Hello everyone... I am fairly new to Mini's (3 months) and the forum (5 months) and as our Mini is our 3rd car I haven't had much time to really dig in and get plenty of contiguous seat time to feel it out yet... My fiancé has had the pleasure of driving it the past few months as I have needed our X5 for its utility for a renovation project at one of our stores and my other gas hog now stays in the garage most days.... As I am sure all of you can understand it has now been hard to pry the keys out of her hands, she loves the thing... LOL...

We have an 05 MCS JCW with 39k miles... To simplify things for her (no offense to the lady gear heads out there) I have always told her to watch out for warning light as they will certainly indicate when the car needs or wants something... Or so had been the case with our other European cars to date, almost annoyingly so... So when she called me at work last week and told me the oil temp gauge (ours has the chrono package) was "broken"... I was both impressed that she was watching the gauges and horrified as to what was going on.. I asked her repeatedly if the oil light had ever come on even after turning the car off and she insisted - NO..... I drove over to her and confirmed the oil level light was pinned up and when I checked the oil via the dipstick I was quite alarmed as my gut reaction diagnosis was correct - extremely low oil (dipstick was not touching)... So thankful that she noticed the gauge climbing and pinning itself, and hoping that she/we caught it fast enough.... I filled it sufficiently and and all has been well the past week....

So my question is: Have any of you actually seen an oil level light come on in a MINI?? I have had several BMW's and I know at least in them they are quite reliable... Could mine simply be burned out or broken? I can not imagine BMW building these with out oil warning lights... If this car didn't have the Chrono Package I am 100% sure this low mileage JCW that I "paid up for" would certainly would have burned up... So I guess I'll go back to doing the prudent thing and actually check the oil periodically.... I guess I just got complacent with all the technology out there these days... Any input would be appreciated and otherwise I hope this is a reminder/warning to all of you to check your oil the old fashioned way periodically in your MINI!!

 

One - paragraphs! One long block of text is painful to read...

Two - that's not a level light! That's a pressure warning light! That's the pull over and stop the engine immediately light. We do not have level sensors, we have dipsticks.

 

MINI's use oil. It's the only car I have ever owned where the owners manual basically says it uses oil, right off the showroom floor.

Have her check her baby's oil with the engine cold, much easier to read and done in the comfort of your own garage. Check at least every 1,000K as an easy to remember interval.

 

Thanks on both points...

I realized how difficult it was to read once you pointed it out.. I did a simple edit and will keep this in mind going forward.

Also thanks for pointing out the the "Oil Light" is a pressure indicator not a level indicator - Thanks for the clarification.. I feel a bit foolish not knowing exactly what the light meant as I kinda pride myself on knowing such things.. Oh well... I even double checked this fact on Audi and BMW forums and sure enough you were right... lol..

Thanks again for the input...

 

Mercs, BMWs, and Range Rovers have all the fancy kit. An LCD that shows air pressure per tire, oil level, every little sensor you can think of, etc. It used to be only those cars that had GPS and rearview cameras. It trickles down eventually and now your basic Camry has what the expensive cars had in the past.

*But* it takes time and it's also more complex/more stuff to break... The Gen1 cars only have ABS based tire pressure. The Gen2s have TPMS. But now the rims have to support them and the sensors cost money.

You can certainly retro in a sensor, just takes time, effort and money. Is it worth it? Sometimes the simpler way is the better way. I check my oil via the stick and my tires with an external pressure gauge.

 

Like stated, the light is considered a "dummy light". It is pressure, not level. Meaning once that light turns on, you basically do not have enough oil pressure=BAD.

 

Thats funny how Mini simply admits it... I also have a V8 Audi S4 with some minor mods and it seriously uses oil.. The only thing it uses more than oil is premium gas... That's why it stays in the garage most of the time... lol

I certainly plan to check it every 1000 now that I just went through that episode..

Thanks for the advice!

 

As was said, the red light is a stop light.
My MINI runs fairly tight. My friend's '06, not so much. Did an oil change for her a few weeks ago and maybe got 2-2.5qts out of it. I told her to check it every 1K miles or so.

Note: It's not just a MINI thing, I'm pretty sure Porsche considers 1qt/800 miles 'normal' usage.

 

When waiting on the boat to arrive and researching MINI quirks, I was suprised a co-worker mentioned his uses oil.

Sure enough, ours ate 1/2qrt in the first 5,000 miles off the showroom floor.

Quote:

If I need to top off* my oil between services, is there specific oil I should use?
For starters, let us remind you that required maintenance work and services should be performed by your MINI dealership. That said, we suggest you check your engine oil level whenever you fuel up your MINI. If you’re low, top off with MINI High Performance Synthetic 5W-30 Oil (MINI part number 07 51 0 143 829) — the very oil we use for scheduled engine oil changes. If MINI High Performance Synthetic Oil is unavailable, we recommend using only the following approved synthetic oils. (For information on checking your engine oil level refer to your vehicle’s Owner’s Manual.)

*Excluded from the Maintenance Program.

