Hey, I know I don't have my MCS yet, but I was wondering if they run regular or synthetic oil? I am trying to figure out if it is better to do frequent oil changes or not. And is it better to run synthetic in the MINI? Should you only change your oil at the dealership or can anyone do it?

 

Your MINI comes with synthetic oil (Castrol Syntec full synthetic). Many people do an early oil change 1,000 miles or 5,000 miles, but, depending on how you drive you car wil "tell" you to get the first scheduled one between 9 and 11,000 miles.

Obviously the scheduled oil change is free, It is entirely up to you how many others you want to pay for - just make sure you DON'T reset the service indicator otherwise you will have to start over on the countdown to the free service.

Your warranty will be intact if you just do the scheduled services, but I did change my oil at 5,000 miles, and many people do.

 

climbergirl,

Yes, the MINIs do come from the factory with synthetic motor oil. The free scheduled maintenance includes oil changes (I believe it's 3yr/36k). However, they will only do the oil change when the service indicator gets to zero. Depending on how you drive, that ends up being around 10k to 12k miles.

Personally, I elected to do the first oil change on my MINI myself at 5k miles. I've always used a 5k-7k mile oil change interval on my BMWs with synthetic oil and both cars now have well over 200k on the original engines. Just my $.02

 

I changed my engine oil & filter after the break-in period (1,250 miles) and again at the 5,000 mile mark. I used the MINI-labeled Castrol synthetic oil since I did not want to be mixing Castrol and non-Castrol between my changes and the dealers changes. You definitely do not want to be putting in non-synthetic.

 

Can any place do the oil change, or should I take it into bmw for the extra changes? Does anyone know what an oil change on a MINI runs? You know, I don't sound like any fun at all. I am too logical. I better check to make sure I am girl.

 

Are the DIY oil changes easy to do? How's the access to the drail plug and filter?

 

Acess is amazingly easy on a MINI to both the plug and filter. I've checked as my orevious experiance means my frequent driving means frequent oil changes so witht he exception of the warranty changes I've always been DIY. I just hit my internal 5k mile deadline tonight, so I will soon be ordering filter and some Redline. The filter is a multi piece unit most of which is reused and you'll need a 36mm socket to ge the filter off, I believe a DIY is posted in the sticky in the preformance how to section.

BMW will change the oil for you and do it at quite the cost as well. I wouldn't trust a basic lube place either. Maybe see if a good BMW/European import tuning service shop will give you a reasonable price, or go DIY and lose maybe half an afternoon, have the work done at cost of supplies only, learn more about your MINI and know your engine is better protected, any autozone will collect the used oil free of charge (at least every store I've visited).

 

I bought my 04 MCS used with 18,000 mi last month. It had had one dealer oil chg according to records at 10,000mi. NO WAY I would ever let it go over 5000mi without a change (I do mine between 3-4000 because of conditions here). when I got the car the 1st thing I did was an oil/air filter chg...even though the service indicator said at least 5000 more mi to go. the oil and filters were a nightmare of filth! (Air filter is also a pain due to the little "special" clamp they use) That thing was also filthy with blowby and HAIR...yes HAIR all over it....have no idea how the engine breathed. (I put a K&N in since we have no Mini Dealer here, and Summit racing actually had it in stock) Choice in Air filters would be a re-usuable ITN (expensive too)but the K&N will do fine...will stay stock and not do a CAI.

The only little tricky part is putting back the Canister on. (THE MC IS A BIT TOUGHER THAN THE MCS (03-04) due to a little spring like thing and basket inside the paper element and metal canister (this is NOT a NORMAL American type all in one canister filter!)in the MC...the MCS does not have this affair. Got nervous and called a dealer who confirmed this. (also subject of another thread here)

I also chg the drain plug every other chg. Wish they made a magnetic one like the Austins though! (traps metal shavings that are always in there!)

here is a good link: http://www.tech-esq.com/MINI/MINIOilChange.htm

You will need a VERY slim oil container to drain the oil into (I use Rhino ramps) Kragen recycles it for free too.


