R56 I cannot read the dipstick for the life of me
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2nd Gear
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 78
Likes: 2
I cannot read the dipstick for the life of me
Hi all,
I've gone though all the past posts about how to change your oil and stuff. But I cannot for the life of me read how much oil is in the engine. Part of the area between the bump has oil and part is totally dry. I don't even know what this means. I've checked oil in many cars and never has it been this difficult to tell. Are there any tricks or tips for doing this?! Thanks!
I've gone though all the past posts about how to change your oil and stuff. But I cannot for the life of me read how much oil is in the engine. Part of the area between the bump has oil and part is totally dry. I don't even know what this means. I've checked oil in many cars and never has it been this difficult to tell. Are there any tricks or tips for doing this?! Thanks!
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2012
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From: wisconsin, usa
6th Gear
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From: Philly PA
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 512
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From: New Orleans, LA
Trust me, the cravenspeed dipstick makes a BIG difference. I was surprised at how much I was guessing. Now I know down to the 1/4quart how much to top off. I bought mine used, so the price was a bit more palatable, but after the fact I'd pay full price for it.
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5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 615
Likes: 1
From: Columbus, OH
I got the Cravenspeed unit and I swear I can't read that one! the dipstick is steel/aluminum, and recently changed oil that is still a light amber color just does not show up enough for me to tell what hash mark it is at.
I use the method mentioned on this thread. Pull the OEM dipstick, lay it onto a paper towel, then simply roll it a half turn,comparing the dipstick to the oil stain and I know exactly where it's at.
Whatever works I supposed......
I use the method mentioned on this thread. Pull the OEM dipstick, lay it onto a paper towel, then simply roll it a half turn,comparing the dipstick to the oil stain and I know exactly where it's at.
Whatever works I supposed......
1st Gear
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 23
Likes: 3
Yeah it is hard to read-- here's my trick:
1. Wipe it like you normally would.
2. Find a clean spot on the paper towel. Wipe it again, but do more of a sponge- like action instead of wiping. If you did it right, there should be no oil left on the plastic tip.
3. Reinsert into the dipstick tube all the way and pull it back out. The lowest oil line on the tip is your oil level.
!!!!!!!!!! CAUTION !!!!!!!!!!!
The engines in R56's are known to burn a lot of oil. Mine is no exception. Check your oil every time you get gas to avoid running out...
1. Wipe it like you normally would.
2. Find a clean spot on the paper towel. Wipe it again, but do more of a sponge- like action instead of wiping. If you did it right, there should be no oil left on the plastic tip.
3. Reinsert into the dipstick tube all the way and pull it back out. The lowest oil line on the tip is your oil level.
!!!!!!!!!! CAUTION !!!!!!!!!!!
The engines in R56's are known to burn a lot of oil. Mine is no exception. Check your oil every time you get gas to avoid running out...
Thread Starter
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2nd Gear
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 78
Likes: 2
Yeah it is hard to read-- here's my trick:
1. Wipe it like you normally would.
2. Find a clean spot on the paper towel. Wipe it again, but do more of a sponge- like action instead of wiping. If you did it right, there should be no oil left on the plastic tip.
3. Reinsert into the dipstick tube all the way and pull it back out. The lowest oil line on the tip is your oil level.
!!!!!!!!!! CAUTION !!!!!!!!!!!
The engines in R56's are known to burn a lot of oil. Mine is no exception. Check your oil every time you get gas to avoid running out...
1. Wipe it like you normally would.
2. Find a clean spot on the paper towel. Wipe it again, but do more of a sponge- like action instead of wiping. If you did it right, there should be no oil left on the plastic tip.
3. Reinsert into the dipstick tube all the way and pull it back out. The lowest oil line on the tip is your oil level.
!!!!!!!!!! CAUTION !!!!!!!!!!!
The engines in R56's are known to burn a lot of oil. Mine is no exception. Check your oil every time you get gas to avoid running out...
1st Gear
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 23
Likes: 3
I would take a picture, but I just topped mine off the other week, so there's nothing to show. I did make these drawings which ~hopefully~ will help you understand what you're seeing. The drawing on the left is the dipstick, and the drawing on the right is what the pattern would look like if it could be "unrolled" from the dip stick.
