North American Motoring - F55/F56 :: Hatch Talk (2014+)

F55/F56 So how much do I add???

bipedalnakedape — Wed, 13 May 2026 18:58:55 GMT

First car without a dipstick and I will openly admit .. I hate it.

So .. I just did an oil change. As is my custom when doing oil changes, I go a little low to allow for any residual that might be in the car. So I did my check and this is what it shows me.

I would be most appreciative if someone with more Mini knowledge than I can tell me about what this means as far as additional oil. Is this 4oz, 12??

I certainly don't want to go over but I don't know what this amount of oil means as far as quantity. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

R56 Backup Camera Trouble

swood1122 — Thu, 07 May 2026 23:52:53 GMT

Hello All - I suddenly lost my backup camera last week in my 2020 Cooper S. When I shift into reverse, the image from the camera no longer appears on the screen. Backup sensors are still appear and are active, just no image from the camera. I tried searching the board and didn't immediately find much. Is there a setting that I could have accidentally turned it off? Any troubleshooting tips I can try? Would welcome any help here...really miss the backup camera! Thanks for any help provided!

F55/F56 AC Compressor Replacement

2door15 — Wed, 06 May 2026 10:35:32 GMT

Hello Everyone,
My AC compressor seized at 262,000 miles- probably time to give up the car. However I wanted to ask if it was possible to DIY install a new compressor and then have a shop recharge
the system. Are there any serious risks opening the system without having it evacuated first? Mechanical, environmental? I suppose I could get a shop to empty it and refill after completion. Are new compressors filled with oil or is this done during installation?

F55/F56 Front lower control arms repalcement

ds77777 — Tue, 05 May 2026 11:30:12 GMT

Anybody tuckle Front lower control arms repalcement? Have a knocking noise on bumps and with breaking acceleration.Was looking for advise if I need to buy OEM or Amazon offer is good to go? Anybody to share experience

F55/F56 Looking For Front Bumper COVER see pic

3S1 — Mon, 04 May 2026 00:42:32 GMT

Re: 24 F55/56
Does anyone know of a piece to cover the front bumper? Somewhere I’ve seen a faux grill piece to cover the bumper, but WHERE(?) escapes my dim memory. Any help appreciated. This is the look I’m trying to achieve…

F55/F56 Bonnet Stripe Removal Quick Question

3S1 — Sat, 02 May 2026 19:02:13 GMT

Awaiting the arrival of my new to me MINI F56. A 2024 with manual trannie! Incredibly only 3.4K miles! Maybe the last manual manufactured� who knows.
Here is my question: I plan to remove the bonnet stripes, should I expect the newly exposed paint to differ from the rest of the car�s �Zesty Yellow� color?
Thanks for comments/suggestions.

F55/F56 can 2108 OEM Union Jack tail lights be used in a stock 2015 F55?

valvashon — Sat, 02 May 2026 17:59:00 GMT

I purchased used OEM 2018 Union Jack tail lights from a fellow MINI owner that was changing over to the blackout style. These are not plug and play as I have found out. There is also a lot of conflicting info about how to retreofit the UJ tail lights. I have attached pictures of the stock ones and the OEM 2018 ones. The wiring harness in the car has 5 wires; if I do the wire move I found on YouTube the lights work somewhat normally after coding but the 'running lights' light up all of the segments and I still get a turn signal error on the dash. The turn signals and the brake lights light up the "T" bar (or vertical and horizonal) part of the light brighter but I was under the impression that the "T" part should be completely off until the turn signals or brakes are used. Is that not the case?
I am using BimmerCode V 2.02 from a desktop MacBook Pro through an OBD-II cable (not a plug in dongle) although that shouldn't matter, should it? This verison of BimmerCode doesn't seem to have a separate section for the warm and cold monitoring unless you go into the expert part; I did that and it was already set as if changing the type to LED turned off the voltage monitoring.

I've put $$ into the OEM lights and don't want to buy aftermarket lights as I have seen way too many bad aftermarket lights and ones that don't last.

Any help would be appreciated- thanks.

Original "halogen" tail light

2018 UJ OEM light; this is what lights up when the tail lights are on before coding and without the wire moved over.

Back of UJ lights

Back of OEM original lights

Part number of OEM original lights

Part number of OEM UJ lights

F55/F56 0w-30 availability ?

bipedalnakedape — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:14:50 GMT

2014 F56s
My next oil change is due and on my last one, the first I did on this car since owning it, I used

Castrol EDGE Euro 0W-30 A3/B4 Advanced Full Synthetic Motor

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007G7PUMS?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_ti tle_1

Car seemed much happier with it than what was in the car but I dont know what was in the car. it warmed up a bit faster and dropped into idle sooner than before I changed the oil. I would like to use 0w-30 again but I dont seem to be able to find any that meet the cars specs or .. I just dont know what I am looking for.

That particular oil seems to be out of stock everywhere and I am not married to that brand but in general finding 0w-30 has been difficult, all the sites I go to including ECS recommend 5w-30

Can someone suggest a quality 0w-30 or do I just go over to the 5w even though the manual and my car seem to run suggest 0w-30

F55/F56 2016 F56 Aisin Transmission Fluid?

Oplix — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:02:23 GMT

I was quoted from MINI dealer as "ATF-6" for the Aisin 6 speed automatic. Could anyone here find me a comparable product? Dealer is almost $80 per quart.

F55/F56 Long cranking

jlm78 — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:15:58 GMT

I bought a used 2019 MINI four-door with 28k miles about a year ago. It has recently had an issue cranking up. There's no pattern to it. Sometimes it happens after the car has been sitting for a day or so, but there was another time, for example, when the car was unused for about six days, and it cranked right up effortlessly, like it was a brand-new car.

I don't think it's the spark plugs and the battery is still good. Is it likely to be the coils? Before this car, I had a 2013 MINI hatch, a model that came with factory ignition coils that were infamously garbage. Do the third-generation Coopers also come with crappy ignition coils? Or is the long cranking the symptom of something else?

F55/F56 Oil check

bipedalnakedape — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:19:09 GMT

2014 F56s
Oh why cant I have a dipstick. Old Curmudgeon with a safety check needed.

Do I add oil or leave it the hell alone? If so .. how much do I add?

Almost 2000 miles since my last oil change so about 1000 to my next.
I figure .. it says OK but .. wanted to check with you experts. :)

Thank you in advance for any guidance.