Once you do it once...it is a snap. There are also threads on how to avoid the "Exxon Valdez" syndrome when removing the canister (36mm wrench). One is to open the drain plug in crankcase as normal, then loosen the filter canister a little to release the "seal"...the canister oil drains thru the crankcase that way and can be removed easily and with no spills!

BTW: My Preference is Mobile One Syn...Never use normal oil in even my snowblower...Regular oil absorbs H20 faster and breaks down faster...small price to pay for treating your auto properly! (BTW: I live in Nevada...desert sand and dirt takes it's toll!

 

Do an oil change immediately after the break-in period is over. That will drain out any fine bits of metal that accumulate during the break in.

DO NOT take your Mini to someplace like Jiffy Lube, etc. Many times those guys will over-torque the drain plug, and strip the threads out.

 

I would absolutely do an oil change between 1000 and 1500 miles, and again at around 5000. In fact I will gratefully accept MINI/BMW's "free" maintenance but take their fluid change intervals with a grain of salt. I just changed the "life time" fill transmission fluid on my X3 at 30000 miles and you wouldn't believe how filthy it was.

 

I will echo the other posts regarding the oil changes - DO NOT (if you value your car and want to enjoy it for a long time) take it into a Jiffy Lube kind of place. You run the risk of too much collateral damage (things like a drain bolt and/or filter housing that gets over-torqued come to mind). It would be one thing if over-torqing was the only consequence, but then there is the damage that occurs as a consequence of the over-torqing - strip the threads in the oil pan and you have to repair (or worst case replace the oil pan); if the filter housing cracks from over-torqing and you loose all of your oil... (well, I think you get the idea).

Changing the engine oil & filter is really a very easy thing to do. Get a pair of ramps at K-Mart/Wal-Mart/whomever, oil & filter from a MINI dealer (or, if you are into Redline or whatever, use that), a 6 qt. drain pan, 3/8 inch drive torque wrench, 3/8 inch drive 36 mm socket and (oops, I forgot which size; I just grab the right socket that fits the drain plug...) the 12? mm 3/8 inch drive socket, and a bunch of paper towels to clean up the little oil drips and you are ready to go. The biggest hassle is maneuvering the oil filter housing out of its space behind the engine. Once you get the hang of it, the entire process takes more time to let the oil drain than anything else. If you are concerned about the used engine oil contacting your skin (dermatitis, etc.), get a pair of rubber gloves. Changing the engine oil and filter on the MINI is one of the simplest maintenance procedures I have ever done. The only one that I can think of that was simpler was replacing the round air filter on my father's Delta 88 back in the 1970s - spin a wingnut, remove the top of the filter housing, remove the old filter, replace the new filter and filter housing cover and spin the wingnut back on.

 

Ha! Lifetime fill is a marketing spin kind of term. The only problem with the automatic transmissions in the BMWs (and for that matter, the MINI) is that there is no provision for a complete replacement of the transmission fluid - the fluid that is in the drain pan is only about 1/3 of the total fuid (there is the fluid that remains in the transmission body and torque converter that will contaminate the new fluid). You either have to replace the fuid in the pan multiple times at the time you do the service or, you have to replace the fluid on shorter intervals (~15,000 miles). If you don't replace the transmission fluid as a maintenance item, you will see premature transmission life. How much premature is open to debate, but it will fail sooner.

 

Very easy to do. Access to the filter is a bit tight (which is why I use a 3/8 inch drive socket and torque wrench - they have a slightly smaller form factor which helps with the tight space around the filter housing). Also, the 3/8 inch drive torque wrenches have a lower minimum setting to be able to accommodate the low torque tightening setting for the oil filter housing.

 

My girlfriends husband has graciously offered his garage and tools for mod's and maintanence. And offered a helping hand with a 6 pack of beer. He does maintanence on his bmw. So, I will go 2 better, pizza, and a good import beer! I am mechanically inclined, so I should be able to learn quickly. But, I am definitely bringing home some rubber gloves cuz I am NOT a fan of dirty hands. Must the nurse part of me.

 

Hmmm. Sounds like a very interesting kind of relationship!

 

Hey gromit, how do I get those cool badges like yours?