****WARNING****
If you instead see a pattern like below, the oil level is below your dipstick, i.e. you are 2 quarts low!
Once again, if you see the pattern shown above, your oil level is CRITICAL! Another sign that your oil is critically low is if you hear a weird noise coming from the engine when you go around a sharp corner. If the oil warning symbol appears on your tach display, also know that it means low oil pressure, not low oil (although on these cars it is often caused by low oil), and you are in imminent danger of blowing your engine. If that idiot light comes on and does not go off after a second or two, pull over and call a tow truck.
Anyway, don't mean to scare you there, but oil consumption is an issue on R56's. Hope that clears things up, and if it doesn't, in a few weeks when it's time for me to add oil again, I can take a picture.
****WARNING****
If you instead see a pattern like below, the oil level is below your dipstick, i.e. you are 2 quarts low!
Once again, if you see the pattern shown above, your oil level is CRITICAL! Another sign that your oil is critically low is if you hear a weird noise coming from the engine when you go around a sharp corner. If the oil warning symbol appears on your tach display, also know that it means low oil pressure, not low oil (although on these cars it is often caused by low oil), and you are in imminent danger of blowing your engine. If that idiot light comes on and does not go off after a second or two, pull over and call a tow truck.
Anyway, don't mean to scare you there, but oil consumption is an issue on R56's. Hope that clears things up, and if it doesn't, in a few weeks when it's time for me to add oil again, I can take a picture.
I still dunno, even had SA show me, and both my cars are always full or slightly over and neither has shown any use of oil. maybe the 2011 2013 N18's
are better at oil consumption.
But I found no one to argue that it is the worst dip stick created by anyone.
I mean my lawn mowers are far easier to read and understand. I'd like to chat with the moron that designed and the bigger moron that approved the design.
are better at oil consumption.
But I found no one to argue that it is the worst dip stick created by anyone.
I mean my lawn mowers are far easier to read and understand. I'd like to chat with the moron that designed and the bigger moron that approved the design.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,260
Likes: 87
From: Pacific NW
It is also really important that the car is on a level surface, because the dipstick is on the end of the engine. Any slope left or right will give a false reading either low or overfull, depending on which way the car is tilting.
Dave
Dave
3rd Gear
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 299
Likes: 1
From: West TX
I still dunno, even had SA show me, and both my cars are always full or slightly over and neither has shown any use of oil. maybe the 2011 2013 N18's
are better at oil consumption.
But I found no one to argue that it is the worst dip stick created by anyone.
I mean my lawn mowers are far easier to read and understand. I'd like to chat with the moron that designed and the bigger moron that approved the design.
are better at oil consumption.
But I found no one to argue that it is the worst dip stick created by anyone.
I mean my lawn mowers are far easier to read and understand. I'd like to chat with the moron that designed and the bigger moron that approved the design.
3rd Gear
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 167
Likes: 0
From: Knoxville, TN
I too had fought for a long time with trying to accurately read the OEM dipstick before I gave up and popped for the Cravenspeed. As others have said, it is worth the expense.
Part of the problem on the OEM is that it is scraping oil from the sides of the dipstick tube as it is being pulled out which makes it hard to tell where the oil level actually is. To counter this, I tried pulling the dipstick, covering the tube end and waiting 20 minutes for the oil to drain from the walls of the tube before reinserting the dipstick to take the reading. I didn't find that I was able to get a more accurate reading that way either.
With the Cravenspeed, I don't have the thought in my mind that it may actually be a quart low and doing damage to the engine that I am unaware of. I wonder how much of the MINI reliability issues are related to people having a false idea that there is enough oil in their engines.
Part of the problem on the OEM is that it is scraping oil from the sides of the dipstick tube as it is being pulled out which makes it hard to tell where the oil level actually is. To counter this, I tried pulling the dipstick, covering the tube end and waiting 20 minutes for the oil to drain from the walls of the tube before reinserting the dipstick to take the reading. I didn't find that I was able to get a more accurate reading that way either.
With the Cravenspeed, I don't have the thought in my mind that it may actually be a quart low and doing damage to the engine that I am unaware of. I wonder how much of the MINI reliability issues are related to people having a false idea that there is enough oil in their engines.
