Just wanted to say Hello.
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Joined: Nov 2010
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From: Bellingham, WA
Just wanted to say Hello.
Hello fellow Mini owners or can I use a bit of brevity and say minowners.
Just bought a 07 cooper s and absolutely enjoy driving it. I do have a few concerns after reading about the "rocks in bucket, knocking sound" threads. I do think I hear some a small amount of knocking going on. Living in Bellingham WA makes it hard to get to a dealer located in Seattle about an 1.5 hrs away. Can I go to a local shop experienced in minis and have them look at it. Would they honor the warranty? Oh, and can someone suggest a guide to changing my oil. Thanks in advance.
D
Just bought a 07 cooper s and absolutely enjoy driving it. I do have a few concerns after reading about the "rocks in bucket, knocking sound" threads. I do think I hear some a small amount of knocking going on. Living in Bellingham WA makes it hard to get to a dealer located in Seattle about an 1.5 hrs away. Can I go to a local shop experienced in minis and have them look at it. Would they honor the warranty? Oh, and can someone suggest a guide to changing my oil. Thanks in advance.
D
Welcome to NAM! Since I'm a R53 owner (previous Gen), I would suggest browsing the R56 area of the site for threads related to your knocking.
Very few of us follow MINI's recommended oil service interval, which is calculated by the OBC and presented in your odometer everytime you start the car (at least in R53s it works this way). MINI's oil service is based at 15,000 miles. I change mine at 10,000 regardless of what the OBC says. Many turbo owners change the oil between 5-10K miles.
Probably just as important as changing the oil is checking the oil level. It's not uncommon to add a quart of oil between 3-5K miles. Some people who aren't in the habit of checking oil have ruined their MINI's engine. Just get use to the idea of adding oil even though the engine doesn't "smoke" or show other signs of oil consumption or loss.
BTW: Use only high-grade synthetic oil in your MINI, since that's what the engine is designed to run on. Anything less voids your warranty and may likely harm the engine.
Very few of us follow MINI's recommended oil service interval, which is calculated by the OBC and presented in your odometer everytime you start the car (at least in R53s it works this way). MINI's oil service is based at 15,000 miles. I change mine at 10,000 regardless of what the OBC says. Many turbo owners change the oil between 5-10K miles.
Probably just as important as changing the oil is checking the oil level. It's not uncommon to add a quart of oil between 3-5K miles. Some people who aren't in the habit of checking oil have ruined their MINI's engine. Just get use to the idea of adding oil even though the engine doesn't "smoke" or show other signs of oil consumption or loss.
BTW: Use only high-grade synthetic oil in your MINI, since that's what the engine is designed to run on. Anything less voids your warranty and may likely harm the engine.
Last edited by MCSfanboy; Nov 15, 2010 at 10:07 PM. Reason: Added more details
Welcome to the forum, you better have the noise checked out, it might be worth your while to make the drive to Seattle, if you need warranty work done it will have to be at MINI dealer.
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2009
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I change my own oil every 7500 miles or so ! Easy job to DIY . Look on the thread for oil change . You will need to order a few filters and a socket to take off plastic off oil filter . A good set of ramps and buy oil at local store fully syn . oil Fitler is tiny and comes with a o-ring to replace also . Good luck and happy motoring ! El Tiger
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