Hi I have a 2004 base Mini Cooper that I bought used. I need to change the oil in the cooper but the nearest dealer is 200 miles away. I called Super Lube and they claim to have changed the oil in mini coopers before. I have never changed a car's oil before. Does Super Lube sound like a safe bet?!? Thank you!

 

If you feel like doing it yourself, there's a how-to I believe on this site. If not, just take it to the place. The only thing they need is a shallow 36mm socket to get the canister off. Besides that, I would recommend running full-synthetic (I use Ams-Oil).

-Cody

 

I would be suspicious of any 'Jiffy Lube' type place unless you know they have done a good job on MINIs.
If you don't want to do the oil yourself, find a good tuner shop in the area and see if they can do the oil.
If you decide you do want to change the oil yourself you will find it is not very hard at all.

 

I take mine to the same Midas everytime. So long as you trust them, I don't see the problem. It isn't a very complicated job.

They do a good job, but I have to reset my Oil Service indicator myself when I get home, but that is just a couple of button presses with a turn of the key...on my '05.

+1 on synthetic

 

Sounds like you need to find a independent Mini service shop in your area.

What area are you located in, then someone from that area can point you in right direction.

 

Make sure that the lubeomat that you go to knows that there is a plastic piece in the oil filter that must be removed from the old filter & reused in the new filter. If this is not done you will have a low oil pressure light at idle.

 

understand about the internals of the filter cap however....all my manuals state that the guts were removed half way between the 2003 and 2004 cars were assembled. I have an 03 that only has a spring floating around the inside of the cap. Becasues I cant determine if the german dealership removed the plastic screen and forgot to take the spring with it?? ? I keep the spring in the cap

 

Changing the oil yourself is really a simple task and easily done in 20 minutes. Just be sure when reinstalling the cannister housing, to apply light pressure on the cannister while rotating it in the loosening direction until you feel the threads properly engage; then tighten. Cross threading the cannister will definitely cause a multitude of problems and you won't want to go there.

Definitely stay synthetic, it's what the MINI was designed to run. Like polizei, I use AmsOil; it is one of the best on the market. We have folks in our club running Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Castrol Syntec (same as the MINI brand), and the stock MINI Oil.

To make the process easier, I installed a Fomoto valve in place of the oil drain plug; just be certain to position it so the lever doesn't hang down to prevent accidental unlocking/opening in the event you run over something.

 

Check the DIY here on NAM, it is really not a difficult job.