Service mode allows you about 4 – 5 inches of space in front of the engine block (and behind the radiator) to enable access to that area. In my case, I needed to have better access to the area where the dipstick guide tube enters the oil pan. I needed to remove the guide tube and take out the broken dipstick stuck inside.

So herewith is my tutorial on how to take off the bumper, bumper carrier, and put the Mini into “service mode”. I put this together by consolidating everything I could find on the various US and UK Mini forums. There were several nice write-ups I found that listed the steps - but none had pictures. In addition, most of them were obviously written by folks who do this all the time, and already know where everything is, etc., whereas it took me a bit of time and patience to locate all of the necessary bolts, etc. I felt that a very basic step-by-step guide, with pictures, would be helpful. I should note that this particular tutorial does not involve removing the wheels - I found that I could access the wheel wells just fine by turning the wheel as far it is would go on each side.