Did my first oil change on our 2012 M5S last night. Honestly, it was about as easy as an oil change can get except for my VW Golf (which can all be done from the top side of the car).
Broadly following
dommo's original writeup is a good place to start, especially as my camera decided to pack it in yesterday.
Notable changes for the 3rd generation / 2012 2.5 liter models:
0. Our 5 went up on my standard Rhino Ramps without issue or scraping the underside.
1. The plastic belly pan is held on by three hex head bolts up front (combo 8mm hex/#1 phillips head), seven hex flange head bolt (M6 / 10mm hex head), two quick release pop rivets and one tab at the back and is keyed into the side shields at the back as well. Takes all of 5 minutes to remove it, but as
dieseldriver pointed out, the filter cutout is right below the filter and there's a large cutout behind the oil pan. Will probably go with the extractor method for future changes as I've been an advocate of topside extraction with my VWs for many years.
2. Still a 17mm hex head on the drain plug.
3. Oil filter has changed back to a spin-on style. The filter that came off was a FoMoCo LF8J 14 302 and a heavy black can. Replacement filters from your FLAPS are:
Purolator L10241 (PL 10241 for Pure One)
Fram / STP 3614
Motorcraft FL910S
Bosch 3330
Mobil 1 M1-102
K&N HP-1002
AC Delco PF53
Wix / NAPA 51348
Mann ML1003
or a Mazda LF-05-14-302B
Technically speaking there is a larger filter you can use - it is spec'd for the 2012 CX9. I'm generally a fan of the longest filter that will fit for two reasons: extra oil capacity and more filter surface area. I did put on a longer filter which hangs down about another 3.5 cm. It's borderline uncomfortably close to the road but still above the belly pan, so use one at your own risk - this is for information only!
Purolator (P)L20195
Fram / STP 3005
Bosch 3422
Mobil 1 M1-209
Motorcraft FL400S
AC Delco PF56
Wix / NAPA 51516
Mann ML1005
4. Refilled the crankcase with 5 liters of Mobil 1 0w20, the specified viscosity. Anyone who says that 5w20 is fine but 0w20 is too thin has a
terrible grasp of SAE viscosity ratings! For more misinformation, noise, static and a few diamonds among the coal when it comes to oil and filters, visit BITOG.
Easy peasy. Took me about 45 minutes as it was the first time I've done it on this car; I expect future changes to take well under half an hour.