I wouldn't have bothered y'all with this, but recently I've read some posts from people with 11-12,000 miles on their MINIs who still talk about "I'll do this when I go in for my first service"). In other words they are well past 10,000 miles and presumably still have some miles to go on the Oil Service interval mileage before they're "due" to go in. Hmmm...

My service interval mileage will be at "0" (time for 1st scheduled service) about 125 miles before my odometer reaches 10,000 miles. This difference is "minor", right? Probably a result of me "figuring out" how to drive an MCS early on ??

The gap hasn't widened appreciably as I've motored more miles, and I both read and observed that the service interval mileage changes in large chunks, rather than a mile at a time.

That means that sometimes I'm only 100 miles or so difference between odo and Oil Service mileage, but if I check right after it has incremented, the diff. is more like 150-160 miles .

So, (to make a long story short - oops too late) should I call it in?

Thanks,
Tatt

 

BMW/Mini will not service your vehicle unless your on board computer says it is due for an oil service. The expected mileage for the oil change will vary from car to car and driver to driver, depending on your driving habits. There are many threads on this topic so I won't elaborate on this any further.

 

Go ahead and schedule your first service. The amount on the "service mileage" is not set in stone, and it depends on how you drive. Whether it be stop 'n go or highway miles. Mine are ~97% highway...

I changed the oil in "Sam" at 3k and then turned her in to Dr. Hendrick (in Charlotte, NC) at ~10k even though the "service mileage" indicator said I could go for another 3k before it was due.

I don't think they will turn you away even if your "service mileage" says you can go another 100 miles... :smile:

 

my service indicator say -500 miles (yes, negative) and i'm just a hare over 8900 miles. they said it wouldnt be a problem at classic to get it in asap. I'm going in friday....

 

BTW, ive changed my oil 3 times already

 

I guess this day @ work has taken its toll on my ability to communicate clearly (being BRIEF is another ongoing battle of mine, but that IS for another thread)...

Here's the boiled down facts:
1) I won't be at 10,000 miles for about 2500 more miles, (so it's not quite time to consider scheduling the 1st service).

2) IF I "go by" the Oil Service Interval mileage, I will need my 10,000 mile service while having only about 9,800 on the odometer.

I just wondered if I should be concerned, since I saw some people with significantly more than 10k miles still hadn't had 1st service. I guess they might be on their own schedules or whatever, but that point was only what motivated me to ask my ??s.

Thanks for the replies, I vant more braaaains Igor! More Braiiiiins for ze creature!

 

That's more like it! I am not alone with the mileage gap thingy. TY R&W, (and I did see where you changed 3x already too.)

You must reallly drive it like you stole it, to have about 1,600 miles "gap" like that .

I also read about how that service indicator will go to negative numbers if you "go past" zero, so that didn't weird me out when I read what you said.

Tatt

 

Where are you getting this '10,000K mile' figure? Nowhere does it say first service is due at 10K miles.

The service interval indicator, and only the service interval indicator, determines when the MINI is due for factory-scheduled oil services.

This is going to be rougly around the 10K mile mark, but will vary from car to car and driver to driver.

Many owners (myself included) find it prudent to change the oil more frequently than the service interval requires, especially the first oil chage when there could be filings and shavings from the break-in process. These additional oil changes are at the owner's own expense, and when doing so, you should NOT have the service interval indicator reset. I always have my service book stamped too, but on a separate page than the official stamp page. (I'm at 7500 miles, and have changed oil 3 times. My first 'official' service is due in 2300 miles).

If you would like to really know how the service interval makes its determination, I'll explain: (taken from "Introduction to the MINI")

"The remaining distance is calculated from 3 inputs; fuel used, recommended distance between services, and the quantity of fuel to be used between service intervals.
The formula is:

Remaining distance = (Recommended distance * SI fuel quantity - fuel consumed) / SI fuel quantity

[note: SI means "Service Interval"] -jt

The advantages are that the formula is easily adapted for different engines by supplying different values for the recommended distance and the SI fuel quantity, and that the remaining distance will reduce more quickly if the engine is subjected to more arduous usage. Equally, the service distance may be extended by moderate usage. The values of recommended distance and SI fuel quantity will be stored in the IKE [onboard computer] memory. To prevent the remaining distance counter from being reset in the case of loss of power or software reset, the accumulated fuel used is stored in IKE memory at least once every 2km synchronized with the odometer distance storage."

So, in more basic terms, the system knows how much gas should flow through the engine between services. It then keeps track of how much gas has been used, and keeps reducing that quantity from the base quantity. It then converts this into a mileage figure by factoring in a recommended distance, displays a remaining distance on the odometer display.

