I beg pardon if this has been covered elsewhere, but I'll use as few bytes here as possible. I did my first oil change this afternoon, then reset the maintenance interval indicator-- I THINK. When I got done it seemed to indicate 15,500 miles to the next change. Can that be right?

 

Maybe 5,500. No way would it be auto set to 15,500.

 

I don't believe in these long oil change intervals that manufacturers are setting for cars these days. I don't care what kind of oil you put in it's going to break down, and it will break down even faster on boosted engines. I have owned turbo cars for many years and I go 4k miles between changes.

 

Yes it is auto set to 15500. All early MINI's did this and still do this. All the new MINIs up until about a year ago had oil change intervals of 15k. MINI then dropped them down to about 12k and then 10k and some dealers are programming them for 8k after realizing the problems of the owners who are careless and don't check their oil levels. MINI's are known to eat oil at a rate of 1/2-1 qt per 1000 miles and this is OK with many manufactures. So most of us change our oil at 5-7.5k miles. If you are under the maintenance schedule dealers won't change it until the oil clock says it is due. So again I would recommend you do it yourself every 5/7.5k miles.

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong. 15,500 is a standard reset number. Way too high for me, but many people go by it and haven't seen catastrophic results.

 

Sounds right to me. I have always followed the OBC recommended interval, usually somewhere between 18,000 and 22,000 miles. Oil gets tested, and has been fine each time. I'm currently just over 307,000 miles.

Nik

 

We're certainly getting all views here. I remember when the car talk guys were doing an experiment whereby they NEVER changed the oil in--I think--a Dodge Colt Vista. It wasn't very scientific, just Ray wondering if it was necessary to change at all, given oil's recent vast improvement.
I'm old school. Where I come from if you were conscientious, you changed your oil every 3,000 miles. That would be too frequent now, I realize, but 5,000 seems a good number, all things considered. And it's an easy change. I like the canister setup and I installed a Fumoto valve--be a shame to only change every 15,000 miles!
Good to know about MINIs using a little. This one went through 1/4 quart or so in about 3,000 miles, so I guess it's okay. One reason I wanted to change it today was to get a benchmark.

I think it's too bad that the owner's manual for a little performance car like the MINI says under oil changes, 'See Your Dealer'. I couldn't even look up the capacity. As if there's some secret technique reqired...

And why does the manual say not to top up--or to wait until the level is near the lower mark before doing so. What's that about?

 

15500 is also what my car shows when I do the oil reset. I have 130K on the car, i do oil changes every 3 Months and never go over 6k on the change. I had Blackstone check the oil and they told me I could go 8k easy, but I have never done that. I burn about a quart every 2K or so, a bit more during the winter as i use thinner oil. I just switched to castrol edge 5W50, and i have to say the car runs great with this stuff, and the engine for sure seems to be smoother with a bit less vibration, I will have Blackstone do a check on this also and see what they say. Fumoto valve is the way to go for sure, I have them on all 5 cars, makes changing the oil very easy and clean.

 

If you are using full synthetic oil as is recommended you should be fine changing your oil once every 15500..in fact there is full synthetic oil that comes with a claim of being rated for 15500 miles. The full synthetic oil does not break down...the only problem is metal particles in your oil that can lead to other problems...if you had a filter system like a big 18 wheeler you probably would never need to change your oil if using full synthetic oil...

 

Change your oil every 15,000 miles in these engines and you are asking for trouble, especially a forced induction motor. Most enthusiasts in the know change their MINI's oil every 5,000 miles....it's cheap insurance. You can argue about extended drain intervals all you want and to each his own.....you either embrace your MINI and it's lifestyle or you drive an appliance, that's a personal decision. I embrace!

 

Really, could you not make disparaging remarks about your fellow MINI owners?

 

I call BS Those in the know, or to stubborn to understand or trust technology? I would guess the later. My last Honda had a 7500 mile interval on Dino oil, my two current FJ's are at 5000 on Dino. Why wouldn't you go further on synthetic? I for one don't miss changing the oil every 3 to 5 weeks.

Last analysis here. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-analysis.html

Nik

 

Check out this article.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...762858&msite=w

 

I was expecting the usual "don't change your oil and your engine will look like this" link

Nik

 

Check out this article about Mobils million mile oil and how they go 100,000 miles between oil changes.
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English-LCW...-mile-oil.aspx

 

I do agree that most people , myself included are changing there oil to often, but there are a few other factors we have not spoken about here. All of us live and drive in different conditions, from hot and humid to dry and dusty, some of us are weekend racers, some track, some autocross or rallying. Throw in the stop and go commuters and the all highway mile people, and you can see maybe why some choose to do it more or less often. The other issue is what kind of filter are you using, to the best of my knowledge i dont recall anyone of them saying they are good for x amount of miles, so again what works for some may not work for all.
My other 4 cars all have oil change indicators that are not determined by mileage, they use some type of graphing and combination of run time, miles, idle time and a bunch other stuff, when they get down to 15% or so I change the oil. When I see a mini owner with 300K plus on his engine and he followed what the factory recommened, plus has the Blackstone report to back it, tough to beat that arguement, personaly for me, i will continue to do mine with the change of season, gives me peace of mind, but some loss of coin.

 

As an engineer (not mechanical), I am sometimes confused (or amused) when people think a large team of highly trained and experienced engineers got the interval off by at least a factor of 2.

Yes, experience has shown that BMW has gotten a few things wrong, but I haven't seen much in the way of proof on this site that oil change intervals is one of them. In fact, evidence in this thread has been to the contrary. And I do believe that BMW had taken our driving habits into consideration when they developed the protocol.

Now my dilemma. I can't imagine taking my new-to-me Clubman S past 10K. We engineers tend to be a conservative bunch by nature.

John

ps About 15 years back my independent BMW mechanic replaced my aftermarket air filter with a BMW filter and provided some sort of lab proof that the BMW filter was far superior at removing particulates from the intake. It seemed to make sense that higher flow filters just might result in dirtier oil.

 

That's it right there! Do what you are comfortable with

Nik

 

What does enjoyment of driving have to do with enjoying oil changes? The only people "in the know" are the ones who have analyzed the performance and effects of prolonged oil change intervals on thousands of cars - and that would be MINI. Don't confuse personal opinions, preferences and anecdotal evidence with meaningful knowledge. And please don't insult people and their MINIs simply because they don't use your recommended oil change interval.

 

I think the folks at BMW/MINI set a long oil change interval for one reason. To save themselves money. They pay for the service on all new MINIs. BMW/MINI could care less if your MINI grinds to a halt once you are out of warranty.

My choice is to change at 5,000 miles. To the folks who choose to go longer I'm glad it is working for you.

 

Just got back to this thread....with a clean engine because I change my oil every 5,000 miles. Lots of feedback on my post....to all of you who wish to extend your oil change intervals to those "recommended" by MINI I say.....Good For You! Oh, and Braminator, yes I have an attitude!

 

Oils well that ends well....