This was posted originally by another forum member. I thought it would be a good addition to FAQ.

F56 Oil Change Procedures
This weekend, I got under the car and changed the oil. From day one, I was never going to just follow only the Boot to Bonnet No Cost Maintenance schedule, as to me, every 10K miles is crazy! If you think spending $60 bucks and an hour or so of your time, to protect your engine in between the manufacturer's recommended change schedule, is excessive, then rock on. I will certainly take advantage of the Mini service that I've paid for in the cost of my vehicle, but I will also change the oil in between their schedule. I personally feel that frequent oil changes (every 4K - 5K) is a cheap and easy method to ensuring a longer life for your engine. In the end, you'll choose the interval you're comfortable with, or wait for the computer/calendar to tell you.

So, for those that want to change their own oil but haven't yet - here are the steps. It's extremely easy and a way to stay in touch with your Mini and feel good about yourself at the same time.

I noticed that some drivers on this Forum remove the entire undercarriage cover to get greater access to oil drain and filter housing. I went with trying to change the oil just using the two access panels to see how easy or not it is.

Ensure the engine has been run and is warmed to operating temperature.
Either jack up the car and place on jack stands or drive the front of the wheels onto a pair of ramps or if available use a lift. For my F56 I will simply use the ramps. It's quick and easy.
Open the hood and then open the oil fill cap to allow the old oil to drain easier.
Getting access to the oil drain plug and the oil filter housing is as simple as turning the plastic housing retainers and then flipping the access panels open. The access panels are located towards the passenger side of the engine (see the first photo). From underneath, you can't miss the outline of the panels. The retainers holding them closed can be turned by hand, no coins or tools needed.
The oil drain plug takes a 17 mm hex socket. Place a good sized oil pan under the rear access panel, remove the plug with your 17mm socket, and drain the oil. Take caution, the oil will be hot. Let this drain completely and then replace the drain plug so you can move the oil catch pan to under the oil filter housing.
The filter element canister has a separate drain plug. Don't skip this step!!!! There is quite a bit of oil still in the filter canister and simply removing the canister will ensure you get hot oil all over the place. Use a 13 mm socket with an extender to open this plug and drain the oil out of the canister. You can replace the plug when complete to stop any further oil dripping while you remove the canister itself.
Using a 32 mm hex socket, I found that I needed not only a socket extender but also an angle attachment (see the second photo). Remove the oil filter canister.
I ordered the Oil Filter Kit w/ O-ring from ECS Tuning plus 5 quarts of the Mini Synthetic 5W-30. The kit and oil are affordable, shipped quickly, and had all the right parts (including the larger sized oil filter element - part no. 11 42 8 570 590).
Take off the old gasket from the canister, apply some oil to the new gasket and replace it onto the filter canister. I also replaced the drain plug in the bottom of the canister housing (since the kit came with a new one, not sure if all new kits have this or not). Then installed the new filter element into the housing. When putting the canister back into the access panel, you will need to use a bit of force to get the oil filter onto the oil flow tube on the engine. The hole in the top of the filter itself will fit snugly onto the tube/pipe. It will sort of "pop on" the first time. At this point, then you can begin to screw the bottom of the filter canister back onto the engine. I didn't bother with torquing it to a certain spec, but made sure it was on snug. At this time, also ensure the smaller drain plug that you previously replaced on the canister is also on snug and firm but not over tightened.
With the new filter element replaced and that part of the job finished, open the oil drain plug again after placing the used catch oil container back underneath. You will have more oil that will drain out! Let this complete, and then replace the old o-ring with the new o-ring from the kit (it may still be in place on the oil pan or it may have fallen into the used oil container; mine was still on the oil pan). Replace the plug, tighten, and clean any residue on the pan with a rag. Again, I don't torque this, personal preference. I go by feel.
Restore the access panels and close the retainers. I was impressed that I got little to no used oil splatters on the panels.
Now fill you car with the 5 quarts of Mini oil. I initially added 4.5 quarts and later checked the oil level with Mini's handy electronic oil level process (I miss the dip stick!!!). It required another half a quart so I added the rest and it's all good. This amount matches the used amount of oil that I removed (5 quarts). Close the oil fill cap and wipe down any dirt, debris, and oil drips.
UPDATE: The amount of oil used in the F56 MCS is actually 5L (5.3 quarts) - Unfortunately quantities of liquids are not documented anywhere in the Owner's Manual (appalling actually). I have driven over 500 miles since this oil change and the 5 quarts I put into the car never got the electronic oil level gauge up to the full mark. I then decide to add 1/3 of a more quart of oil which would then equate to 5 liters and bingo, I'm at the full mark on the electronic "dipstick" (ah yes, a dipstick would have been much more effective throughout this whole process). Actually, just put the fluid quantity in the Owner's Manual and I would never have to put so much effort into this very basic vehicle maintenance job.

