Hello I had my mini for a little bit over a year it has like 7000 miles but im not sure when do I have to do oil change, and all that stuff the salesperson told us the car will let us know but i think its already been long enough and I dont want something to get messed up.

 

when the computer says

or at 12 months

which ever comes first.

if you've had the can for over a year the dealer should change the oil under maintenance but when doing so not reset the service counter. Your next change will be when the computer says so or in another 12 months which ever happens first.

 

There are many "Opinions" about when the oil should be changed. Some will tell you that it "has to be done every 3000 mile" while others will tell you "the car tells you when it needs to be done".

The truth is that no none really knows what is best.

IMHO changing the oil every 3k is a bit much but letting it go the 18K-22K that the car says is okay is out of line.

There are a bunch of threads if you car to read them about oil changes and analysis that people have had done. The long and short of it is that the car needs synthetic oils and people that have had the oil tested after 8K-10k have been told that the oil is starting to break down and that is not a good thing.

So what i have gleaned from all the writing here and other forums is that the oil should be changed somewhere between 5k and 8K. That seems to be the safest bet and that is just my "opinion".

 

At 12 months of ownership, my dealer provided, under warranty, a "low mileage oil change"; but, no air or cabin air filter change out. I assume those items will be replaced at or around 15-20K.

 

cool thanks for the reply i will schedule an oil change asap. Also does this apply to everything else like the brakes, engine check, alignment, etc?

 

My MA called me and set up the appointment for my oil change on my anniversary. They did everything except reset the timer. Simone had about 7k miles on her also.

 

i just brought mine in for the low mileage service (even though i had over 15k on the car) since the computer hadn't told me to take it in yet.

actually, the check engine light went on and i kind of assumed that was the signal to bring it in since i had just passed 15k after it went on and also since it was almost a week to the day I got the car. turns out a high pressure pump was bad causing cylinders to misfire. what timing i guess, glad i brought it in then. does anybody know what the actual service indicator looks like?

anyway, on the paperwork it says they just performed the low mileage oil service, doesn't say anything about resetting monitors. but what is a little concerning is that when i turn on the car, it says i have another 6k miles to go or until 5/2011. that's the computer's estimate of when it needs to be serviced, right?

sorry, one more question. so say i went another 8k miles and the computer didn't say anything yet. if i took it in and asked for an oil change, would that be covered or would that come out of my own pocket since the computer didn't say it was time yet?

 

The free oil changes are only when the computer says it is due or if 12 months have passed since the last dealer oil change. I change my oil in between the dealer changes and go only about 7k miles between oil and filter changes.

 

As time goes by, you may want to consider an "oil analysis" strategy, i.e. having your oil tested periodically by a testing lab, e.g. Blackstone Lab. I have such a plan and intend to use the oil analysis to help me determine a more quantitative approach to determine miles between oil changes.