Decided to trigger an oil level check after I got home from work tonight.

Started the process. Not the first time I've done this but it is still kind of a strange process. The RPMs go up a tad to nearly 1K and stay elevated for around 30 to 45 seconds. Afterwards the message the oil level is ok displayed but -- and I have to admit I didn't see this when I did this before -- a graphic of the oil level is displayed on the right side of the LCD. There is a min line and a max line.

Because I failed to notice this before I had no previous experience but the level was above the min line but only about a quarter of the way.

I shut off the engine and opened the hood only to get a warning the engine was hot and to be careful.

Added about 3/4ths of the contents of the bottle of 0w-20 oil and checked the level again. Not at the max. line and it looked like there was enough room to take the rest of the bottle so I dumped it in. Another check and the level was at the max line.

OH, about this time I noticed the rather tiny sticker that the oil to use is 0w-20 oil.

Now that I know there is some more info other than the oil level is ok I can begin to track oil consumption.

Also, since I used my one and only bottle of 0w-20 oil to top up the level I have to drop in at the dealer and pick up another bottle of oil to carry in the car in case I need to add oil again.

The JCW oil level check process is certainly different from what I'm used to. Kind of spoiled after 16 years of being able to check the oil level cold or hot -- as long as the engine has been off long enough -- in just 5 seconds with my Boxster and if the engine is up to temperature and running at idle -- dry sump oil system -- and the car level checking the oil level in my Turbo in just 5 seconds.

But it is not as bad as my new Challenger in that I have to use a dipstick to check that engine's oil level. A dipstick! Oh the humanity!

 

 

Between 1000 and 1100 miles.

When I had the oil/filter service done at the dealer I didn't bother to check the oil level. I usually do check the oil level but with my other cars immediately after an oil change, in fact before I drive the car off the service lot, because it is easy. With the Mini...

But I assume the tech added the correct amount of oil. I watched him add a 5 quart jug of oil to the engine.

Going forward now that I can get an indication of the actual oil level I'll check the oil level more often and build up a baseline of oil consumption.

 

I believe the 2.0L F56 Engine takes 5.3 quarts (5 liters) for a complete fill. Looks like the mechanic didn’t put the correct amount in during your oil change. Your Engine shouldn’t be going through 1 quart of oil in 1000 - 1100 miles unless there is something wrong.

 

Was under the impression it was a 5 quart oil capacity.

If 5.3 quarts the tech might have added the 0.3 quart while I wasn't looking. I didn't watch him all the time just for a short time.

Too early to tell if the engine has some kind of oil consumption problem. For one thing I don't know if the oil level was right at the max line when it left the service bay or if it was a bit low.

Another thing is the oil change was done at 350 miles. The engine has a bit over an another 1000 miles and this puts it past 1200 miles so I can open the engine up some, take RPMs up beyond 4500. Which I'm doing.

IOWs, I'm not driving the car to minimize oil consumption and fuel consumption.

Once "break in" is over with then I'll settle down and establish some kind of baseline regarding oil consumption and try to maximize fuel economy.

 

..the .3 may be just to soak the new filter.. wouldnt sweat it either way. Full is full.

I dont think its too bad at all.. average even. I usually top off my N14 with 1/4q near every tank of fuel. Not apples to apples exactly but mini to mini no less..

*you may try running an oil that is thicker @ operating temp, to compare consumption.. like a 5w-30 or 0w-40

 

 

It's not unusual for a N14 to use a quart every 1K miles. Mine did. When I sold it with 135K miles on it it was running like a champ but still needed it's regular "fix". That's why Mini came up with the extra oil kit that velcro's in the boot. Nice little zipper bag that holds a quart bottle of oil a few paper funnels and some paper towels.
I worried about the consumption until I read more about the N14 motors on the different forums and found that mine was about average.
Now, on my '15 F56 the magic electronic dipstick tells me the 2.0L doesn't use any oil at all. Can't find out if there is a + or - fudge factor though. I much prefer a real dipstick.

 

The engine compartment sticker says to use "0w-20" oil and I'm sticking with 0w-20 unless or until the factory says otherwise.

Just picked up 2 more quarts of oil just to have. Parts manager says -- and I am aware of this -- new engines can use a bit of oil.

Assuming the engine was full of oil when I got it back from an oil/filter service I'm not sweating a quart of oil in 1K miles.

 

 

16 years with my Boxster with both a dipstick and the electronic oil level sensor system. After a short time I relied upon the electronic oil level sensor. Didn't bother with the dipstick.

My 996 Turbo didn't even have a dipstick.

Doesn't bother me my JCW doesn't have a dipstick.

My new Challenger R/T Scat Pack has a dipstick. I can hardly see the frickin' oil on the thing. What a stone age system...