The next day, to confirm I performed everything correctly, I checked both access panels for signs of oil drips; no drips and all looks good.
Good luck to all. I recommend you get in there and change your oil in between the Boot to Bonnet No Cost Maintenance schedule. Your Mini will love it!

Plus, the next time I perform this oil change service, it will go even faster.

 

These are just basic guidelines. Use the oil recommended for your vehicle. Mini has been known to change brands/formulas occasionally.

 

The ECS price is pretty good at $67

Compared to Amazon 6 qts of Castrol 0/30 Euro, and a Mahle filter for $63

(Which both Male and Mann are both OEM suppliers to MINI)

 

Nice how to as this will help many owners. In our shop I like to take the entire panel off just so the customer doesn't get any oil drip off the panel later if it splashes.

FYI we offer a 32mm socket that is 3/8 drive to make it easy to get the filter off which is on super sale right now
https://www.waymotorworks.com/32mm-o...er-socket.html

also check local parts stores for the oil as ours here typically have it in 5L jugs for the $30ish range

As for the filter we ONLY use the factory MINI filter
https://www.waymotorworks.com/oil-filter-f56.html

 

As long as the oil is BMW long-life oil 1, BMW LL-01.

BMW/MINI Long-life rating LL-01 Approved Synthetic Oils for the US Market

Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30


Mahle and Mann are now suppliers of MINI filters.
Previously Purflux.

 

Thanks, this is awesome, I always change my new car's oil at 1,200 miles, then every 5k and I still use the Mini oil changes in between my oil changes.

 

The updated filter drain plug uses a T55 Torx.

 

Be aware that fill amount for B48,B46 is 5.25 Liters. Info from my dealer and also from BMW tech manual:Home / MINI F56 Cooper S Hatchback / Repair Manuals and Technical Data / 00 Maintenance and general note / 00 00 Maintenance /https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...epair-manuals/

Joe

 

I did my oil change on my 2015 F56. It only took 3.7qt (U.S.) and measures full.
First time, I used 4 qt Valvoline 5w40 LL04 that I had stashed very long ago, and then after 6 months, the second time I used Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 just because I had nowhere else to use that oil. Both are full synthetic, but Quaker State is not BMW LL spec. I'm using OEM filters.
I'm not too concerned as I will be doing next oil change in 6 months or 4000 miles, and I don't drive hard. Next oil change will be with Penzoil Platinum European LL01, which I got for very cheap after rebate.

It's only been my second time doing the oil change on my Mini, but I really hate how they made the filter replacement a pain in the ***. I can change oil and filter of wife's Mazda CX-5 without a drop of oil on the floor in 20 minutes, while the Mini takes almost an hour, including the time to take off the whole underbody, and then there's always a mess and I have to use a oil pan.

 

Probably should have mentioned that you have a three banger vs a 2.0. I put 5 Liters in mine every time I change the oil and filter. I'm also thinking seriously about converting to a spin on filter in the near future too.

 

Raising the zombie thread from the dead..

I have done about 5 oil changes, I'm also considering a spin on adapter, but also a quick drain adapter. I am not a fan of petcock valves, which a lot of them use. The only one that is not petcock valve based I could find is this, which is sold as 2 parts (picture shows both), 70 for the drain pan side, $50 for the coupling. ps, I have no association with the company, I found it on amazon, and then went searching for the vendors site. Overall, it is expensive, not sure if it is worth it. It is Aeroquip.