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
09 R56S. After I park, pull the stick out. Wipe it clean & wait half an hour for oil in the tube to drain. Put the stick back & pull out & read the level, if oil is still fresh roll the stick on a towel.
I only read it once, if you try it again oil that was dragged through the tube the first time will be all over the stick.
Mine has always been slightly over filled above the top bulb but never lost any oil
I only read it once, if you try it again oil that was dragged through the tube the first time will be all over the stick.
Mine has always been slightly over filled above the top bulb but never lost any oil
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 512
Likes: 3
From: New Orleans, LA
I would take a picture, but I just topped mine off the other week, so there's nothing to show. I did make these drawings which ~hopefully~ will help you understand what you're seeing. The drawing on the left is the dipstick, and the drawing on the right is what the pattern would look like if it could be "unrolled" from the dip stick. ****WARNING**** If you instead see a pattern like below, the oil level is below your dipstick, i.e. you are 2 quarts low! Once again, if you see the pattern shown above, your oil level is CRITICAL! Another sign that your oil is critically low is if you hear a weird noise coming from the engine when you go around a sharp corner. If the oil warning symbol appears on your tach display, also know that it means low oil pressure, not low oil (although on these cars it is often caused by low oil), and you are in imminent danger of blowing your engine. If that idiot light comes on and does not go off after a second or two, pull over and call a tow truck. Anyway, don't mean to scare you there, but oil consumption is an issue on R56's. Hope that clears things up, and if it doesn't, in a few weeks when it's time for me to add oil again, I can take a picture.
I've had the idiot light come on before my first oil change when I was ignorant of the car's oil consumption. Pulled 2.5 quarts out later that day when I changed the oil and I called carmax to politely ask if they had possibly under filled the car. They told me that turbo's burn oil, I was hesitant to believe, did my research and after knowing better called them back and thanked them.
I've driven over 40K miles since then, but I top off my oil between oil changes now and never let it below half mark on dipstick.
3rd Gear
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 160
Likes: 2
From: SW Colorado
Man... I'm glad you spelled it out in your post. If that diagram was left unlabeled then someone with a dirtier mind than I might get the wrong impression!
OVERDRIVE
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,602
Likes: 107
From: Arizona
Probably because you need to put a couple quarts of oil in it. I can tell the new F56 not having a dipstick is for a reason after reading this thread.
^ i'm not sure about that. Car's got 1200 miles on it, changed the oil at 500 miles to full. I didn't literally mean I can't read it, I meant it's hard to read lol. When its nice and brown it'll be easy to see on the dipstick itself (I hope).
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 512
Likes: 3
From: New Orleans, LA
That's just a BMW thing. My Mom's 335i doesn't have a dipstick and her battery is in the trunk. Weird...
6th Gear
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,428
Likes: 37
From: Mission Viejo, CA
I too had fought for a long time with trying to accurately read the OEM dipstick before I gave up and popped for the Cravenspeed. As others have said, it is worth the expense.
Part of the problem on the OEM is that it is scraping oil from the sides of the dipstick tube as it is being pulled out which makes it hard to tell where the oil level actually is. To counter this, I tried pulling the dipstick, covering the tube end and waiting 20 minutes for the oil to drain from the walls of the tube before reinserting the dipstick to take the reading. I didn't find that I was able to get a more accurate reading that way either.
With the Cravenspeed, I don't have the thought in my mind that it may actually be a quart low and doing damage to the engine that I am unaware of. I wonder how much of the MINI reliability issues are related to people having a false idea that there is enough oil in their engines.
Part of the problem on the OEM is that it is scraping oil from the sides of the dipstick tube as it is being pulled out which makes it hard to tell where the oil level actually is. To counter this, I tried pulling the dipstick, covering the tube end and waiting 20 minutes for the oil to drain from the walls of the tube before reinserting the dipstick to take the reading. I didn't find that I was able to get a more accurate reading that way either.
With the Cravenspeed, I don't have the thought in my mind that it may actually be a quart low and doing damage to the engine that I am unaware of. I wonder how much of the MINI reliability issues are related to people having a false idea that there is enough oil in their engines.
View it in the shade and look for the shiny area on the dipstick, I find that viewing it under light makes it more difficult to read.