Hello,

I just joined the forum today. I made a deal to purchase a 2007 Mini S with 35K miles. I test drove it Saturday for about 10-15 minutes including short stretch of highway. I liked the car a lot. Engine pulled hard, turbo spooled up fast and 6 speed was excellent. All electric stuff works OK. Today after work I take my trade to the dealer and the check and they tell me the computers are down and can't make the transition, but they give me the Mini to drive home and we would complete the deal next day.

I live about 40 miles away. Everything was fine until I exited the highway and came to the first stop light. All of a sudden the chime comes on and red oil can light comes on the cluster. As soon as the RPM's are raised slightly the light goes out. So I drove to the first parking lot to check the oil level. It was hard to determine since the oil was freshly changed by the dealer. I end up buying 1 quart of Mobil 1 0w-40 and filled it. Car does not have any abnormal noises. It pulls excellent. At every stop the warning light and chime would come on. Under normal driving it's not on. I notified the dealer and I am taking the car back.

Does anyone feel this is a minor issue like oil pressure sensor or could this be major problem and how to check the root cause. I really like the car but now I am worried especially reading all the quality issues. Should I just walk away?

Thanks for your input.

 

Oil pressure isn't high enough. It's not a problem with the sensor -- but the oil light comes on when there isn't enough pressure.

I don't know about the Mini aspect, but I do know that it's a somewhat simple fix for other cars. Perhaps it's the same here as well -- just tell your dealer about it.

 

Was the oil that low to have turned on the low oil warning. I think the warning turns on at 2 qt that causes low pressure.

Hope this is not a sign of things to come.

 

Be prepared to put a timing chain in it. Always check your oil level frequently especially if you just bought the car

 

Oil level was not that low. I checked it this morning and it's overfilled. I drove to work and the oil level worning light came on again after the car was fully warmed up.

 

Personally I would walk. Just not worth the risk. I'm thinking the light is for pressure. If the light is for pressure and its working properly then obviously some surfaces of the engine may have not been lubricated properly.

If you trust the dealer and they are willing to warranty the car for oil related failures for some period of time then that does afford you some protection. The choice is yours. Just depends on your comfort level with the dealership.

Could be also that the sensor is faulty. Again back to a trust issue with the dealership. Good luck!

 

That seems to imply something more serious than just low oil.

 

Mini Do NOT HAVE A LOW OIL LEVEL LIGHT!! They do have a low psi light.....future mini might, but in the meantime, MANY mini's have neen run out of oil....since the level is ok,,sounds like there is another issue.
walk....many more cars are for sale!!

 

Run away from that car, but you should disclose to the dealer that you overfilled it.

 

Yes, it is a low oil pressure light which can be triggered by low oil. The op verified that the oil was ok.

While the fix might be simple, I would still run away from this one.

 

I returned the car today after work. After short ride on the highway to the dealer the light did come on at the stop light again. When I pulled into the dealer parking lot I let it run and the light would not come on again. I did disclose to them that I did overfill the oil. They will take a look and try to find the cause. I still think it might be a bad sensor. Car runs rally good. I put on about 90 miles and did not hear any abnormal noises from the timing chain. I was trading in a 2002 BMW 330Ci with higher miles and I really like the Mini. It has more raw feel to it. I was pleasantly surprised how peppy it is.

 

In no universe would I buy a car with some kind of oil/oil pressure light flashing on my test drive. Maybe it's a minor fix, but why take a risk? At the very least it suggests it hasn't been well taken care of.

 

Oil pressure being too low doesn't mean that the car hasn't been well taken care of... just wear and tear.

I work at a used dealership, and cars with low oil pressure at idle (ie. oil light turns off when driving but turns back on when idle) are a common sight here. Usually a trip to the mechanic fixes it... sometimes it's an absurdly simple fix -- usually it's a hose/vacuum tube with crud build up or something blocking the filter.

Not saying that you should keep the car, but ask the dealer what they do to fix the oil light thing. If the list of repair includes major components like oil pan or something similar, then yeah, I'd walk away.

 

Unless the sensor is bad, I wouldn't touch a car that had the oil light coming on for any reason. A gunked-up hose turned the light on? That means that part of the oil system had pretty much zero pressure. That spells metal-to-metal contact and wear. Not good.

If it's the oil pump or the main bearings, that is a sign of a worn-out motor. Even if the proximate cause for low pressure is fixed (e.g., new oil pump and/or new bearings) there is a bunch of trash that has circulated through the motor already and caused extra wear and tear.

Unless the dealer could convince me that the reading is false, I'd walk away from the car.

 

Op, so did you buy that car?

 

I did not buy the car. It's back at the dealer to get checked out. I am waiting to hear what they find out.

 

Very wise move.