So I came home from work today after the wife had the MINI and found a large puddle of oil under the car.

Wife said no warning lights or anything out of the ordinary. Car is a 2014 Justa with 11,500 trouble free miles. Wondering if it is the oil filter issue but thought that was just supposed to be S models.

Getting it towed to the dealer and they will look at on Monday and let me know.

Hope it is something simple, but worried since there have been other problems with oil on other cars.

Luckily it does not look like too much oil, maybe a quart or so.

Will update when I hear more on Monday.

 

Anyone know if there should be a small downward facing 'tube' near the rear center of the front of the car? I was looking under to see if I could see anything that looked damaged and do not remember anything like this. Although, I just may not have noticed it before. It is kind of inline with the exhaust.

 

It's the drain tube for the ac. That's where the condensation comes out.

Sent from my iPad using NAMotoring

 

Thanks, I figured it was something normal.

 

Morty
probably the oil filter housing, AGAIN.

What was your build date?

 

Not sure of the exact build date but probably in May. I took delivery in June.

 

Does BMWs do this too? Or is this a MINI thing, a tradition from the past? I thought F56 was all-new ground-up design as somebody said.

 

Morty,

Check your receipt for the build date and VIN#
Please post build date and then go to :

Go to MINI USA website and under Owners tab there is a Find Open Recalls in the drop down menu. You enter your VIN.

My MCS was built in May, the build date is also posted on the inside drivers door pillar.

Thanks for posts and keep us apprised.
Also read :
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...600-miles.html

and:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r-housing.html

 

Mrdi-

My build date is 5/13/14 and there are no open recalls.

Service department called this morning and they are going to try to try to look at it today and get me a loaner if needed.

Once the car was pulled out of the garage I was able to get a good look at the oil puddle and it appears it might only be half a quart or so. My wife noticed the oil smell about a half mile from the house so I am thinking we caught it pretty early if the oil gasket failed. However, that being said, with a build date of mid-May I am concerned that the new part that was supposed to be used is also faulty. I will wait and see what the final problem is though.

 

Hope MINI makes it right for you. How stupid of MINI to have done away with dipsticks.

 

Got the rental car yesterday, a 2015 Countryman S All4. It is okay, but I miss my F56, the countryman has power but is noisy making it, and not in a good way. Interior seems sparse and the seats are horrible after the F56.

Regarding the comment about the dipstick, how would that have changed anything for me? I checked the oil 2 weeks ago when I filled up with gas and it was fine. The oil loss was catastrophic, not gradual. Unless I was checking the oil level daily, and even then probably not, the problem could not have been predicted.

 

The advantage of the dip stick is, that at the time of discovery, you could see
how much oil had been purged. Now you rely on Mini to convey that info..

 

This is the reason you would like a dipstick.

 

Asschuckton
Aren't you the clever provocateur.
I'm sure you could come up with additional uses.

 

lol

 

BMWs have had oil filter housing issues since the mid 90's. I've changed more of those than I care to admit. None of them (that I've seen) have ever had catastrophic failure like this though... most just leak enough to be annoying.

Google "ofhg bmw" for some good reading lol

 

You are a clever provocateur however most dip sticks only measure 1 to maybe 2 quarts down. What about the remaining oil??? Still unknown unless you drain and measure which we all can do in the comfort of our garages.

 

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, to sit there with the engine running while the car comes up to temp and may be pissing oil everywhere, to find out the oil level. You've just made the situation worse! I still think that omission (dipstick) is a bad move.

 

Papa put down the whiskey. :-)
I meant drain the oil from the drain plug not let it **** out on the floor.

 

I don't understand why you have to run the car to get an oil level.

That's backwards. Stupid.



My guess is everything's there to mount a dipstick.

 

But doesn't that seem wrong? Your choices to determine oil level/quantity in a situation such as we have here are:

1. Run the engine at temp to get the 'in car" electronic level sensor to give you an answer (while it may still be leaking out). or;

2. Drain the remaining oil from the engine and measure it against what should be there.

I'm in your camp buddy, but that's what Mini has foisted on us with the F56. I would be thrilled to find they actually drilled the hole in the block and then plugged it (so one could actually add a dipstick) but my guess is the boss is there but not drilled.

 

Nope, a guy's daughters F56 Justa lost almost all its oil at some carwash recently due to an oil filter housing problem. Didn't reportedly damage the engine (maybe) because it all came out at once when the car was idling. He saw it and turned off the engine and had it towed.

 

Can you measure the oil level (to check at least if it is there or not) without engine on? I read the proper way is to let it warm up before using the electronic virtual dipstick, but was thinking it is kind of stupid to not be able to tell when you do a drain and fill by yourself or at a non MINI shop.

 

Here is a bit of Irony. If the Boss or hole exists for a dip stick and you fab up a dip stick and install it, wouldn't you need the electronic level to ensure the engine oil was full, to mark the new dip stick. Just saying BMW stuck it to us.

The electronic oil level is a fix to a problem that didn't exist. I have noticed a number of electronic fixes on the F56 that fit this category. Reminds me of the old cartoon character Mr. Gadget. He made a bunch of cool stuff but it was way to complicated to be practical.

 

Not if you coordinated the dipstick install with an oil change. We know how much to put in from empty. You run it for a minute to fill the filter, shut off, let it sit to catch drain down and bang you have a reading to mark. Could always back check that with the electronic for good measure. If I ever find the hole is there I can guarantee you I'm putting in a dipstick if at all possible. I won't just blame Mini/BMW, as a lot of the mfgr's seem to be headed this way. I expect the "No Serviceable Parts Inside" stickers on our cars any day now!