Hi all,

Just got my 05' MCS yesterday outta dealer lot. Again extremely lucky to find my car in inventory stock. Gotta take and post some pix soon. Anyway very curious to see a poll when you change the 1st oil change. I'm a newbie so please understand where I'm coming from. Not used to hearing 10k mi oil change as I'm old school 3k mi and 1k mi 1st oil change. Bit nervous to wait till 10k mi on service computer.

Yesterday I was motoring around Princeton, NJ where I've seen 5 Minis and 4/5 of them greeted me with hand waive/ thumb up/high beam. I'm really not used to this kind of welcome warmth...Very hard to drive and say hello to everyone you bump into, but I gotta say it was pleasant to associate with. Thanks everyone.

 

I'm old school...change before 5k or sooner like a Dragon meet:smile: Even though I use Amsoil that suppose to be good for 20k, I just don't like seeing black oil on my dipstick

 

I've been changing mine every 5k....only had one 10k so that was free, the others were $70 -- I gotta do it myself one of these days!

Also, be sure to check the oil level consistently. I was surprised once at ~5000 miles to find it down a quart. My SA told me it was "normal". Note that it's my daily driver, no track days, etc.

 

5 k here too..................RELIGIOUSLY! If you do your own oil changes be sure to get oem filters, and if not stay away from all the "speedy" (genaric) oil change places ...........they're craaaap. Jock

 

I do one change between the recommended ones. I know the new oil is good, I'm just not convinced it's THAT good.

The others are correct about checking the oil level at least monthly. the little devils will burn a quart every 4-5,000 miles. In the old days that would have been unnoticeable, as we changed oil every 3500 miles, but with 5,000 or 10,000 mile change intervals, you have to keep up with the oil level.

Enjoy your new MINI!

 

There are as many opinions about this as there are people on the website! Do a search on oil change and you will get more information than you ever wanted. What matters most about oil change intervals is your driving style. If you do mostly city, short trip, driving you should change oil more often. Mostly highway driving - you can extend the interval. For most people, 5,000 to 6,000 miles seems a reasonable compromise. Always use synthetic oil as recommended by MINI, and remember to check the oil level. All cars use oil, and you should expect to add a quart occasionally.

 

I am shocked they say every 10k miles when you leave the lot. I heard they wont take appointments if your mileage is less then 10k?? Well, for the free oil change.

 

Hi

I change oil every 5k, one freebie, one ~80$.

does anyone else notice that when they've filled you up, you're a little over max on the stick? about .25" high on the dipstick for me.

it can be difficult to convince a dealer to change your oil, tell them you want it enough, they'll give it to you.

 

Assuming you change your oil at a shorter than factory interval ...Questions on doing the oil change. I know this has been covered before, but I'm lazy and since this is an active discussion. .... is Mobil 1 still black? Would it be better to use Castrol full synthetic or some other if it isn't black so you can see the dirt better? Also, assuming I use an extraction pump and don't mess with drain plug torque values, are there any issues getting the filter on and off? Sort of sorry to hi-jack this thread....just a little.

 

I just changed the oil with Castrol Syntec 5w30 and the filter at 5000 miles on my wife's Cooper - didn't want all the break-in metal chunks floating around for 10000 miles.

I'll change the oil & filter every 5000 miles - the dealer will cover a few of those...

 

I'll be changing mine for the fourth time (total) later this month. Just turned 73k last night

Nik

 

do mine every 5 k with rhino vamps & that that valve thingy
that is installed in place of the drain plug, piece of cake.
doug

 

I don't believe Mobil 1 has ever been black. I started using it in 1982 and it's always been a light amber color. Old ARCO Graphite and Kendall GT1 were both very dark in color. Color is not always a good indicator of oil condition as a darker oil could still be fine while a "cleaner" looking old could have a totally destroyed additive package.

 

Thanks...I guess the general consensus is around 5K mi oil change. That sounds more reasonable to me as I'm old school. Also makes alot of sense to check oil level since the interval is stretched out between oil changes.

 

At the very minimum, it seems prudent to change your oil at least once before the first scheduled service - maybe around 2-4k miles, and with actual synthetic oil as opposed to the MINI Castrol. I just don't trust the 10-12k interval, especially since the factory oil is really not synthetic oil at all. After the first service, maybe the MINI-recommended intervals are OK, but even then I don't see why I should trust them when the engine warranty is only 50,000 miles.