 

And of course after posting this.. I found others, by Femco Stahlbus, and a few random brands. Any recommendations...

 

Group,

Time for me to start changing the oil. I've had my 2015 MCS for a little over a year and the CPO runs out at the end of this year so it's time for me to start doing the oil changes. Plus, I want to do them more often than my MINI tells me to.

My question is: the sticker on my motor says to use 5W 30, should I stick with that? Or go with???

Suggestions and reasons for appreciated.


Cheers!

Joseph

 

jvanbrecht,

I've seen the Aeroquip type used in racing applications before and have found them to be a bit fiddly. Especially once they are a few years old. Something about the caps being aluminium and the little rubber o-rings not lasting the test of time. I'll take a bolt and copper washer any day, but that's me. I'm with you on the petcock, I was always disassembling and cleaning the one on my old BMW's oil filter housing everytime I changed the oil. It didn't speed anything up and made just as much mess.

Aeroquip is a quality product. Photos if you do the switch, please. I'd like to see the results.


Cheers,

Joseph

 

I would be fine with regular drain plugs.. but I find draining the oil so messy. In my previous car (2009 AMG C63), I would syphon out the oil from the dipstick. The filter was up top, easy to replace. I could do it in my work clothes and not get dirty. Every other oil change I would do it from the bottom, as well as drain the oil cooler.

I want the quick connect so I can attach a tube to it from my syphon pump and cleanly drain most of the oil.

 

Going to change the oil in my 19 Cooper S convertible this weekend. Got the oil change kit from ECS so hopefully I’m good to go. Those ramps look better than the ones I picked up. Anyone have an idea which version they are?

im also hoping there isn’t much difference between OP’s car and mine. It’s my first MINI so I’m not sure of all the F numbers and designations.

Wish me luck.

 

F56 mean 2 door hardtop (I think). I think the OP had an S too. So I would think it should be the same procedure as the convertible S, but I'm not sure if there are somehow differences with the convertible. Oh, and I'm not sure if it was in this thread or another one, but you might need a T55 Torx adapter for the drain plug. I read that some cars have them as their drain plug so I'm going to get one just in case so I don't have to run to the store in the middle of the job. Good luck!

I received a new filter and cap yesterday (from Way Motor Works)! I'm excited to do my own break-in oil change on my 2019 F56 MINI Cooper S. Not that the OP didn't do a good job, but I'll try to take some photos to detail the procedure a bit more too. I'm going to use MOBIL1 oil, so hopefully that won't cause an issue, but everything else should be OEM.

 

Ready for its first oil change.

And no access panels. One piece appears to be held on by 8 torx screws that are sized somewhere between 30 and 25.

 

Off to the store for a T27 torx bit.

Back to to the store for a T27 torx bit with the little hole. Apparently tamper proof is a thing!

 

Holy cow, I'd actually be pretty pissed about that. I recently did my 2019 JCW hardtop and it did have the access panels, but I wanted to get a good look at everything the first time, so I went ahead and took it off anyway. My panel screws were 8mm regular sockets

 

I’ve got a couple of motorcycles so I’m used to one off weird fittings. Lol

Did get the oil changed. Won’t tell you how long it took but next time I figure I can get it done in 30-40 minutes. Overall pretty close to the OP’s instructions.

The ECS kit had an extra copper washer in the filter bag. I ended up using that on their magnetic drain plug since it was identically sized to the one off the car.

MINI does have that engine bay stuffed full though. I’d hate to try to do anything else.

 

I did my oil change and I'd say it went as expected, maybe a bit better (cleaner).

I used car ramps for the first time and they were nice. I had the panels for the oil change which opened easily without tools. And you can see that the panel is held in place with "regular" bolts.


The panels open and are labeled. I'm guessing the + is for the drain plug and the O is for the filter assembly.


There's the drain plug (17 mm) which was pretty easy to remove and the oil drained cleanly through the panels. It's the horizontal one, not either of the two smaller ones staring straight at you.