The oils listed below meet MINI's Long-life rating and are acceptable for use in MINIs in the US market with gasoline engines.

Long-life rating LL-01 Approved Synthetic Oils for the US Market

• - Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
• - Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
• - Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
• - Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30

Use only synthetic oils with an API rating of SM or higher. In other words, the good stuff. The choice of the right SAE grade is based on the climatic conditions in the region in which you normally drive your MINI. To best determine which SAE grade is best suited for your vehicle, contact an authorized MINI dealership.

 

I would suggest to everyone here never to rely on technology alone to measure how well your vehicle is functioning. I've had to replace a motor on my old Jetta when my sister borrowed it and hit the oil pan on a steel manhole cover. The oil light was lit with the car beeping frantically and still she drove it a mile down the road. A nice $3500 out of my own pocket to replace the motor. Call me old school but I check my oil level at least once a week. Better safe than sorry.

 

Takes but 30 seconds to pop the bonnet and check.....to rely on such gizmos for such a critical
element in our cars makes no sense.

 

MINIs use oil?

Hmmmmm

I drove an 02-S for over 100,000 miles (new off the lot), changed oil when the computer said to first by dealer then by my self, checked it regularly and can't remember ever adding oil

Presently have as 07-S (bought new off the lot), have had dealer changes by computer up to now, check it regularly and have yet to need to top it off - ever..... got a wee bit over 30,000 on it (low ... I'm retired now ...)

Now my 79 on the other hand . . .

Yes - check it regularly - but excessive use should not be considered 'normal' as they don't all do this . . .

(my Honda's don't need topping off 'tween changes either . . . )

 

True, I have not really come across anyone here claiming that their MINI consumes oil. They seem to leak though. I would check our your gaskets.

 

Well I guess I'm lucky, my 06MCS is still a baby at about 38k miles but doesn't drink a drop of oil... the VW in the family, well that's different. Up to a quart per 1k miles is dealer/VW defined 'normal consumption' and we're pretty close.

 

My MK5 GTi drank a lot of oil too and yeah, that is considered normal.

 

Neither of our '06 'S' MINIs use much oil now, but they each burned about three-quarters of a quart in the first 5,000 miles. I just wrote it off as being elevated consumption while the rings were seating in. Now they have 50k and 75k on them, and don't really burn/leak an appreciable amount of oil between changes (and that's with 7,500 mile change intervals).

It's certainly a far cry from my 1972 Mercedes - its owner's manual stated that one liter per 1,000 km (about a quart every 600 miles) was acceptable. Fortunately, mine never went through near that much.

 

No oil level light as previously stated...

On my mini, oil consumption is almost zero...
I did buy my car new,and gently broke it in....took a long time..but it has paid off imo...it runs great.
imo every car owner should have, at the very least, a quick hour read of their manual..

It would answer 50% of the questions/problems posted....

 

I typically check mine every two weeks or so. I find that I ALWAYS add a little bit to keep the level between the marks (high and low) as they say.

 

'06 JCW cabriolet here and though it gets driven pretty hard, I rarely have to add any oil.

I am still amazed that people think the oil warning light means the oil level is low. It's a basic thing people should know. Very few cars have actual oil level lights. My wife's oldest friend had a nice Volvo that she really liked. She thought the oil light meant the oil level was low and continued to drive it for a few days. Of course, the motor was absolutely destroyed and she sold the car at a huge loss.

 

My 2003 JCW didn't use any measurable oil bewteen my 7500 mile changes, nor does my 2009S.

My Audis OTOH......

 

My '02 MCS never "used" oil.

My '06 MCS doesn't "use" oil.

....Les

 

And we've been lucky apparently, cause there seem to be more than a few that do.

I always wonder if changing the oil more frequently than when the computer tells you to helps this situation?

Maybe we should start a simple poll?
1) How often do you change your oil?
2) How much does it use between changes?

 

Thanks for all the info! I am actually enjoying becoming more hands on with my MCS, and YES checking the oil every other week and not relying on the "Dummy" or "Idiot" lights as I have come to find out that Mini's are not equipped with... and Although my other cars are so equipped I have even taken a peek at their dip sticks as well just out of curiosity.. If only I had enough time to tinker as much as I would like.....

NAM is really a great source of info and banter, so much so that now I am constantly checking the posts just for some good reading... I could have never imagined that there was this much info and conversation this readily available..

Keep up the good work everyone!

 

Used 1/2qrt in the first 5,000 miles as documanted and topped off at the dealer (while getting the bubbling chrome scoop heat-shield fix).

Right after that I changed the oil and filter myself. Now at 2,000 miles since the oil change the oil level has not budged from the middle of the range, having filled it with 4qrts Mobil 1 0W/40. So either she's broken in and not using oil, does better at not using it with Mobil 1, or we just haven't put on enough miles to see any use yet.

This weekend we have a 700 mile trip planned, will be a good time to check highway MPG. Have a feeling the oil level will hold.

 

I have an 03 MCS. I checked the oil once while doing maintenance, and there was barely any. I was really disappointed that the low pressure warning never came on.