I ultimately decided to D.I.Y. my “early life” oil change and thought I’d post some observations on it for my brand new 2017 F57 Convertible,
from the POV of someone who’s done countless oil changes on Honda/Acuras, but never on a MINI or BMW.
I did this at ~2,000mi on the odo.

This is not intended as a how-to; there are several essential ones already posted, but they're mostly for prior model years.

o Used Rhino Ramps on the front and wheel chocks on the rear in my garage, for just enough clearance to slide under the MINI.

o The access flaps on the under-car fibre panel, mentioned on previous how-to posts/videos are no longer present. Thus entire panel has to come off.
It’s held by nine (9) Torx T27 "Tamper-Resistant" fasteners, (the ones that feature annoying center pins.) Thanks, BMW! Fortunately, I had a set of such drivers.
(Next model year they’ll graduate to Apple-esque odd-sized pentalobe and tri-wing fasteners. Just kidding. I think.)

o Behind this panel is a larger, very thick metal under-car panel held by a number of large bolts. Fortunately this panel, which appears to be structural, features adequate openings for accessing the oil filter and oil pan drain plug.

o In addition to the T27TR driver, you’ll need a 17mm 3/8” drive hex socket for the oil pan drain plug, a 13mm 3/8” drive hex socket for the oil canister’s plastic drain plug, and a low-profile 32mm 3/8” drive hex socket for the oil filter canister itself. Found the latter online. Also, a 3/8” drive 6” extension and 3/8” drive ratchet. If you have swivels for the 13mm and 32mm, helpful, but not absolutely necessary. In any event, do not use 12-point sockets, there’s enough torque necessary that 12-point sockets will very likely round off the plastic and metal hex heads. Oh, and a small pick tool or tiny flathead will make changing and seating the new canister o-ring painless.

o To its credit, MINI now makes crystal clear their required oil. The 2017 owner’s manual specifically calls for 0W-20 MINI oil, and there’s a little black “0W-20” sticker on the engine air intake front.

o For fun, I sent a sample of the drained oil to Blackstone who, no surprise, found nothing alarming and, at my request, confirmed that the factory fill sample’s viscosity was entirely consistent with 0W-20. As is their style, they recommended I “try 5000 miles next time” based on the low-mileage sample’s remaining 4.5 TBN. Personally I feel comfortable going a bit less than 7,000mi, to sync up with the MINI Maint System’s current prediction of 9,000mi for my first “free” dealer oil change. After that, I’ll do ~5,000mi “mid-cycle” D.I.Y changes. IMHO, running a engine & turbo on 10,000mi oil changes, even MINI synthetic, in less than ideal conditions may in fact result in the engine lasting through its 50,000mi warranty. Whether that will also result in a 150,000mi engine is less clear.

o Got 5 liters of (p/n 83212365955) 0W-20 MINI oil and the (p/n 11428570590) OEM BMW Filter Element kit from ECS Tuning.

o Filter kit comes with a copper crush washer for the oil pan drain plug, but interestingly, after looking very very carefully so as not to double-washer, found the factory did not install a washer on my car’s plug. I installed the supplied washer.

o The filter canister required a surprising amount of torque to remove (hence the recommendation for 3/8” drive tools) and a slightly smaller amount of torque to reinstall, after starting by hand and making very very sure to not cross-thread. Once the new filter element “pops-into” its nipple, and the new, lubed, main o-ring slides in, the canister “bottoms out” distinctively, so no need to guess if it’s “tight enough”. If it stops, it is.

o Refilled with exactly 4.5 liters of oil; MINI oil bottles are nicely graduated. Ran for a couple of miles with under-car panel still off & checked for leaks. MINI’s over-engineered electronic oil measuring system showed spot-on full. Please, BMW, bring back the dipstick!. Reinstalled under-car panel.

Total time, about 45 minutes.

o 1,000 miles later, no leaks, no oil consumption. MINI’s motoring strong!

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Thanks for the order and also fo the DIY. Congrats on the oil change. Just so people know this was for the 1.5L " Cooper" Engine , did not see it noted above.

 

My dealer puts in 5L of oil. I called their attn. to it and the guy said it doesn't hurt anything, offered to remove some if it bothered me.

