I made a post about a week ago detailing how my wife's MCS spun a rod bearing. I was afraid that because of my mods they would deny the warranty. Well, upon getting it to the dealership they noticed that it only contained 3 quarts of oil. Funny, I thought because after I pulled into the parking lot hearing the rod knock, I added 3 quarts of oil. That means I was running without ANY OIL!!!

The mini dealership in short order told me that there was no way they would honor the warranty if it was out of oil. It was my fault that the car Ran out of oil :evil:
Additionally there was no sign of ANY oil leaks, or ANY oil usage by the engine, it only has 10,000miles.

Curiously enough the day before the car mysteriously ran out of oil I made 6 passes at Bandimere speedway. As well as a serious thrashing up Bear Creek Canyon. If the car was out of oil I figured it would have failed at the track not rolling down I-70.

So here is the sick part. We live on a dirt road and park in a gravel driveway. I could not figure out where 4.7 quarts of oil would have gone considering the car had no leaks of any kind. So I got out a rake and discovered a large pool of oil underneath the gravel where we park the MINI.

That means some Mother F*^& came up to my house and DRAINED THE OIL OUT OF OUR MINI. On top of that this individual had enough gumption to put the oil plug back in. Who in the heck would do this?

I have filed a police report and a claim with my insurance to cover the new engine.

 

Thats really creepy. I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully insurance will cover it and you find out who did that. :evil:

 

I hope everything get's worked out Tim, nobody deserves to randomly get their vehicle vandalized.

My best wishes,
Ryan

 

:smile: :smile:

Unforutnately there are few evil doers out there that make life terrible for the rest of us. :smile:

 

Good luck in getting your repairs resolved. I also hope you uncover the perp as well.

 

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

My best to you. Swift justice to "them".

 

wow, I guess getting a skid plate on the bottom may be somewhat of a deterrant if it covers the oil plug. That really sucks. I hope insurance covers you.

 

Thats horrible man. What goes around ALWAYS comes around. They will get theirs.

 

I would think the oil gauge would indicate low oil or let you know something was up?

 

I have to agree. Something doesn't seem right. Why wouldn't the dummy light at least indicate a problem with oil pressure.

Spike

 

Do you have any enemies BigTim? Hard to believe that it was a random act of vandalism...unless it was an SUV.

Hope you get it fixed soon!

 

Just a thought:

Much like the ABS sensor won't notice a slow leak in tires or leaks occurring in all tires, only sudden, more severe changes in rotational speed; is it possible that the oil light might not come on if the car's oil pressure doesn't change? That is: the car was started with exactly ZERO oil pressure, and it remained at zero during driving. Maybe the oil light will only fire if pressure is lost while driving? Possible?

 

Yeah, I do that to random SUV's almost every weekend. Didn't think anyone would ever do it to a car though -- that's just wrong.

But seriously, that's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard! Did they actually dig a hole and/or cover the oil with clean gravel? Oil doesn't soak into the ground very quickly and even on gravel, you'd get a 5' dia. puddle if there wasn't a hole to contain it.

And what about the oil light? The engine should be warranteed for that fault alone. The light should come on whenever the pump is drawing in enough air to substantially reduce the oil pressure. It doesn't just check once when the engine is started but rather will turn on and off as appropriate whenever the engine is running.

 

A warning of low oil pressure is a basic function installed on most cars since the Model T. It should have said something, specially if there was no oil then there would be no pressure. Your home owners policy will cover this type of claim if your car insurance doesn't.

 

I agree as well with the oil light, but can vouch that it does not come on, eventhough the car is still 2 quarts low. Tim said it never did come on.

The service manager, the MINI mechanic, Tim, and I all discussed that and thought it was strange. I figure it must be one of those lights that may or may not work. There is always the possibility that something funky happened to the passage and somehow trapped pressure (?), but my best guess is that it is more of a british thing - like the runflat light. I have had several customers with real flats and the light never worked, as well as fake lights that do come on when there is no problem.

 

Big Tim,

UGH! There must be a pit in your stomach the size of a watermellon. I feel for you. Vandalism is complete disrespect of real or personal property, usually perpetrated by folks without property. Hope the insurance sees the light and compensates you accordingly. Move the MCS indoors from now on, or put up a high voltage electric fence.

 

:evil: :evil:

 

DUDE, that TOTALLY S#%^@$%@#^$@^CKS

I can't begin to imagine how angry and frustrated that must make you feel.

I'm puzzled by the lack of an oil pressure warning in this case. That light should have come on and stayed on as soon as you started the car??? I think you've got a potential claim against the warranty based on that fact alone, however it would be hard to prove. At the very least, Mini should give you a break on the new engine or install or something????

As for the perp, it sounds like a couple of nights in the bushes might be well worth the effort...

strange and SAD


Kev

 

Tim, I feel your anguish, I've been there but worse.

I say send Wicked Wanda Out there to Patrol and Punish!

 

In addition to reporting this to the police, I'd do some sleuthing myself. Do a lot of people go pass your parked car every day? Notice anything unusual? Any bad vibes from neighbors?

Hope they catch the "evil ones"

 

Wow that sucks, what kinda sicko would do such a thing

Is it pretty easy to get to the oil plug without lifting the mini? I've never looked for the oil plug.

 

he was a skinny vandal!

 

>> :evil: :evil:

i totally agree

peace,
d

 

Tim,

You should be thankful that they didn't take your kidney while you where sleeping.



Denny

 

This is the last straw. . .

I am cleaning out my garage! I will move all my crap into my backyard shed and I will park my MINI in the garage when it gets here. It will never just sit outside where anyone coming down the street at 3am can jack with it. All it takes is ONE nut to follow you home and keep going after making note where you stopped and then come back 3 days later and do something to your car!