car is up next.
With the old oil out plus the filter swapped, the new oil goes in. That is the whole job.
F25 oil change reset from the instrument cluster
Here is the part people usually ask about. You do not need an OBD tool for this. The whole reset happens through the cluster buttons.
The button sequence
1. Press the engine start button without pressing the brake pedal
2. Press the reset button in the cluster. The trip meter zeroes first, then keep holding until the service menu appears
3. Tap the button to cycle through the service items
4. Hold the button on the item you want to reset
5. A confirmation appears. Hold once more to confirm
What each screen looks like
Engine oil, 6000 km, 2027/01, “Reset possible”.
Hold the button, then “Perform reset?” appears. Hold again.
A progress bar runs for a few seconds.
Done. The interval jumps to 31,000 km, next due 2027/08.
While I was in there, the vehicle check had also come due at −40 km, so I reset that too.
iDrive agrees: next service in 31,000 km.
Ready for 500,000 km
That is probably the last oil change this F25 will get from me, which means the engine is set for the run to half a million kilometres.
I have been changing the oil every 28,000 to 30,000 km for years. This time I went slightly early, at 25,906 km, because 500,000 km is my line in the sand for keeping the car. One more change after this would have been wasted on a car I am about to move on from.
Total spend: ¥584 for the filter, plus oil I already had on the shelf. Hard to complain about that.
This article is also available in Japanese.
