While digging thru the depths of NAM for a bit of info, I found a great schedule that I would like to share:

Every Week:
Wash and detail inside and out
(actually every 3 days on average)

Every 14 days:
Check oil level
Check antifreeze level
Brakes: check fluid level
Power steering: check fluid level
Wipers: check fluid levels

Every 30 days:
Check all lights and bulbs
Tires: check pressure and tread, reset tire monitor

Every 60 days:
Shocks: check for leaks
Shock tower mount area: check for distortion

Every 90 days:
Battery: check terminals and cables
Belt: check for loose or worn belt
Hoses: check for leaks or bulges
Brakes: check pads for wear
Wiper blades: check for wear
Wax exterior paint

Every 180 days:
Rotate ignition keys to keep both charged
Apply dialectric grease to both ends of all plug wires

Every 3500 miles:
Replace oil and filter
Check wheel bolt torques with torque wrench (88ft.lb)

Every 5000 miles:
Check spark plug torque with torque wrench (20ft.lb)

At Service Interval Indicator:
MINI Oil Service (Replace oil and filter)
Replace microfilter
Check brake pads with MINI tool, replace if needed
Grease wheel centering hubs
Clean brake pad contact points in calipers
Replace wiper blades
Check parking brake actuation, adjust if necessary
Reset Service Interval Indicator
Stamp warranty book pages 11 and 16.
MINI Inspection 1
MINI Inspection 2

Every year:
Rotate and balance tires
Wiper blades: replace
Pressure wash undercarriage
State inspection
Inspect entire body for rust

Every 2 years:
Replace brake fluid
Check AC refrigerant level and pressure

Every 30,000 miles:
Replace (JCW) air filter

Every 40,000 miles:
Replace spark plug wires

Every 60,000 miles:
Replace belt
Replace brake pads
Drain, flush, and refill power steering fluid

Every 100,000 miles:
Replace (JCW) spark plugs
Replace O2 sensors

Every 4 years:
Replace coolant
Replace hoses
Replace transmission fluid


This schedule complies with every MINI Warranty requirement and recommendation listed in the Owner's Manual and associated literature.

Thanks to Tarzan

 

That is excelent! Nice work!

I'm sure some people will have to
ajust it to match their needs, but
thats a killer schedual! Also, I think
that it would be more practicle to
roate the tires every x amount of
miles. Some people put 20,000+
miles on their MINI in the first year.
I rotate mine every ~3-5k miles.
I want to get the MOST out of my tires.

Again, nice work!

 

Tire Rack has mentioned every 3000 miles for the first 12000 then at every 5000 miles thereafter.

 

Good job, that's a very nice list you've compiled.

The one thing I would change is to do all of the fluid checks at least once a week. It only takes a minute & if your car starts using oil or coolant it may be too late for you if it's only checked every 14 days.

 

Fantastic! I do agree with the note on the tires, I'm not sure the fronts are always going to make it a year!

 

Fantastic,

Althought not sure what to check on these two (Maybe a link to pics with pointers to contact points), everything else seems doable for a novice.

Grease wheel centering hubs?
Clean brake pad contact points in calipers?

 

When you have the wheels off, just a kiss of grease or anti seize on the center of the hub where the wheel slips over will prevent a pain in the **** down the road when your wheels are stuck on there.

Cleaning the brake pad contact points isn't a novice job. IMO

 

OK, I saw the article on changing the brake pads on one of the other forums. It looked doable but painful. I assume that at least that amount of work woould be required to get to the calipers, just not sure what the contact points would look like.

 

wow thanks for that. where did u get it?

 

Cool, thanks for the schedule. It's a pretty neat thing to have tucked in my glove compartment to ck off. But you forgot one thing: Every day...LOG ONTO NAM!!!

 

I know this has probably been discusses many many times. But why change the oil more than the manufacture recommends? If you are driving the car relatively hard sure. But it would seem logical to stick to the manufacturers suggested milage.

 

As mentioned above, I found this in old NAM posts, while digging for something else. I think it might have been "how to change an air filter". Anyway, I don't claim credit for anything but finding it again. I don't know what might be wrong or missing, but since Mini, unlike most mfgrs, doesn't make a maintenance schedule available (at least that I am aware of), I was delighted to find it, and saw no reason to keep it a secret.

If you haven't figured it out yet, the old posts, which go back quite a while, are like a huge reference library, and are searchable, a fantastic resource, for which the originators of this site, the contributors, and the moderators, deserve our undying gratitude.

 

You can easily see the contact points for the outer pads (where they ride on the caliper...brake dust builds up here and can causes squeal and probably impeded the action of the caliper). To get to the inner ones it looks to me like you'd have to remove the caliper.

I often wonder how many treasures there are like this schedule buried in NAM. Thanks for reviving it davavd

 

IMHO Again...It is not necessarily the oil but the FILTER that really gets messed up.
Also living in the desert does not help! I do my own at 3-5000 mi and you should see (NOT) the crap that comes out!

 

I'm all for undying!

 

Just took the MINI in along with my fiance's BMW 325ci Coupe for their scheduled maintenance and the MINI was due for the Level 1 service inspection and a brake fluid flush. I had both done and the MINI passed inspection with flying colors! I couldn't get over how thorough the inspection was. Wow. It gave a wonderful peace of mind since I just bought the MINI this past January.

 

Too much damn work for such a tiny car.

I just let my Mini whisper to me what the next bill is gonna be.

 

Hahaha

 

It's now whispering in German: "Die Klimaanlage is tot!"

Queen's English: "The bloody A/C is kaputt!"

or... "That's 500 Sterling Pounds!"

 

Hahaha

 

Change the oil every 3,500 miles? My 06 R50 says every 15,000 miles!

 

Yeah, I thought MINI recommended 15,000 miles for oil changes also...

 

It is 15,000 miles. I was talking with the BMW Service Manager and he said that if the MINI is still under manufacturer warranty that they cannot touch the MINI or service it until the countdown is complete/service light is on. The BMWs have the same countdown/service intervals as the MINI. I'm going with the MINI. It'll tell me what it needs and when.

 

The service interval starts off at 15,000 miles (or 15,500 depending on model year), but the OBC will adjust it to your driving habits, often lengthening it significantly.

My '06 routinely goes 20-22k miles between OBC-recommended services. I'm not ready to quite that long between oil changes, so I've started changing the oil when the countdown meter reads 7500 and again when it reads 0, so I'm actually going about 10k miles on each oil change.