My invoice shows my MINI dealer changed my oil and filter as I requested - it's been a year since the last change. Drove it home - about 175 miles. The next morning I checked the level and I was very surprised to see dark blots on the paper towel when I wiped the dipstick. It's a medium-to-dark amber color, not the pale yellow I was expecting.

I have changed the oil myself a couple of times, and I remember the new oil being pretty hard to see for the first few thousand miles. I also remembered that it is almost impossible to change the filter without dribbling some oil down the front of the engine, so I checked there. I expected to find either clean metal, if the mechanic wiped off the spilled oil - or a thin layer of fresh oil if he did not. What I found was dry, black grime that looks like it has not been undisturbed for a long time.

I am fearful that my oil may not have actually been changed - or possibly the oil was changed, but not the filter. Service manager says either is very unlikely.

Q1: Can anybody tell me if they have noticed their new oil getting noticeably darker within the first few hundred miles?

Q2: Would the results of an oil analysis clearly show that my oil has been in use for either 200 miles - or 9,000 miles? (I've never had an oil analysis done.)

2010 R56 justa

 

Wow your dealer is 175 miles away, that sucks. Hopefully the dealer or anyone for that matter wouldn't try and scam you out of paltry $50. Oil analysis would probably be more than paying for a second oil change.

I think your being paranoid and this is probably going to bother you so might and well get some piece of mind and get it changed again.

 

change it yourself, problem solved

 

Actually, I didn't pay anything for the oil change - it was covered by MINI's 3yr/30k maintenance - my last freebie, as I'll pass both milestones this month.

*IF* the dealer did not change the oil/filter, I don't believe the dealer was trying to scam me. Mis-communication or human forgetfulness on the part of the tech are alternate explanations. The service manager has already offered to change it again, no charge - but I'd do it myself before driving 5-6 hrs, round trip.

Oil analysis is $25 - MINI oil & filter with shipping is twice that. Of course if the oil tests out as old, then I would be paying for both.

But I was hoping to pay for neither. If the keen observations and helpful advice of experienced MINI owners tell me that it is normal to see new oil turn dark immediately after an oil change, then I will concede to your comment about me being paranoid.

If not, then changing the oil again seems more like a common sense precaution to me.

 

True, problem solved - but not the mystery!

 

You wait a year between oil changes???

 

Just to clarify, I meant no offensive with my comment about you being paranoid. This is something that would happen to me, and I'd would fret about it until it got changed again.

 

Im still trying to decide how much faith to put in MINI's Condition Based Service. This was my 4th oil change in 3 years, and at 9,000 miles, my longest interval. Car's onboard computer said I could go another 7 or 8k, but dealers will change it at one year, even if OBC says it's not due.

I probably would have changed it myself at 8k oil-life, which would have been in July, but I knew it would get done again at the dealer visit in August, so I let this one go a little long (in time - 'though still at about half the miles, as CBS indicated).

 

None taken. Tho I was hoping to get more opinions about the condition of my oil than my mental health. (sorry, can't get that smilie thing to work, so insert wink or grin here)

 

I really would be cautious thinking it was changed.. I would think the oil would be nice and clean looking.. By the way you make it sound its not.. When I change my oil it always is very hard to read because its so clean.. It takes weeks before it starts to get a brown tint to it!..lol.. If it was me I would change it again for a peace of mind.

 

I have never had a situation where the oil was not changed at the stealer, but I have had the experience where the oil which should have been added was dino oil rather than synthetic. I caught it because I was watching to see what was being added.

I just do not believe people as I have in the past. Better to be safe rather than sorry and just change it. I also think the suggestion to change your own oil is a good one.

 

Thanks! Just the kind of reply I was hoping to get - and it backs up my previous experience.

If anybody has a low mileage justa with less than a few hundred miles on a recent oil change I would love to know what your oil looks like on a white paper towel.

I've tried to add a photo to show what I'm talking about.

 

I changed my oil a few days ago and have only put at most 100 miles on it so far, I'll try to grab a picture for you to compare to tomorrow. That doesn't look unusually dark for new oil in my opinion - maybe slightly darker than the honey color of my mobil1 I just put in, but I'll make sure tomorrow.

 

I'm no expert, but I'm leaning toward thinking that's the original oil. I've done a lot of oil changes over the years, and I feel uncomfortable letting my oils start showing that kind of colour. As others have said, I would change the oil.

 

Oh... didn't notice that you have a non-S. A year between changes is probably okay. Good luck.

 

Your pic looks completely normal. I changed my oil at 1200 miles and the when I checked the level it looked as dark as the original oil did.

This engine seems to have pockets that hide oil, and it will muck up the color of new oil immediately. If the dealer says they did an oil change they probably did.

 

Taken 30 minutes ago, the car hasn't been driven today yet.

 

That is normal looking new oil. Not oil that has 9 or 10k miles on it. You can't get ever last drop of oil out when you change it. The stuff that is left would "dirty" up the new oil a little bit. You should see the oil in my diesel truck after a 1k miles looks like I put black ink in it.

 

Why wouldn't the dealer change the oil? Why would you buy from them if you couldn't trust them to change the oil? I'm sure they did it.

 

If they didn't change the filter, it would seem that the oil level would be over filled, not to mention there would be a measurable amount of dirty oil, soiling the clean. Old dirty oil's viscosity is broken, and it would definitely taint the amber color of the new oil. There is a member of the Puget Sound club, who wrote about a similar experience, that occurred at one of our local dealerships. You got to be vigilant, as **** happens.

 

I hear that! The oil in my diesel tractor turns black the same day I put it in.

 

A great trick for leaching all the nasty junk out of your engine so your oil stays clean is to use Motul Engine Clean in your oil for 15 minutes before you drain it. Old mechanics used to use automatic transmission fluid for this (which engine clean looks and smells suspiciously like) I use it on my vintage motorcycles and now my oil is just as golden brown when I change it as when it first goes in.

 

Talk to the head of service at your dealer (where you get your work done). They may look back through their computer and say "Oh sh*t! We forgot to do it...."

Anyway, you have to trust the people who work on your car, only because there's really no way to tell if a part was really broken or your oil was really changed.

There are countless documentaries on the news about evil mechanics who rip people off.

The best news is that MINI/BMW dealers are really trustworthy and really good.

 

Beautiful - looks just like mine - apparently the new oil colors-up faster than I remembered from previous oil changes. Thanks so much for the photo - which provides valuable evidence that all is well.

 

Good point. The theory that fit my observation best was that maybe the oil got changed, but not the filter. I had not considered that trying to add the full amount of oil would cause that error to be discovered when it wouldn't fit. That is IF they add a pre-measued amount of oil. Not sure how bulk oil equipment works. Do they dial in 5 quarts - or just keep putting it in and checking the dipstick until it reads full?