We're at 14,500 miles. I believe Stuart's moved his own personal 10 yard line out to saying 4,000 miles when I start (or is it 6,000). Anyway, 18,500 or 21,500 are both excessive for break in round of oil. Anyone drive and and say, service me already?

I've got the holy trinity of warning lights (brakes, ASC, flat) coming up due to a what I believe to be bad wheel sensor. I suppose that's as good an excuse as any to go ask when my oil's due.

BTW, before a trip to Monterey last weekend (13,000) I decided that some fresh synthetic was in order and did my own oil change, so my question is more to get some feedback for how this is supposed to work, and for the benefit of those who will follow me.

 

The OBC decides the mileage for the first service. It reads our on the tac when you first start the engine. The default is 15,000 miles. Mine is up to 16,000 due to a lot of highway driving. For most people it will be the one year anniversary of getting the car because that will come before the mileage.

 

Most dealerships will perform the first inspection/oil change at the one year anniv. regardless of mileage.

 

I beg the question...if you do your own oil changes in between recommended service intervals as determined by the OBC, are you able to "reset" the OBC, can it tell what you've done (obviously in the middle of the night), and will the service department have a hissy that you've done an "illegitemate" oil change?

 

Many posts on these questions already....

 

As far as I understand it at least from what my MA said. You can change your own oil as much as you like, won't void the warranty as long as you use the correct oil.

You can reset the ODB II if you get a reader with that functionality. There are some cheap ones on amazon for less than $100 there might even be some for under $50 and there are some fancy ones like the "Dashshark" that costs around $350.

Also even if the MINI service changes your oil check the oil level yourself afterwards, they put a quart too much last time they changed my oil.

 

Good info and thanks, mufflethis!

 

im at 8000 miles and i already had 2 oil changes. first at 1500. i change mine every 5000. 21000 is insane. oil might last that long but the filters don't.

 

Can I go to the dealer at 3,000 miles and ask for an oil change?

I mean whats the deal with peopel getting oil changes at like 8,000 miles? That seems a little too far in between? I get free maintence for 3 yrs so it should be free right, or do I HAVE to follow the computer on the car? I just dot trust it. Im so used to every, 3000 miles.

 

in order to get them free you have to follow the computer. i don't think waiting 15000+ is worth a free oil change. i do mine (at the dealer) every 5000 (first one at 1500) for around $70 a pop. to me its worth it on a $25000 turbocharged car.

 

Doing an oil change doesn't affect what the OBC thinks. It just looks at some driving parameters like temp. It doesn't monitor the actual condition of the oil.

Why would you want to reset the OBC? That would just delay when you get the free service.

Yes, and pay something like $150 (varies from dealer to dealer).

Only the computer indicated service is free. It is either the mileage suggested by the OBC, or one year.

3,000 miles is appropriate for dinosaur oil, but this is synthetic. BMW says it last for 15,000 miles or more. Many here don't trust that and do their own change at various mileages. 5,000 and 8,000 seem to be popular.

There is much heated debate on this subject. See this and other threads on oil changes.

 

Robin -

I wouldn't want to reset the OBC. I was ignorant in knowing that the OBC/oil change interval/free maintenance are all tied together.

I'm getting closer to becoming a MINI allmighty, omniscient one, I guess. Baby steps, baby steps.

 

As I said in another thread, I know just enough to get into trouble, and am happy to share that with others.

 

Keep the trouble...I'll take all the knowledge I can stuff into my limited storage space!

 

Well I think ill go with the computer for oilchanges, b/c the car is under warranty and if anything happens itll be covered in the future plus ill prob trade it in a 4 years or so for a new one.

 

That is a good plan......as long as you drive a "normal" amount each year. I only drive my MINI about 8,000 a year, so I change my own oil once a year and I got my free ones in addition to that also.

 

The issue of how often to change oil eventually deteriorates into uneducated and ill-informed suppositions. Regardless of what interval you choose, the biggest factor to engine longevity with modern oil is the prevention of low oil levels. Sounds pretty trite, but how many of you actually check your oil levels every 2-4 weeks? It probably doesn't matter if you change your oil every 3-5000 miles and you aren't finding oil puddles under the car. If you go to the full 15-20k between changes, you'd better be checking levels at least once a month.

 

Had the dealer change mine at 5000 miles, (paid for it) and when i checked the level it was almost 1 quart overfilled.

 

Thanks for the responses folks. My 2000 BMW has never exceeded ~12k between services with similar regime (full synthetic, usage based service intervals) But that motor (2.5L I6) uses 7.5 qts. and a larger filter compared to MINI's ~4 qts. I really posted because I hadn't seen anyone comment on getting their first service light yet.
-kARL

 

I don't expect to see the service light until May 10, 2008 -- one year after picking the MINI up from the dealer. I don't think I'll get 16,000 miles done in a year.