I would say my Owner's Manual is more than "out of date" - it's just plain wrong. MINI has never recommended any product with Castrol's name on it for a complete oil change for my car.

Furthermore, my Owner's Manual says to use oil with an API service rating of SM or higher" - when their own MINI brand oil has an API service rating of only SL. This is true of both the previous MINI oil made by Castrol (p/n 07 51 0 143 829) and the newer Shell-made oil (p/n: 83 21 2 365 947).

And yes, LL-01 is an important specification, but there are other specifications, too. The ACEA spec is probably equally important.

My American-market owner's manual (2010) doesn't give a recommendation for a minimum ACEA rating, but I'm told the UK version of the owner's manual recommends "ACEA A3/B3" The older (Castrol-made) MINI oil is rated ACEA A3/B3; the newer MINI oil, made by Shell is ACEA A3/B4.

For me, it's 6 hours, round trip to the nearest MINI dealer. It's frustrating to know there are probably half a dozen different oils on the shelf of my local auto parts store that will work just fine in my car, but MINI doesn't give me the information I need to figure out which one.

Now that MINI is in bed with Shell, the nearest MINI-equivalent oil may be PENNZOIL PLATINUM® EURO SAE 5W-30 FULL SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL. Specs here.

When considering non-MINI brands, read the labels carefully. There is a difference between meeting a specification, "approved" (by BMW/MINI), and "recommended" (by the oil manufacturer).

 

They went from Castrol Euro to Shell Euro. Old Castorl stuff is now NLA. Both Meet BMW / MINI LL-01. If you pop in the old part number to our site it goes to the new Black Bottle green stripe Shell Euro 5w-30.

 

There is some good info here but a few things are left unanswered, I think.
Does anyone know the torque for the oil filter housing and drain plug, also the oil pan drain plug?
What are the oil choices that meet the specs and are LLo1? There are some products mentioned here and there. Are there more? Is the oil spec any different between the 4 and 3 cylinder?
I'm thinking a sticky needs to be posted with approved oil listings and maybe another with general info on other maintenance jobs like the above mentioned torque because it will be awhile before a Bentley Manual will be published.

 

LL04 spec is what I always look at in the UK
As its newer than LL01 I assumed more current

 

I've read that the difference has to do with sulfur in fuel
LL4 is for low sulfur fuel, like what is used in the EU
LL1 is for high sulfur fuel, like what is used in the USA

 

Don't know about either drain plug but the plastic cap is 18 ft lbs or 25 Nm.

 

I forgot about that one, good info, thanks

 

As an FYI just spoke to Castrol. In the their aftermarket products they do not sell a 5W30 that is LL01 and API SM or SN rated.

 

Found that Valvoline makes an oil, Synpower MST in 5W30 that is LL01 with an API of SN/SM. Their customer service says it's sold in the USA but I can't find anyone who sells it. Special order probably means special price.

 

Is this correct? Isn't the API rating supposed to be SM or SN. Castrol said the SL rating would not be correct. SL would cover older models. The 2015 owners manual for the Cooper Hardtop says API SM or superior, which would be SN

 

That is the correct stuff ( Shell Euro ) the same stuff MINI stocks and uses at the dealerships.

The Castrol Euro was SS to the New Shell Euro.

 

Papa....can you point me in the right direction where i could find the list of approved oil (and oil weights) approved by MINI? Thanks.

 

Disregard...I found it here...

http://www.miniusa.com/content/miniu...ml#maintenance

 

Changed the oil today and it was pretty straight forward. I noticed that the the engine oil drain plug (17mm ) did not have the brass "gasket" on it from the factory. I checked to see if it was stuck on the sump pan and it was not stuck there and had not been installed . Walmart does this as a standard practice

The filter housing design is pretty cool, has a drain and the filter element snaps in the housing . BMW filter kit has the O ring for the housing, a new housing drain plug and the brass gasket for the drain plug omitted by the factory.

It took 5 quarts to fill it to 100%.

Kudos to jtoddpaul for the original post of the oil change procedure.

 

On mine the factory used an aluminum sealing washer - it was thoroughly stuck to the oil pan. Next time you have yours off maybe look for an alum washer - I'll bet you are double-stacked now.

 

I looked at it close and used a pick looking for a seam but next change I will check it again. Thanks for the tip that its aluminum

 

Interesting , must used aluminum then went to copper.

 

Any thoughts on doing the oil change with LIQUI MOLY?

Supposed to be really great German oil...

 

We carry it , good stuff, and it under the drop down for oil. Looks for more all in one kits here soon.

 

I'm doing my first oil service soon in between the scheduled services and in Canada oil choices are definitely limited. Basically they are

Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Formula
Castrol EDGE 0W-30 A3/B4 aka German Castrol
Castrol EDGE 0W-40 A3/B4 Made in Germany or Belgium depending on batch

All are BMW LL-01 rated and both 0W-40 oils are API SN rated while the 0W-30 Castrol is API SL. As far as I know, the Mobil 1 is a group III oil according to bobistheoilguy forums while both Castrol synthetics are group IV full synthetics.

Locally the Castrol 0W-40 seems to be the easiest to find at a decent price. (Paid $36.60 CAD). My 5L jug was made in Belgium so I'm going to try that out and see how it goes.

 

I've been using the same Castrol 0W-40 on my MCS and it's been working just fine with no issues - almost 50,000 miles now.

 

That's good to hear.

 

I just replaced my previous Mini with a new 2017 JCW convertible, and when I raised it on a hoist too see what it looked like underneath, I noticed that the oil change access panels were no longer there.

It appears you must now remove the entire under engine shield/cover to do almost anything under the engine; which of course would include changing the oil..... First Mini eliminated dipstick and now the oil drain access panels, is the hood/bonnet release next?

 

5W-40 LubroMoly is all my BMW mechanic uses in all of his BMW's and MINI's. I am thinking of possibly going with this. Anyone else use this oil?

Another question: May I assume the oil change procedure for the JCW is the same as for the MCS?...they are both 2.0L engines. 5.3L capacity? I might have missed it in this thread, but just checking.

I am thinking of changing my own oil this summer (either Lubro or MINI synthetic)....right now I'm at 628 miles LOL! But I'm at 1 year since picking it up new.

Thanks,

John

 

600 miles in a year, now that's awesome!!