Hi! can someone help me out here. I just want to know the ideal time/mileage interval for a regular oil change for a JCW Mini Cooper...

I took my car few days back to my dealer for a regular inspection of brake pads; that time I got a 9000km count on my monitor (the one you see when you start the engine)... After they replaced my brake pads (front and rear), I saw 25000KM on my reading. I am confused if this was for my Oil change schedule? I have driven a total of around 3000km since my last oil change. Current mileage of my car is 25,600++ km. (2009 JCW).

What is the ideal mileage/time interval for regular oil change? Ive heard that on board computer is auto updating on PMS (periodic maintenance schedule). Im using my car for daily commute; no racing but driving sometimes like a racer...(thats the way cooper driver goes).

need opinion of experte here. Thank you...

 

Change it every 5k miles. It is cheap insurance. It will save you issues later if you let it go past that.

 

+1 if you read these forums enough 5000 is for a piece of mind and insurance down the road... If you are leasing a car I would just use regular intervals which are too long. But for my babies 5000 miles or less. If you didnt notice 2009-2011 Minis had a 15,000 mile deal, then the -2012 on up have 10000?.. And dealers only want to do the bare minimum because its not cost effective... Since they lowered it(thinking more frequent oil changes will save them money on repairs in the long run) you would think the would be so as to flash the older moldels Computers to match... but its not cost effective.....




this is a quote from another thread called Class Action lawsuit

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...56-post34.html


While i have been doing 5000 or less anyway I would listen to this guy..... He is one of the many

 

Did an oil change at 1000 miles and will do next one this week at 5000 miles. Then dealer change at 10,000 and every 5000 from now on.

 

We recommend to all our customers to change it every 5k miles, your MINI will thank you later in life.

 

ive been doing mine at 10k with no issues, had the car since about 35k, about to hit 90k, and not a single engine problem.

 

Thanks for all the inputs.. From now on, I will do oil changes every 5k miles...I will do it in between regular oil changes from my dealer.

Whats the recommended motor oil for our Mini? Around how many liters/Gal do I need to buy for a regular oil change?

Thanks again guys...

 

4.7 qts. Some use 0w30 and others 5w30. I like many others use Mobil 1 full synthetic. I use the full 5 since it will burn it off anyway.

 

Here is a good link for you
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ge-how-to.html

 

Are you sure? I am pretty sure it's 4.2 qrts. If you are talking an R56 and using mobile 1 then you should likely use 0w40 as mini recommends. Look on the bottle and it will say BMW long life approved or something similar. Other weights of mobile 1 do not say that. And all weights between brands are not equal.

 

R56? Check your manual I beleive it actually says 4.4 qts

The oils listed below meet MINI’s Long-life rating and are acceptable for use in MINIs in the US market with gasoline engines.

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

*This data is from:MINI Owners Lounge then --- WARRANTY / MAINTENANCE / ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE
https://ol.miniusa.com/auth/Warranty.aspx
Log-in required

4.7 on R53 https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ge-how-to.html

 

Ditto on this.

 

More information about oil and R56 Minis:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...00-post13.html


Mini USA pays the dealers for oil changes on new Minis so the dealers will do what ever Mini USA pays for. You can pay for more oil changes if you want.

 

^ good one.

 

I believe the dealer is a representation of MINI, the same way as WALMART,McDonalds, Staples, and etc... So any poor service or good service is a direct reflection of the company.

 

Dealers are more like McDonald's in that they are independently owned but the products and advertising are provided by the manufacturer (Mini-BMW) and corporate head (Mini USA). Many dealers sell product and services from many different brands not just Mini. Mini dealers are not run by Mini USA but a dealership must be run per the rules set by Mini USA. A dealer can choose to do things as they see fit as long as they don't break the rules. So some dealers can choose to provide minimum service at high prices and other dealers can choose to be helpful and provide service that goes beyond the minimum set by Mini USA. Mini USA has a program to do maintenance service for a period of time. When you bring your car to the dealer they charge you for the service if the work is not covered under a program or warrantee. If the service is covered under a program like the maintenance program Mini USA pays the dealer for the service. The dealer gets payed for the work by you or Mini USA. The dealer does not want to do work for free. The dealer or Mini USA is not responsible for keeping your Mini running for 20 years (you are) and Minis need love and care.

MINI (Mini-BMW/ Mini USA) wants to make profit, provide a fun product, and keep customers or increase the number of customers for the dealers. Dealers sell cars and service cars and want to make a profit.

 

BTW, Valvoline SynPower 5w-30 is NOT BMW LL-01 approved unless it is the MST version which is NOT the stuff you buy in the quarts at the auto parts store.

 

Just had my first dealer oil change at 11K, and they reset the counter to 8000
hmmmm so I guess the interval is 8K (but will do another at 4K)

 

Once the dealer maint is up, is there a tool where we can reset it ourselves?