MINI has it, but not all dealerships apparently. Mine told me I'd be getting such a call; the sales manager told me only a few dealerships offered this. Don't know if that's true or not, and I haven't had my first date yet, either.

 

Paul, that sucks. Mini should do right by you. But, that same problem happened to my sons brand new Jeep Wrangler. Couldn't figure it out. Towed to dealer and according to Jeep, it was a bad oil cap seal. Huh ?? Oil cap seal ? Man, I hope my Hardtop doesn't have any gremlins. It's been a blast so far. His system gave him a warning though. He was on the highway too. When I got to him, there was oil everywhere and they even replaced his soft top which was splattered with oil. Mini shouldn't force your hand. They should just replace the engine and be done with. It's called "exceptional customer service". I drove a 1973 Super Beetle all through college and my first hitch in the Army. Drove it from Ft. Mead, Maryland to Ft Irwin, California without a hitch. The only reason I sold it was because kids starting showing up. Maybe air cooled engines need to make a comeback.

 

Bad oil cap seal lol. Like you can lose quarts of oil mysteriously from that. Like there's high pressure oil just dying to come rushing out of the oil cap if the seal's bad.

 

Let me know if they do anything extra for you. Lemon laws say you have to give them a chance to fix the issue. So not much for Mini or the dealer to do. Also so far only two of us have had issues. Not enough to force recall.

 

Funny you mention Wranglers. I have a 2012 and the left side heads are prone to problems. My Jeep started loosing power and fuel economy. Basically Chrysler couldnt care less unless the engine threw a code. I complained bitterly that it was driving on half the engine but the car was "OK" Two days later it FINALLY threw a code and suddenly it was broken. PITA... I don't think there are any cars immune to problems. What I think is defining is how the company treats you when there is a problem. Chrysler did fix the car, but I didn't feel too well treated along the way.

Paul

 

Got the call tonight. Took 5 quarts of oil. I was told that other cars have run low on oil but apparently this was the first one at this dealership to need 5 quarts to bring it up to full.

I asked about compression testing, etc. Was told that Mini doesn't cover that but that the car would be driven to see if it drives OK. Glad it will be driven, but this seems like a bit of a seat-of-the-pants examination... Literally... and not much comfort to me to be honest. The guy testing the car tonight is a nice young man, I hope the car doesn't fail and cause him injury. I am kind of nutty about other people driving my cars. This is one time I didn't want to be the test dummy.


Paul

 

Wow, that's not really acceptable. Unless they give you a free 200k mile power train warranty. I wouldn't settle for less than that or perfect compression numbers (not that I know what they would be). Hope you get a better answer soon!

 

"Mini doesn't cover that" ???
Time to move up the ladder.
Service Manager then District Rep.
Definitely a leak-down test, especially with the 5 quart loss.
5 quarts must be close to a complete loss.

NOTE: F56 S
Engine lubricant oil capacity:
5 liter / 5.3 U.S. qt / 4.4 imp. qt
www.automobile-catalog.com/oil_coolant_capacity/2014/

 

Short of disassembling the engine and measuring valves, cylinders, cylinder walls, timing chains, etc. for warping or excessive wear, they can't tell you anything for certain other than "the test drive was good to go, if you have future problems bring her on in again"...
If anything, you did an accelerated break-in and thanks to Mini using synthetic oil and the low speeds you were driving at when it happened, I think it'll be fine. Just my humble opinion... Oh and the whole incident is documented so if other problems were to arise you have documentation to shove in their face.

 

Wow!

MINI had a gut to say that after their 110% screwup?!

And somewhat equal disappointment goes to the dealership where the car was purchased from. Compression test does not cost much at all, just labor to remove spark plugs, screw in the guage fitting and crank the motor for a few seconds for each jug. Since MINI corp doesn't want to pay for the labor, the dealership should have done it for you as a "We're sorry" service (especially when you requested).

So, all MINI did was:
> Replaced oil filter housing.
> Added 5 qts of oil.
> Test drive.

Did they even replace the oil filter?

At this point, I will NOT be surprised if they didn't replace it.
This is very upsetting.

 

Lost 5 quarts of oil???? Wow, that is a complete loss. But I'm not really sure I believe it. It was still leaking oil when you stopped and there was still oil leaking when it was loaded on the flatbed. When you stopped the engine there was no more pressure to force oil out so there had to be oil left in the engine. Maybe some other tech drained the oil (which makes sense) and the service record says 'added 5 quarts' which would have been enough to refill it (actually 4.5 quarts). So I'm not sure I'd believe it lost all its oil from this leak.