So let's say the recommended distance between oil service is programmed at 10K miles and the recommended fuel usage between oil service is 500 gallons.
If your driving style is giving you 20mpg, in 5000 miles, you have used 250 gallons, and will have 5000 miles remaining until first oil service.

If your driving style is giving you 19mpg, in 5000 miles you have used 263 gallons. You will then have 4750 miles remaining until first oil service (actually 4740, but the computer rounds off in increments of 25 miles).

So, one driver goes 5000 miles and is due in 5000 miles. Another driver goes 5000 miles and is due in 4750 miles.

The more arduous you drive, the worse gas mileage you'll get. The exact opposite is true: if you nurse the car along, and get excellent gas mileage, your service interval will be much greater.

Hendrick MINI will service any car that is within 10% of the remaining value on the indicator. I'm sure the other dealers let you get to within a certain window as well.

 

I had about 8700 on the odometer with 700 miles before recommended service showing. I was about to take a week long trip, so I dropped it off at the dealer, explained the sittuation and they did the required service, no questions asked.

Although, now the OBC displays service at 14,300???

 

Tarzan, TY for detailed reply .

To your question about where did i get the 10,000 miles number, I "think" I got the 10,000 miles number from the "maintenance schedule" - The same verbiage that explains about the 2nd interval lasting longer than the first (Goal are you reading this:smile: ? The first service is 10,000 miles (YES APPROXIMately), and the 2nd isn't for another 15,000 miles). This difference absolutely flummoxes some members of the "More Frequent Oil Change Cult".

That much I "knew"...

And not only that, I had read the doggone manual at least twice, before I even got the car! It is sad, how over-crowded my brain is - instant Space Cadet here, I guess. A classic case of "Oh.... I knew that".

The thread I ought to have started would have had a different title, something like "MC and MCS Owners What is the Difference between your SI mileage and your Odo". Now that I see that though, it lacks a certain elegance and it's not very concise (hmmm, sort of like ME ).

Thanks for getting me back on the straight and narrow. I can't imagine driving SO gently that the SI gives me thousands of miles beyond 10k before 1st service, wow (those posters were the ones that got me thinking about this in the first place). In fact, it's rather a point of pride, that I'll be "due" for service before 10k (just not MUCH before .... Wouldn't want to be accused of MINI-abuse).

Enlightened, but not lightened,
Tatt

 

Yeah, I think I will join the crowd and not go 15,000 miles between oil changes. The thing that perplexes me is the fact that the OBC display says service AT 14,025, not IN 14,025.

 

is that if you bring it in for an unscheduled service you pay out the nose. As for doing it at 3k it's a waste of money and time in my opinion.

 

Ahhh, you said the OBC word . I elected to spare myself that often perplexing little luxury. Although, I really like your spec, not to mention your stripes .

I used the funds that would have financed an OBC for my MCS and invested in some #2 pencils and a handy sharpener - the kind that catches the shavings in a container - and presto, I am my own OBC for tracking MPG at fill-ups, even though technically I'm not "on board" while refueling . There's actually a funny story from the "space race" between the US and former USSR... NASA spends huge dollar to develop a pen that will work in zero-G, while the frugal Russians elected to just use good ol' pencils . Probably saved them some serious gas money.

I mis-read your prior post - all prepositions are definitely NOT created equal, and learning to read what they MEAN instead of what they SAY often amounts to tolerating stupidity, which is another thing I don't like but that's another story...

Tatt

 

For oil changes outside of the "free maintenance" program, many owners learn (from How-To on NAM, MINI2, etc) to do their own. WAY less time and money invested that way, and (again, for some) it is worth the peace of mind.

<In my most respectful, tinged with humor voice>: Don't you dare turn this into an Oil Change Thread now ...

Cheers,
Tatt

 

Hmmmmm......

Well, the reason I didn't mention it was because I didn't "pay out the nose". The only thing I did pay for was five quarts of Mobile 1, which is what I put in Sam at 3k.

 

Here's a nice tid bit. My SA told me the formula they use to determine if you are eligible for the service, even if you still have mileage remaining on the miles to next service indicator.

Step 1. Compute Average miles per month (trip odometer mileage divided by number of months car has been owned)
Step 2. Compare miles until next service number to average miles per month.
Step 3. If miles until next service divided by average miles per month is less than 2.0, then, according to my SA, they can do the scheduled maintenance and oil change.

Basically they are saying that if you will achieve the mileage needed for the service in the next 60 days, they will do it. I know this because mine was refused (when it was in for some other work) and I had to bring the car back 3 weeks later when it could qualify under this formula.

Sorry all, after all I am a CPA and numbers and formulas facinate me.

 

You're right @ "nice tid-bit". That's a quantifiable way of saying the same thing my MA said, during the "here's who you call to set up service appointments, and here's when you should do this, etc" conversation.

All is well, I'm going for a lunch hour motor,
Tatt