Our 2012 Countryman has 13,000 miles and the countdown to oil change still says 4,000 miles. I think that's amazing, but we drive quite conservatively.

We just had some service done for a minor oil leak and a minor recall item. We live over an hour from the dealer and almost never get down there, so we asked if we could just go ahead and get our oil change done at the same time. They said yes, since the car is within 30 days of being a year old, they could change it "on time" rather than "on miles." Fine.

When we got there, the "service adviser" wrote up "low mileage oil change--do not reset counter." When I asked he claimed that Mini policy is that when they do a "low mileage" oil change they shall not reset the oil change mileage countdown counter. When the countdown expires in 4000 miles, the warnings will go off and we have to being the car back for another oil change. All covered by the warranty and maintenance agreement.

Now I'm all in favor of frequent oil changes, especially when somebody else is paying for them, but that seems downright stupid. It's hard for me to believe that really is Mini and BMW's policy. And I don't really want to take it back in for service in three months if I don't have to.

So what's the deal? Was the "service adviser" right? Thanks.

 

No matter what the dealer said, you are pushing your oil change to the limits of causing engine failure. There are many threads on this and MINI even changed the oil change intervals. Never run it this long. Change your oil at a maximum of 7500 miles IMO. Many of us change it at 5000 to be on the safe side.

 

according to my dealer, the lastest greatest oil change interval is 8,000 miles or 1 year

i change mine at 4,000 miles, alternating me and the dealer doing an oil/filter change

my dad also has a cms all4 ... he had 8,000 miles total at 1 year, after the dealer changed the oil, his mileage was reset to 8,000 miles also

i change his oil every 4,000, same as mine

scott

 

To answer your question, yes that is the correct policy. If the oil is changed because you have reached a year before reaching the mileage, they do not reset the counter. Which can lead to some weird oil change intervals and general wastefulness.

 

5000 here.

 

My dealer adamantly denies that MINI has changed the interval to anything less than 15K. I personally change mine half way through that interval. After my 15K change, my count down display showed 15K again.

 

Just had the 1yr change, counter reset to 15000

 

It's just incredible how much discrepancy there are w oil change interval between Mini dealerships. Why can't MiniUSA just set it at 7000 miles across the states.....

 

We just had the 1-year included oil service at 6800 mi, no reset of counter.

 

These engines burn oil greatly. If you plan on going THAT long between changes, i'd top off the oil a few times in between services.

 

I had mine done last month just after one year....Same result, no reset, however I was told by the dealer that they've reduced the interval to 8,000 miles. Since my counter showed less than that until the next service I decided to wait until I have that done to have them change the service interval.

 

I am planning to have my oil changed soon. I have reached 6K miles. It's funny how the initial indicator showed next oil change at 15K, then it went down to 13K, and now it's been at 12K for the last month. Dealer's explanation of this is that our countryman somehow figures out our driving and alters the oil change mileage from it...interesting.

 

Yes it apparently does that, since our counter goes down slower than our mileage goes up.

I'm the OP. We got the oil change and will get another one when the counter reaches zero. Then we'll see what it says. I'm expecting 15,000, but apparently it might possibly be 8,000. If it's 15, I'll read here about how to do an oil change myself at 7-8k

Thanks for the info and the opinions.

 

a mechanic at my dealership told me the countdown is based on 3 items

number of gallons of fuel consumed

number of starts

trip duration

it was also the mechanic that told me the "official" oil/filter change interval is 8,000 miles ... he said it came out as a bulletin to amend the service info, he also said they get tons of these bulletins covering many subjects

scott

 

Mines 8000k "service intervals" meaning they read the key and see what service it needs. My dealership does oil changes once a year. "Service intervals" not just oil changes; fluctuate with driving habits. Side note....mechanical told me to change the oil between services too.

My first 8000k service was an oil change

My 16000k service was brake fluid, no oil change

My 24000k is front brake pads, inspection and possibly an oil change.

I'm at 22xxx miles right now

 

The number of COLD starts is also important in the computer's calculations.

This system of calculating oil changes has been used at least 16 years on BMW's. My 1997 328i had it also.

 

here is a scan of my window sticker showing 10,000 mile oil change interval ...

it is the 3rd line up from the bottom

first appeared on 03/12 builds

my OBC was set to 9,000 on delivery and was set to 8,000 by my dealer after my first dealer oil/filter change (the 3rd change as i did 2 myself)




scott

 

Just got back from my dealer. They said 10k miles unless the computer says earlier. Guess I will start doing my own in between.

 

Just like the rest of us.

 

Ha! My 2011 MCS has 24k and has only had one oil change. Counter says 4000 miles or 4 months to go. Dealer won't touch it until April when it'll be a year since the last oil change. I used to let this kind of stuff make me crazy. Not anymore.

 

I just got back from my 1st Free oil change today at 7000 miles, and when I got my car back the service reminder is set for the next 6000 miles.....


I don't know why mine is different than any of the ppl on the forum....

 

Are you sure that's you oil interval? If that's what's popping up on the tach display, thats the countdown to your next due service. Not necessarily oil could be brakes. I had my first one done a few months back on a 2012 and the interval was 15000

 

One quick question, the oil change due date or miles, is set by the MINI themselves?

Or is it a live reading of the actual oil quality inside the engine?

Thanks

 

all I know is the tach display show my next service is due in next 6000 miles.....
I am sure the car can not do live reading of the actual oil quality, becaz I changed my own oil at 5000 miles, so there is no way the oil got bad in just 2000 miles,

 

there is no "oil quality" sensor

the countdown miles/date is set by the mechanic when the oil/filter is changed using a handheld OBD2 tool ... it looks like a code scanner but it is not a scanner, only used to set the maintenance parameters

the miles countdown uses an algorithim based on gallons of fuel burned, number of cold starts and trip duration to decrease the miles counter

scott