Regarding the reliabilty of the electronic oil level sensor system I checked with the Porsche techs and they reported failure/problems with the electronic oil level sensor system rare. They reported in the one or two failures they had encountered the failure mode was no reading. Based on how the sensor is constructed/works -- I cut one apart -- this no reading failure is a broken sensor wire. (The wire is a very special wire, ni-chrome, as tough as nails and very durable so breakage is rare.)

Another failure mode possible is the wire which is a loop of bare/uninsulated wire that is partially submerged in the oil comes loose -- the tiny plastic hook at the bottom of the sensor tube breaks -- and the wire moves about. In this case the an indication this has happened is the reading varies. Based on my "tracking" reports of problems online this failure mode is rare too.

With these electronic oil level sensor systems oil changes are more than just oil changes, though.

It is at oil change time the electronic oil level sensor system is checked for proper operation. This is done by following the proper oil drain procedure. This includes the engine be at the proper temperature, at or above some temperature threshold which is at least hot enough the electronic oil level sensor system will take a measurement reading. The factory specified oil drain time used. Could be 20 minutes, could be an hour. In some cases an overnight drain interval is provided for.

Then a specific amount of oil is added to the engine. This amount can be different if an hour drain interval was used vs. an overnight drain interval was used.

With my Porsches the proper amount of oil to use was based not only on the length of the drain interval but on the car's VIN as the amount of oil an engine might need could change if any internal engine changes were done. The amount of oil specified in the owners manual was not necessarily the right amount of oil to use to get the oil level at the proper level.

Then after the right amount of oil was added -- the oil dispensing gun in the service bay has a digital readout that lets the tech know how much oil was added -- an oil level check was done using the engine's electronic oil level sensor system to *confirm* the oil level reported by this instrument agreed with the known amount of oil in the engine.

A small price to pay for being able to whenever one wants -- well, at least if the engine is up temperature -- being able to check the oil level from behind the steering wheel vs. having to get out of the car possibly in bad weather to mess with hood, paper towels, and some dipstick.

 

 

You read and hear the stories of taking your car in for an oil change and the mechanic parks your car and reads the newspaper or does everything but change your oil. An hour later your car is brought out and you assume that you received the service you paid for. I have seen a number of videos where this has been proven. The latest one was an owner of a BMW who took his car to a BMW dealership. No dipstick to check how clean the oil was after the supposed oil change. Cars that have no dipsticks would be especially prone to this. There are unscrupulous dealers/mechanics out there. Hopefully my Mini dealer is not one of them.

When I owned my house, I would do all my families and my oil changes. The kids are all older and left the nest many years ago, so my wife and I downsized to a condo. Can no longer change my oil at the condo complex, the condo association doesn’t allow it. Now when I take my and my wife’s vehicles in for an oil change, I always check the oil level and cleanliness after the oil change. I can’t do that with the Mini.

 

Took car in for another oil/filter service. Was out sick today and while I felt lousy I decided to try to get this done this afternoon rather than at 10am Friday.

When it occurred to me that I might be able to get the car serviced today at something after 2pm I checked online and the service department had an opening at 2:40pm. I "booked" it and then dashed out of the house at 2:25pm. I had 15 minutes to make the appointment time with the dealer about 10 miles away.

Made it and like last time the car was taken back promptly.

In around an hour the car was back with fresh oil/filter, fluid levels checked, tire pressures set, and washed.

Nice.

Oh, mileage was 2136. About end of "break in" when one can start opening up the engine more. I wanted to do this with fresh oil in the engine.

As for oil consumption from 1479 miles when I had to add a quart to 2136 the oil level didn't change any. Yeah, I know that's not many miles but there was some concern that from when I had the oil changed at 350 miles to 1479 miles it had dropped 1 quart because I found the oil level 1 quart low.

I believe I admitted in an earlier post I didn't bother to check the oil level after the service so I don't know if the tech under filled the engine or it really consumed 1 quart in around 1100 miles.

Still it was comforting to see the oil level remained unchanged in around 600 miles with me driving the car about the same.

This oil I'll run untll the car accumulates 5K miles and then have the oil changed again and thereafter every 5K miles.

 

If one suspected the oil wasn't be changed properly, were it me I'd find another place I could trust.

One doesn't need a dipstick to determine if the oil has just been changed.

The engine oil filler cap on my JCW's engine when removed exposes the camshaft. Easy enough to lean over and take a sniff.

One could even stick a finger down and get some oil on the finger tip and check it for freshness and take a better sniff.

Dipstick is caveman technology.

 

Since the B-series engines are used in BMW cars, I assume they use the same oil sensor as BMW. My understanding is that these sensors measure both oil level and oil quality.
I wonder what would happen if your mechanic didn't change the oil but did reset the counter/indicator. Is the sensor sensitive enough to tell that the oil hasn't been changed? Or do you have to wait until that unchanged oil gets dirty enough to trigger the lower threshold of the sensor?

On the side note, I've just replaced my oil pan the other day because of a crack (pothole) and the oil sensor was very easy to replace.