 

I'm at 104k miles and change my oil when the car tells me to. I haven't seen any problems. Yet:-)

 

UPDATE:

In my OP starting this thread two years ago I wrote, in part:
...a 13mm 3/8” drive hex socket for the oil canister’s plastic drain plug

It appears that over the last year or two MINI, in their wisdom, have significantly changed the F57's oil canister's plastic drain plug.
(not to be confused with the engine's 17mm metal oil pan drain bolt)
The new one, pictured on the right, requires a T55 Torx driver to remove instead of a 13mm socket for the old one (on the left).
The new version is a bit taller than the old, and when (gently) snugged to torque, stands a bit proud of the canister instead of flush.
To its credit, the new version is stamped "T55", "72421738" and "5Nm+2Nm".

I found this out the hard way on the occasion of my most recent "mid-cycle" DIY oil+filter service.
Fortunately, a T55 driver 3/8" socket isn't too hard to find if you don't already have a set.
The switch was made by my MINI dealer late last year on the occasion of their last "complimentary" oil service.
At that time, they also took the opportunity to make my task even more frustrating by rounding out the star on one of the nine T27TR screws holding the under-car cover in place. Next time, MINI, please use those torque settings on your air ratchet.

To their credit, ECS Tuning included the T55 version of the canister drain plug as part of the oil filter kit received from them.

So it goes.
-igoeco2001

 

Thanks for the write up. I have a related question that I hope does not hijack the forum.
When I had my new f55 in to have them look at a tire leak at 5300 miles, they said BMW would let them do the first service. I asked if there were a certain number of services allowed during the maintenance period and the service advisor assured me there was not and they could do as many as necessary within the free maintenance period. So, I got the oil change.

I just crossed over 10K now and need to have it in for the westgate/wastegate valve replacement (seriously do not know what the part is called, if you do, please help), and I was planning to go in after 10600 and see if it would be allowed for its next service. This could, in a way, negate the need for a mid-cycle oil change if BMW was always willing to change the oil between 5k and 10k...well, it makes BMW pay for the mid-cycle change. Right?

Did I just fluke out with an early change this time? Does anyone know if I will be eligible for a change again when I take it in this month? I would love to know if there were a way to see a maintenance chart or something like that, but I have not poked around.
Thanks.

 

I hated doing the oil change on my 2015 Mini F56 once the 3 year free maintenance ran out. I had Korean and Japanese cars and they are really easy and clean to do oil + filter change. I had Fumoto drain valve on every car I had. As for the drain plug on the filter canister, I too was surprised, I just replaced the rubber o-ring and reused the original since I didn't have a T55 torx or whatever it's called.
The oil filter canister is a pain in the butt and constant fear of it breaking, messy too with all that oil dripping below. On top of that, BMW LL-01 spec oil is so hard to find (at good price).

 

I'm a new owner of a F56 MCS and I plan to additional oil changes. I plan to do ~1000 miles then do every other 5k or "off cycle" ones like the OP. From reading this, it does look like I'll need new tools since they couldn't use normal bolts, plugs, etc.

But my question is: are the MINI/BMW brand oil and filter required? I used to always use Mobil 1 oil and filters for my previous car. Is the MINI/BMW brand "special" or is it required for the warranty or anything? Or is it the issue of switching motor oil brands between oil changes? I was just wondering since I thought my Mini and my wife's car would not be able to use the same oil (and it's not like Mobil 1 is a hack brand).

 

From all the readings I’ve done, it looks like if you are doing oil change every 5k miles or 6 months, then it’s okay to use LL-04 or even any good full synthetic with correct weight. Purely speculation, but just like how Mini changed suppliers to Pennzoil, I’d think that Mobil1 didn’t want to renew the certification, paying BMW any extra. Don’t know for sure what happened, but I’d have no issue using Mobil1. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I planned on keeping my car long term but recently sold it as my needs changed.

For filters, I don’t know. I just bought OEM since they weren’t expensive. I would not buy a BMW or MINI branded oil.

 

With my 2018 Mini JCW I have the oil changed (at 5K mile intervals) at the local Mini dealer and the dealer tech uses the MINI/BMW brand oil ( a LL something or other ) 0w-20 oil.

If you use something else when you change the oil then take the car in for a scheduled change there is a concern about the miscibility of the oil you use and the oil Mini uses. I haven't bothered to look into this to see if there is anything official from MIN/BMW and Mobil oil regarding the miscibility of the two oils. Maybe they are ok and going between one and the other every other oil change is no big deal.

But unless you have some knowledge regarding the compatibility of the two oils you want to ping pong back and forth with if you do your own oil changes between the scheduled oil changes I'd recommend you use the MINI/BMW oil and filter to avoid any risk the two oils are not compatible.