If it did that kind of changes things since that could have caused damage to the engine. If that were the case then I'm not sure I'd want the car. But I think I'd really question the service department to explain if it really lost all the oil, or they drained the oil and refilled it.

 

I did. He said to see how much oil was lost the mechanic put in three quarts and checked the oil. Still low. Put in another quart. Still low. Another quart and it was full. 5 quarts filled it. The road test results will be in later this morning.


Paul

 

Since they never changed your oil but just added to it until full, I would drive the car for enough miles for the new oil to pick up any trace elements that would show possible excessive wear caused by having been run low on oil and then have this "new" oil tested.

 

Yea I think if down the road past warranty you had a very premature engine failure you would have this incident to blame, and I think in the end they would still be responsible. I would maybe even call mini usa and be very nice with them and see if they would be willing to extend the drivetrain warranty any. its worth a shot. make sure you get a print out of the paperwork stating it was 5 quarts of oil too low.

 

honestly tho, i have a feeling a lot of the oil was lost after the engine was shut off. It sounds like from your story the engine was not run dry of oil or if it was it was only for an instant.

 

Paul,

Ask dealer to hook up their diagnostic computer and check the ECU for any faults registered by the oil pressure sensor or any other sensor that might have triggered when the engine lost all the oil. If there was any such fault, ask them to print out a copy and keep it in your safe box as long as you own that car. You might need it later.

Wait a sec.
The dealer may tell you MINI USA doesn't pay them for hooking up the diagnostic computer (which takes less than 5 minutes)!

 

I would like to believe this, but I believe the part that failed was above the height of the pan. Every drop of oil that came out was first pumped out of the pan by the oil pump. There was no puncture of the oil pan.

I am worried about the motor, the turbo and the oil pump. Also if debris could block the passageways where oil flows during normal operation.

Paul

 

You might be OK here. But I think the dealership should warranty the engine against any future damage/repairs that could have been caused by extremely low oil level which did occur and was indeed caused by a manufacturer's defect/recall. This is a unique situation and I think someone could authorize that warranty clause for you alone.

 

Obvioiusly that may happen only if customer requests or demands it - free extended warranty on the engine.

And regardless of MINI's response to above, I would be very keen on collecting and recoriding any symptom that may arise due to this failure.

Typical symtoms after engine experiencing lack of lubrication:
> Low power feeling
> Low MPG
> Low compression
> Hard starting (especially when engine is cold)
> Smoking at tail pipe
> Oil burning smell
> Oil consumption
> Engine stalling (especially when idling)
> High ppm level of metal contaminants in lab analysis of engine oil
Etc.

 

For those who are posting about the low oil pressure light not coming on, it doesn't come on right away. The oil has to be significantly low.

On my r53, the O-ring on the oil filter housing busted and the only reason I found the oil leak is because I checked my tire pressure that day. I had only driven my car maybe 10 miles that day and I lost 2-2 1/2 quarts of oil with no oil pressure light on.

 

In this case, I would think 5 quarts qualify for "significantly low".

 

Mine lost 4 quart for the leaking oil filter housing. Took dealer two hours to clean engine from sprayed oil. Dripping oil was covering rear bumper. After service filed out survey from Mini USA. Post comments about not trusting the reliability of engine. No response. Good luck Paul. But to Mini 2 owners with the issue is acceptable to them.

 

He did say his oil pressure light went off when he was at the car wash. So it did go off. Just not as soon as everyone thinks it does.

 

Is the oil filter housing visible from hood open area?
If so a pic would enable other Mini owners to keep an eye on it for weeping/leaks.

 

After the car started smoking, it was pulled into a parking stall. Drove it a very very short distance from the line-up to enter the car wash to the final resting place... At that point, no smoke. Car in Park, engaged the check oil level via the dash. It did it's little working icon for just a few seconds, then where you see the oil level, it said Oil pressure problem stop the engine, or something like that. To be honest the time between the low oil pressure msg and engine off there was a split second. Didn't want to leave it idle while I wrote down the exact wording.

After that, I popped the hood and looked and saw nothing unusual until the pool of oil rolled across the asphalt and caused me to step back or ruin my shoes. The oil rolled out when the engine off. The oil pump was obviously off with the engine. I think the oil that rolled out was sitting on the plastic shroud that sits under the engine and where the car stopped there was a slight nose-down orientation of the car. This caused it to run off the shroud, onto the ground and at my feet.

In any case, the dealer said that after the test drive yesterday and during the day today the car was still burning off a little oil. Will visit the dealership tomorrow and ask if there is a possibility of a little degreaser and steam wash. Seems to me a better way to remove oil than burning it off.

Paul