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Today I did the oil , oil filter, air filter and cabin filter for my daughter’s 2016 Mini Cooper S Countryman because the included Maintenance Service warranty has expired. The maintenance has always been performed by our local Mini Dealership since the very first day we got it brand new for her ( College Graduation Gift ).
i was really disappointed because the oil was really dark and almost sticky, the oil, air and air cabin filters are so dirty. Please see attached pictures. I was thinking that they did not do any maintenance at all or hardly at all.
We also have a 2017 Mini Countryman ALL4 , that I am now thinking that I should just perform the maintenance from now on.
Should I confront my local dealership or just file a complaint with Mini Corporate or the appropriate government agency. What do you guys think ?
This doesn't look right to me. I would definitely file a complaint with Mini Corporate. I might also show these pictures to the person in charge of the service department. Let him know you'll be informing corporate. Back in 2002 I bought a new Passat and they gave me 4 free oil changes. They gave me the run around when I called to make an appointment. So I had to force the issue by calling the owner of the dealership. I had a bad feeling so I decided to mark the oil filter to see if they replaced it and they did Not. The service manager ended up getting demoted. I still today use a sharpie to mark my filters when I go to any dealer. I also mark my wheels when getting tires rotated. Trust No one!!
The engine really breathes in a lot air. An engine air filter can get pretty grungy looking in not much time. Depends upon where you live and drive. I have driven in some areas of the southwest through mini dust storms. The engine air filter can go from pristine to Yuck in just a few miles.
It also depends upon the car. Some cars the engine air intake is just located in place that the air stream is just dirty. (My Porsche Boxster with its engine air intake on the side of the car right behind the driver door was positioned to pull in air the driver side radiator fan had blown up from the ground. At slow speeds if the fan was runing the engine air filter was dealing with a very localized dust storm.)
The engine oil can appear quite bad especially if the oil is changed cold. The engine really should be up to operating temperature. Even if the oil is hot even in 5K miles it can look a sight. With other cars I have changed the engine oil and driven 5K miles in about a week's time. Since I change the oil every 5K miles the oil gets changed sometimes just a week or two apart. Upon draining the 5K mile oil that has covered 5K miles at highway speeds the oil still has some amber color to it, the stream of oil draining from the pan is translucent.
By way of comparison, same cars/engines 5K miles of my more normal day to day use -- which for around 15 years has consisted of a 60 mile per day work commute M-F -- the oil drained out is black as the ace of spades. It looks quite bad. Which is one reason I change it every 5K miles. (My 2018 JCW gets its oil changed every 5K miles, too.)
And too late now but if you suspected improper servicing you should have captured a sample of the old oil to have analyzed. The results might point to oil run past its change by date.
I generally ask for the old engine and cabin air filters when I have a car in for service not because I don't trust the dealer service department -- if I didn't trust it I wouldn't be asking for the filters I'd be having the car serviced at some other dealer -- but to just get an idea of their condition. Maybe a more frequent service is required.
If you take the car in you can ask for the old parts. I often look them over and take pics then toss them while still at the dealer.
If you really suspect something is going on in some subtle way mark the filter cover or housing or filter itself in such a way you can tell if the fasteners or the housing were actually touched after you get the car back from a service. If the engine has an oil dipstick it is easy to tell if the oil is fresh or not. If no dipstick you can carefully try to obtain a swap of oil from reaching down inside the oil filler cap. Actually just giving the opening a sniff you can probably tell if the oil is fresh or old. (Check the oil this way *before* you take the car in for service so you have a good idea of what old/used oil smells or looks like on the swab.)
Regardless, bottom line is really you don't have any reasonable grounds to stand on regarding the filter condition and oil condition.
The engine really breathes in a lot air. An engine air filter can get pretty grungy looking in not much time. Depends upon where you live and drive. I have driven in some areas of the southwest through mini dust storms. The engine air filter can go from pristine to Yuck in just a few miles.
It also depends upon the car. Some cars the engine air intake is just located in place that the air stream is just dirty. (My Porsche Boxster with its engine air intake on the side of the car right behind the driver door was positioned to pull in air the driver side radiator fan had blown up from the ground. At slow speeds if the fan was runing the engine air filter was dealing with a very localized dust storm.)
I dunno about that. I have always maintained my past and present cars for a little over 30 years and have never encountered anything like this. If you look at the air filter closely, you could even see pebble size dirt caught in between. I have never seen a oil that it is very sticky.
I dunno about that. I have always maintained my past and present cars for a little over 30 years and have never encountered anything like this. If you look at the air filter closely, you could even see pebble size dirt caught in between. I have never seen a oil that it is very sticky.
You should have seen I should have taken a picture of my Boxster's engine air filter. The thing was filthy. Leaves and a whole lotta dirt. I smacked the filter top side down on the sidewalk and the amount of dirt that ended up on on the concrete was amazing. Left an outline of the filter.
When I changed the oil I and managed to get some on my hands -- before I started using gloves to avoid contacting the old oil -- I never noticed the oil being sticky. Sticky is not what I would expect from oil past its change by miles.
But regardless you missed your chance -- so to speak -- by not obtaining a proper sample of the old oil to have analyzed. This might have flagged the oil as being way past its change change by miles.
