How accurate is this information? I have an '03 Mini with 8900 miles on the odometer. The count down mileage to service now reads "-125", but I don't have the "service engine" light on yet.

I went ahead and made an appointment for the 10,000 service. Brecht (Escondido, CA) has a three week waiting list. I think I won't reach the 10,000 mile mark in the next three weeks, but you never know when the "driving bug" will bite!!

Thanks in advance!

 

I may be wrong but if your service engine light comes on, you have more than a routine check up to worry about. I don't think there are any lights to indicate when to take the car in. Just the mileage indication.

As for accuracy, I'm not sure what goes into deciding the countdown to maintainance. My 10,000 mile check up actaully took place at 13,000 miles.

 

Your MINI's maintenance is not based on mileage. Your car is due for maintenance when the countdown displays 0.

You must drive you car pretty hard to get to your oil service at 8900 miles. Do you make a lot of short trips?

 

The Service Engine Soon light has nothing to do with the scheduled service interval!

SES light means something is wrong with your engine, take it to dealer ASAP.

The mileage countdown to scheduled service indicates when to take your car to the dealer for scheduled service. If the number is negative, then you have gone PAST the mileage where you should get it serviced, If it reads -125, then you should have gotten it serviced 125 miles ago! You can still get it done now of course.

The mileage countdown to service is variable, it takes into account not so much how hard you drive a car, but how many cold-starts you have. When you drive lots of miles on highway, you have fewer cold starts (per mileage), etc...

Also, the first service interval usually comes up around 10 - 12k miles for most. If yours came up at under 9000, then you probably do little highway driving, more shorter trips.

Keep in mind that the second service is usually at around 15,000 miles after the first.

Hope this helps!

M.

 

Thanks to all for the information. I do alot of short distance driving ( 6 miles each way to/from work) I do try to do longer drives on the weekends....as time permits.

Thanks again!

 

Thanks to all for the information. I do alot of short distance driving ( 6 miles each way to/from work) I do try to do longer drives on the weekends....as time permits.

Thanks again!

 

As to the accuracy of the MINI's indicators......I was paddocked next to a MINI the other day at a race and those guys actually measured the amount of fuel into their tank by using the MPG meter!! They said it was incredibly accurate and since weight of fuel can be such an issue for them, they use it exclusively......