Is this true? I'm at 9,700 miles, and I called my SA to see if I could schedule my car for its first service this weekend, as I figured I'd hit the 10k mark by then.

They told me they go by the service indicator (when you first start the car). That says 2,500 miles to go! I don't know how I feel about putting ~12.5k miles on my car before its first service. Is there any way I can get them to honor the 10k number (that's in the freaking service manual!), or is this normal?

 

Seems pretty normal to me, although it drives many of us buggy.

 

That is the case, we ran into that also, and our SA wouldn't even consider scheduling us until the odo is closer to what is indicated by the obc, really ticked me off also , but they wouldn't budge.

 

That's MINI's policy. The first service isn't due at 10,000 miles, that's just an estimate. It's due within 500 miles of the indicated service mileage per your On-Board Computer.

The OBC determines that service based on the way you drive... cold starts, RPMs, speeds, etc, etc.

Seems odd to most of us not used to age of computers on cars and synthetics oils, but the MINI (BMW) engineers say it's okay.

 

Yep...500 miles is what I've been told as well.

 

Well, if it's policy, then I guess I'll hang out in the woodwork until the appropriate time . They did say the service indicator has to be displaying 1,000 miles or less, so technically I only have 1,500 miles to go.

Second question:
I'd like to have them replace my brake pads with ones a little less... dusty. I'd provide the parts (which ones are good, by the way?). Would that be included in the service, or should I do it myself?

 

Makes me nervous too...I don't really like the idea of waiting that long for a service.

Chuck

 

It wouldn't be included in the service, because the first scheduled maintenance doesn't include brake pad replacement. The pads aren't replaced until the wear sensor goes off. They're pretty easy to replace yourself, especially if you get to them before the wear sensors activate (the wear sensors are consumable parts and have to be replaced once they've activated.)

As far as replacements goes, anything would be an improvement - chalkboard erasers have less dust! I know a lot of people use the EBC "Green" pads for daily-driven MINIs. I don't have them on my car, but I've used them on my bikes and like them.

 

Weird... my service guy told me to just call him to schedule it when I'm within a few hundred miles of 10K and didn't mention the service indicator (I knew about it but didn't mention it to him). Sounds like the dealership has the leeway to do it whenever.

 

My wife's car is almost due for its first service, and I've still got the original oil in it. I'm pulling a sample to send off for analysis, and I'll post the results here. I'll do the same with my car when it's time, but I'm a few thousand miles behind her.
I'm expecting the metal concentrations to be a little high since it's the oil that was in the crankcase during the 1250-mile break-in period, but I'm more curious about the viscosity, additive levels, and fuel contamination numbers.

 

Wow, could you please PM me when you post the topic? I want to make sure I don't miss this!

 

I wouldn;t be bothered about running it until 12500 miles. Many cars here now only get serviced every 20000 miles or so.

 

Will do. I'll have to double-check her service indicator, but it should be in the next month or so.

 

The normal policy is either the OBC mileage or one year for the first service.

 

Mine came on at 10,500 with 2 track days and alot of autoXes and hard canyon driving daily. Some people made it to 15 before the first service interval came on. I don;t trust BMW on their algorithim to determine the "safe" time to service the car, since that are trying to save as much money as they can while your car is under waranty without considering the customer after the waranty has expired... Change your oil every 3000 miles and you will have piece of mind...

 

Both of my MCSs saw their first service at over 12,000 miles. I am not sure under what driving conditions that you would see a service at 10,000 miles.

I only drive 4 miles to work, all back roads. Car bearly gets warmed up before I shut it off. Not sure what could be harder on the oil than that. Maybe only once a week does it see the highway for any significent time. As a daily driver I am averaging about 12,000 miles per year.

Including all of the week end runs and a driving summer vacation.

But, the MINI engineers say you have to go by the countdown odometer.

 

Good advice, although I hope I'm still able to have peace of mind after I take a chunk of my brain out

 

I was told within 500 miles of the service indicator or 1 year whichever comes first....Sadly I am going to hit the one year before the service is due.

 

You need to go driving more

 

worked in a case of oil filters with purchase of my Mini. Gets changed every 3K-4K. Changed it first time at 2K. Wanted to get that first batch out as soon as possible.

 

At my nearest dealership I was not permitted to get my first service until I had hit zero on the counter. Next time there was a new service manager at the same dealership who said "as long as it's within a few hundred". So apparently it is very discretionary!

 

Not true. If your under the service mileage indicator at one year, they give you a free oil change but NOT the first service. Been there, done that

Again, if you know ANYBODY who ruined a MINI engine buy using the vendors schedule, plz post so for once and all it can be proven that BMW is full of crap.

 

Maybe it will hurt or maybe not...but I'm pretty sure that changing your oil every 5k will NOT hurt anything and will definitely keep your oil clean. With synthetic, I do it after 5k. With dino on my other car, I do it every 3k. If I had to pay for oil changes, it would get expensive with me putting about 32k miles a year on my MC, I won't take chances. Fortunately, I only pay for oil as my own labor is free.

I would love to see a comparative oil analysis of 5k 10k 15k and 20k. It would be very interesting IMO.

 

Forget the 5K.

I want to see someone who just followed the BMW manual and show me ONE engine that was destroyed because they followed the manual. Just one .... then we can say its worth throwing the money away to "feel better".

 

The question can only be one of long term durability. No engine is going to grenade because its oil is 10,000 miles old, or 20,000 miles old. The question is where does the point of diminishing returns take over, especially with synthetic oils? If a 5,000 interval is good, why not 1,000?

How long, truly, is the owner going to keep his Mini?

The metal content issue is a false one: New cars have had lots of lubricants through them before they arrive at a dealer. If there's metal in there, something has broken. Dirt (from the air) is the true enemy of any engine...that's what make the oil dark and creates the foundation for carbon build-up which we all want to avoid.