SO, I just had my second routine maintenance at the dealer @ 17000 miles. Last time they overfilled by a quart. I dinged them on the MINI USA survey as a result. I got a call from the SM afterwards. He basically said it was impossible for them to overfill. Uh huh. Overfill is really hard to see on the stock dipstick, but very easy to see on the Cravenspeed dipstick. After my second service it looks like it was overfilled again by ~1 quart. I have a Pela oil extractor that I used to remove the excess. Anyone else getting a bonus quart at the dealer?

 

I should probably check mine after my oil change last week. I guess I'm too trusting.

 

Are u absolutely certain that the Cravenspeed dipstick measures exactly the same as the MINI dipstick?

 

I would suggest you take the old stock dip stick and do a comparison test between it and the Craven.
I still use the original dip stick, however I've modified it by removing the bottom bulb which was drawing oil up into the tube giving a false reading every time I tried checking it.
Works fine now.

 

I think I'd be looking into what method they used to replenish the oil.

Although I don't see it as impossible, overfilling twice by your estimation is a bit odd. Once, OK, twice, Meh!

Do you have the OEM dip stick to check your level against the Cravenspeed stick? Are you checking it correctly? If you dip the stick and remove it several times in succession, you'll can draw oil up the tube that may lead to false level indications. You need to allow the oil the drain back before repeating the level check.

 

Shees! Yes I know how to check my own oil. Once the oil overfill goes past the plastic bit on the OEM dipstick, it is hard to see how far past, because it is up the metal rod. The overfill is easier to see on the Craven. Once I removed about a quart, both Craven and OEM dipsticks are in perfect agreement! Yes I am parked on a level garage floor. Now back to my original question...anybody getting overfill at the dealer? I guess next time I'm going to check it before driving away.

 

Mine has always been over filled by a half quart.. Its no big deal with me.. Way I understand the reason is because people don't check there oil enough or when they do they are not reading it correctly.

 

Mine has been closer to a quart over each time. Owners manual says engine damage may result from overfill, so I'm not generally cool with it. Mine does not use oil either, even though I've got a tiny leak from the oil selenoid.

 

chini I do understand what you mean. The SA that I talked too said that its normal. He said that they do it so the ones that don't check there oil will have a better chance to make it between oil changes. The last time I was in for the oil change I checked my oil before leaving the dealership and sure enough it was over full. So I had a tech come out and he then told me it was a half quart over full and then said it was fine and not to worry because this was the new norm. But if yours is almost a full quart then I don't think that is right. I think there is leeway but not a full quart. But im totally with you on why even fill it over full.. I find it very strange..lol..

 

I understand that they are trying to help, but I check my oil every couple of weeks. I guess I need to tell them they have nothing to fear by putting it at the right level. I've never had to add a drop between changes though. I do change it myself between the service interval, which is about 4500 miles.

 

Mine was also overfilled by .5L. I suspect the same as Zippy. My buddy told me horror stories about past owners at the dealer. 10,000 miles and the hood never gets opened. Bah. Crap gets checked every two weeks on both cars.. Always..! As long as it's not whipping oil with the crank it's ok.

 

danjreed, the SA told me the same horror stories.. People that never check there oil or even open there hood.. I always check my oil routinely.. But the SA told me that most people don't .. He was surprised when I had him come out to the lot when I noticed my oil was over full!

 

My dealer overfilled the oil and I did not discover it until I got home. Mine was overfilled by 0.6 quarts (verified by pumping out the excess) The next time I went in for a oil change I told them what happed last time and that I did not want it overfilled again. The service manager came out and told me they regularly put in 5 quarts and said that he didn't think that this amount of overfilling would create any problems. I told him that I felt the overfilling causes several problems (extra pressure on seals, frothing the oil, causing more oil to pass through positive crankcase ventilation,..etc). He agreed to put in 4 quarts and give me a quart for topping off the level. That worked great. He said that they overfill to compensate for the oil that is used and the long recommended service interval. My Justa has not used much oil between 7000 miles (twice a year) oil changes. I have never overfilled my oil and don't believe there are any benefits doing it and lots of reasons not to do it.


'Morris' 2011 MC, PW/B, 28,000 trouble free miles

 

Overfilling sounds like the "policy". I guess I'll just keep removing the excess. Rediculousness.

 

I checked mine yesterday and it was about half a quart over, maybe a little less. My wife's Clubman was about 1/4 quart over (oil change ~1 month ago).

 

Here's a thought for MINI. How about changing the oil change intervals?! Maybe instead of telling people to keep driving 10k miles, drop that to 5K (severe) and 7.5k (regular) instead of over filling our cars. Maybe just maybe the new F56 will actually be able to go 10k without burning too much oil in between, but with the N14 and N18 engines thats been proven wrong by us.

 

the craven reads EXACTLY the same as stock ... i tested when i got mine by filling in stages during an oil/filter change

 

What's the point in having a specified level or specified capacity if the dealer(s) are going to ignore it? That's one of the goofiest things I've ever heard.

But as to the original question, yes my Clubman was overfilled on at least one of the dealer services, but I don't recall by how much, just that I got the Pela out and pulled it down. Can't tell you how many instances of this I've had on various vehicles over the years.

 

I think the reason for this oil over fill is more related to how vulnerable these engines are when the oil is low. So my guess is this is something the dealers were told to start doing. With the vast range of oil consumption across the board I think they now just fill all MINIs over full on purpose. Is this good to do? Im not sure..Only time will tell how long they will continue this practice.

 

Still strikes me odd. I just did mine and 4.5 qt puts it at the top of the "full" bulge on the dipstick. I'll keep an eye on it. I'll also ask at the next service and see if I can get them to admit the policy, and to tell me it's okay for me to put five quarts in.

 

I agree with you in finding this odd.. I do as well. But getting the dealer to admit to anything would be a shocker. I did notice once my SA came outside with me about my oil being over full he seemed to talk a lot more freely about the reason of the over fill..lol

 

I'm the OP. Ok so I dropped my car off at the dealer to get the oil selenoid replaced under warranty. They gave me a loaner CMS All 4. I decided to check the oil level, just to see if they overfill their loaners too. Yup, about a half quart over. At least they are consistent. It looks like they are just dumping in 5 quarts. Hill to the Larious!

 

if their work isn't good enough, I'd do it myself.......

 

I do change it myself half way between scheduled maintenance. The point is to make folks aware that this may be happening at the dealerships. After replacing my oil selenoid it looks like they topped me off above the mark. Ugh.

 

Same here, half quart over after a dealer oil change. It's probably fine but why can't bmw just say so !!