 

I have been using AMSOIL in my Toyo Spyder for the past 5 years.

Test results here:
http://www.oilsandlube.com/comparetest.htm

I will be putting it into my MINI at 5k.

 

I just KNOW I'm gonna get flamed here, but I tend to go with the manufacturer's recommendations on service intervals. Granted, I tend to go with the short end of the interval, but I figure that all those German engineers are a helluva lot smarter than I am when it comes to oil breakdown, additive life, lube flow, particulate matter, etc. - so who am I to doubt them??

I know some people will say that going 8, 10, or 12K between changes will shorten the life of your car, force you to buy a new one - kind of a 'planned obsolesence' thing - but I don't buy that. With all the cars out today that are good for 100K, 150K, even 250K miles, if your MINI blows up at 68K, well, you're less likely to buy another one. I think the long-term reliability of a car is very important to a manufacturer, and they're not going to risk their reputation by calling for dangerously long oil change intervals.

That said, I'd still advocate an initial change at 3-5K (I'm old-school, too) and you still need to check your oil level and condition often, especially if you follow the longer intervals. Nothing out there will blow a MINI motor quicker than running it with NO oil!!

Let the flaming begin. . .

 

I used to work for a BMW motorcycle dealer and customers used to freak out when we told them to wait 5, 7+ thousand miles between changes. Our mechanics stuck by the factory recs and we saw some very high mile bikes roll in and out of the dealership and they had not had anything beyond the recommended maintenence.

Yes, it was strange for me but I've taken the leap with my first ever new car and stuck by simply what they say. I've got a June 02 build "S" with 26,000 miles. I do check the oil level ever so often and it does go down a wee bit. If I don't have Mini oil available I go to the BMW dealer as they have the exact same stuff in another package.

I'll keep you posted (in like ten years) as to how the old motor does when it gets around 100,000 miles but I'm betting it'll be as tight as any.

Cheers.

 

I doubt you get flamed on this one . . . but I do think for me, the in-between oil changes are cheap insurance and a time for me to bond with the car . . . There's nothing like a Saturday morning with oil dripping on your forehead whilst listening to Tom and Ray speak the virtues of a '63 Dodge Dart. Just about as good as it gets . . .

 

It is full synthetic oil, I change it by the book!

 

For all you guys who change your own oil, how do you reset that little mileage counter that counts backwards, telling you when you're approaching your next oil service? (The one in your speedometer when you first start your MINI up)...

If I knew how to do that, I'd change my oil myself, versus driving the 150 miles to the nearest MINI dealership...

Thanks!

 

Good question. I'm gonna change the oil on my MINI this weekend, but don't know how to reset the 'oil service' counter.

EDIT: Found a thread that seems to explain it.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...=service+reset



Cheers,
Skottoman

 

I'm old school too, but I think over the years we've been brainwashed the think we need to change the oil every 3500 miles or so. Ford even recommends intervals of 7500 depending on what kind of driving you do, dusty conditions change it more frequent. As for the mini, i'm sticking to the manufactures recom. Check my oil at least every other day. Its hard for me to believe and engine man. would leave small particles in the block, if they did that engine wouldn't be on the market long...course the more oil they sale the more money they make...each his own I guess.

 

I change the oil on my other car at 5000-5500 miles (mobil 1 5w-30). I sent a sample into Blackstone Labs and got an analysis done. Basically, they told me that 5500 was the perfect interval to change the oil at. Every car is different though. I would suggest sending in a sample at 5000 miles (without changing the oil) to see how it is doing. If everything comes back A.O.K, then extend the drain interval to 7000 or so. Send a sample in at that point. I wouldn't think you will be able to get 10K out of the oil unless you at least changed the filter at 5K miles to be safe, but BMW engineers should know more about this than I do!!!

 

I don't think I'll go past 5K. Engineers or no engineers, frequent oil changes are far less expensive than engine replacements. Since I'm making the payments and the engineers are not, I plan to change the oil more frequently.

As a local garage states in their advertising, "Grease is cheaper than steel."