There's a picture of the filter assembly. The filter assembly drain plug was a Torx T55, which I read somewhere so I was prepared. I needed to use an extender to reach the filter drain plug and it was a somewhat odd angle so it was a bit tight to unscrew. The oil drained out of the filter assembly. I used a 32 mm adapter (also from WMWs) to remove the filter assembly.


I saw that my OEM filter kit from WMWs came with a washer. I didn't see a washer on the drain plug, but I added it there since it fit. I felt around the area and it felt like a washer might have been stuck there, but I couldn't move it and visually, it didn't look like there was a washer there. More oil did pour out after I felt around that area. I oiled up the plug and screwed it in by hand.

I removed the cartridge filter from the assembly, then added the new filter. It just seems to snap in. I then added a new assembly drain plug (since it came with the kit) and torqued it to spec (44.5 inch-lb; note that is inch, not feet). I figured I'd torque everything to spec since it's a brand new car! There was also a new o-ring for the assembly, so I switched out the old one and added the new one in.


I oiled up the assembly and screwed it in by hand. At first, it wasn't taking so I pushed up until it clicked. I torqued the assembly to spec (18.4 ft-lbs). Then I torqued the drain plug to spec (14.8 ft-lbs). I bought the torque wrenches yesterday and am enjoying the confidence of using a spec versus just tightening it as much as I can (which I used to do with my previous cars).

Then I added my 0W-20 Mobil1 oil (5 full bottles and about 1/3 of another one). I turned on the car, it gave several warning (mainly the hood was open and the door was open), but it said that the oil level was acceptable. I couldn't measure it though. So I'll have to drive it for 30 minutes then measure? I guess I'll do it tomorrow when I go to work. (That's kind of annoying, honestly.)

I thought it was a pretty clean procedure so I'm pleased. I'll have to make sure the oil level is accurate tomorrow. I'll also open up the panels to make sure there's no leaking oil. But I figured I'd document my oil change and add more photos since I didn't really know what to expect since I never changed a cartridge filter before.

 

No real difference with canister vs cartridge element filter. Just be sure to replace the O'ring and put a little oil around it before reinstalling. BMW started using 0w20 around 2016-17 for oil but before that they suggested 5w30/40 0w30/40, nothing changed internally on the engine. The switch was made to help improve fuel economy across the fleet ..

"BMW's newest TwinPower Turbo engine oil is LL14 FE+ certified. It meets BMW's standards for LongLife 2014 ("LL14") and improved fuel economy ("FE+"). In testing, BMW saw a 3% improvement in fuel economy over the LL01 5W30 in the N20 4-cylinder. The new 0W20 replaces the previous 5W30 oil used in some 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder BMW models and is the standard oil for the new B-series modular engines (B46, B48, B58). As of December 2015, BMW has not backdated the 0W20 for any other engines"

I still use 0w40 in my 19' S as I am concerned with oil sheer at higher RPM. Toyota and Honda have started using 0w16 motor oils...

 

0w16... that's new and interesting.

And I checked my oil level this morning after driving to work. It claims I filled the perfect amount. So 5.3 quarts seems to be a good amount. Something that I remember is when I was replacing the washer on the oil plug drain, I noticed that more oil came out from the drain. It may have been due to installing the filter assembly (maybe pushing oil out of the assembly), so I'll probably not plug the drain until I'm ready to add oil next time.

I'll check my panels tonight and makes sure there's no leak. The panels are nice for keeping everything clean and tidy, but I normally like to do a visual inspection the next day. At least I bought ramps so I can just drive up, open them, and check.

 

This post and additional replies talk of ramps or jacks to raise ONLY the front of the car to drain the oil pan & filter. I've found elsewhere on the web pictures of Minis on jack stands at all 4 corners -- suggesting that maybe a perfectly level Mini might be required to insure complete oil draining. This (and related posts) indicate that the "front-only" approach is OK. I also found another video that showed jacking up only one front corner of the Mini, removing the oil drain plug, and letting the jack down until the oil is completely drained.

Can anyone speak authoritatively on this subject?

Thanks.

p.s. and many thanks to those who've authored or added to this very useful description....