For the past few weeks, whenever I turn on the ignition, the service reminder has just read 800 miles and underneath that is a date of 08/2014. I'm not sure if this is an issue, normal or what is up. Can anyone help? I called the service department a few minutes ago and they seemed confused as to what I was talking about. I will be making an appointment to bring it in, but I hope to be able to go in with a bit more information...

 

This is normally a service count down timer. Does the mileage drop each time you drive?

 

No, it has stayed at 800 miles for a while now.

 

Can you post a pic?

 

Here ya go:

 

That should be your service reminder clock. The date I am a little unsure of. Maybe another Countryman owner can come on and tell you. Do you have the manual to look it up in?

 

Why don't you access the OBC menu and figure out which service it is that has the interval down to 800 miles?

 

The clock is just the date of the next scheduled service. The timer goes by both miles and calender time.

 

So, I'm going to assume there's something amiss with the date being August of 2014...

 

I thought was mileage or the date listed, whichever comes first. Though if it's been stuck at 800 miles for a while (how long is a while? Days? Weeks?) there could be something wrong.

 

My 2012 shows a date of 06/2014 for my first service. This is normal. The dates have always been kind of screwy, even when I had my 2008 MCS. I believe you are about 800 miles from your next service! And yes, the Onboard Computer will tell you which service is due. Most likely, it is just an oil change. Hope this helps!

 

It's been at 800 for a couple of weeks.

 

I had this happen last August, for about a month or so. My service mileage would show 800 miles, even though I drove for several hundred miles, my date would show 10/2013, After about a month or so, it finally started counting down again and eventually went to 0.
For me the service was the "2nd oil change"/30K mile indicator.

Since I tend to drive more than 15K in a year, I've see some odd things with the service tracking. Especially when it start getting below 2K. It seems to "slowdown" its mileage countdown to get inline w/ the date.

It seems that the algorithm used isn't as simple as a pure mileage countdown,

 

My sales guy in St. Louis told me the date and mileage is adjusted by the driving habbits and condition of the oil.
"The car will tell you when it needs the oil changed might be 8,000 might be 15,000 miles"

I was messing with he settings and I reset it to 15,000 by mistake....

It is a confusing mess. I am going to just plan on two oil changes a year (one by me and one by the dealer).

Cheers

 

^ I like his plan.

I did mine at around 8k in my 2008. My current car is at 11k and the oil smells awful, but the dealer will be replacing something if it breaks. Lol. Mine had also showed 3500 miles until it's first service forever...

 

CaptainSteve, that sounds like what mine is doing. It started doing this after the first oil change/service appointment as well. I feel a little bit better knowing this happened to someone else out there, thanks!

 

your salesman is misinformed, minis DO NOT HAVE AN OIL CONDITION SENSOR (or an oil level sensor)

the primary variables used to determine the oil change countdown are miles, fuel used and trip duration

also, the current maximum oil/filter interval is 8,000 miles or 1 year, that is what my dealer has set the next oil change to on both my mini and my dad's mini

i do a 4000 miles oil/filter change then the dealer does one at 8000

scott

 

I think it is your brake life indicator. Our Countryman does the same thing, except it is stuck at 1800 km every time we start the car.

 

4k miles is a bit too early to me. Our cars use 100% synthetic oil. It is only beginning to break in at around 4k. Of course, doing it for peace of mind is great. I have always done mine around 8k and everything was fine. I even had mine tested (I use BMW branded oil and filters) at around 12k and it was perfectly fine. The owner's manual says 15k miles or one year, as well. Synthetic oil is an amazing thing.

 

my last vehicle, that i still have, a 1997 gmc sonoma v6 4x4 5 speed was delivered with mobile1 and has had 4k oil/filter changes for the last 17 years and 288,000 miles using mobil1 exclusively

it still burns no oil and gets the same gas mileage as new

i will stick with 4k oil/filter changes

scott

 

^ I was not bashing. Haha.

I am just saying full synthetic oil can go WAY longer than most folks think. Plus, I do not want to be buying $50+ worth of oil supplies every few months. I drive about 15-20k miles a year. It is all opinions. I would be soo proud of your GMC. That thing is a beast at 288k miles, I bet!

 

it has been a great truck,
changed shocks 1 time @ 200k
changed clutch 1 time @ 288k, turns out the throwout bearing had corroded away, had 1/2 of the clutch friction material left
changed tie rod ends 1 time @ 280k
changed exhaust 1 time @ 285k
front pads about every 40k, rear drum shoes 1 time @ 250k
new battery every 5-6 years
O2 sensors changed 1 time @ 200k

everything else is original as delivered

scott

edit new plugs, cap and rotor every 50k

 

bmwr606, I just got rid of my '03 S10 with 260k. Mine worked like yours aside for the plastic bits were always being replaced. Turn signal modules (2x), extended cab door handles (4x) before I found a billet aluminum kit. I've got to say, mechanically, the driveshaft was the only part that left me screaming. 2x it was replaced with OEM then a custom piece was made with standard joints instead of CVs and it worked for 150k with no problem.

Also you mentioned 8k service life, is that a dealer reprogram? I just got my service done and 10k is on the clock again. (read my thread of my "in for first service" I think its called.)

 

i forgot about the sonoma driveshaft, mine went bad a long time ago, just out of warranty ... i had a local race shop make me a new one with greasable joints ... it is still on the truck

both my dad's and my cms all4 came out of their first dealer oil/filter change with the OBC set to 8,000 miles (his hit by time, mine hit by miles)

the service adviser told me that 8000 is the new official interval

scott