HELP!!! I think the dealer overfilled my oil yesterday!! its about two inches above the top ball indicator., maybe more!! WILL THIS DAMAGE MY ENGINE!!!! i just started the car and noticed some black smoke out of the back. im not happy right now. i have to put at least 150 miles on it to get it to the dealer. plus last night after i got the oil change i was driving like a madman, tearing through the high rev range and have put alomst 200 miles on it since then already.

 

over filling is NOT GOOD...perhaps you can borrow an oil extractor and suck out the excess..If not--take it back to dealer and have them drain it out.

 

im very upset. could this cause long term damage. how could someone that works on cars all day do something so stupid?!! i checked again. to accuratly tel you how much over it is, take the distance between the two little metal ball indicators, its at least two of those more past the top indicator. when i take of the oil fill cap in i can see a see a small amount of oil pooling in there. could damage have already been done? i take awesoem care of my car and engine and expect at least 200,000 out of it. how should i settle this with the dealer?

 

Usually overfilling is problematic when the oil is so high that the crank counter weights hit the oil in the resevoir and sort of whip it up like whipped cream. I am not sure how our synthetic oils will react nor do I know how this will affect our engines. That said my guess is that if it is a quart over then it will be no problem at all until you drain or siphon it to the right level. Over a quart and I would drain it where it is.

How did this happen? I really hate the Mini dipstick as it is so hard to read. Did that have anything to do with it?

Rich

 

BTW where is the correct level the oil should be on the dip stick? its between the two metal studs right? or is it slightly above the top stud? I HATE THIS MINI DIP STICK!!!

 

Dont drive the car any more until that level has been lowered. have it documented at the dealership. probably no long term damage.

 

honestly, how far above the top metal stud on the dip stick is considered ok? half and inch? inch?

 

the ~1inch span represent ~1 quart of oil, IIRC.

 

it is for that level where the stick is measured. Who knows how much oil it would take to raise it another inch. The oil pan may get skinnier or wider as it goes up.

 

That is true. Also, I would think a little overfilling happens more often than we are aware. Not all BMW, MB, Audi, Lexus, Acura...owners check the dipstick. In fact, some of them don't have an dipstick at all. Therefore, I don't think a little overfilling is a serious enough problem that will result in an engine damage for normal driving. The oil has antifoam additive in it already. If a half quart overfill is such a critical issue..... it is just too unbelieveable to think that today's high tech engines' weak link is the tech's ability to accurately fill the engine oil without going over the max mark.

 

You should definitely call the dealer. See what they suggest.

 

I've had the same problem several times over the years. The dealerships are in such a hurry that they simply dump in the number of quarts that the engine is supposed to hold, not taking into account that the old oil needs to be thoroughly drained first. I'm sure that they don't worry about the engine being warm before draining, which drastically slows the flow. My experience has been that the oil needs to drain (hot oil) for about an hour before it will hold the recommended # of quarts.

 

One of the reasons I hate dealership's service departments. I had a Nissan once that took 3.5 quarts of oil. The dealer just dumped in 4. I took it back and they said it was ok, that they always did it that way. I pulled out the owners manual where it specifcially said in bold text, DO NOT OVERFILL. I never went back.

Most people hate drive through places. I use express oil change which is in the SE. Always had good experiences. They also have full service mechanics for brake jobs, etc. Drive through, stand right there and watch what they are doing. When they are done they pull the dip stick out and show you where the level is. They get alot of BMWs and Mercedes, so they know how to handle the cartridge filter. They did great with my Mini. I watch what oil they are putting in and know exactly how much. The only down side is that they don't have the mini filter and I take one and the first time I went they didn't have a 27 mm low profile socket. Interesting in that the filter was easy to remove on a MC (no turbo in the way) with a 27 mm boxend wrench.

Take it back and have them get it right. Inform them that you'll get your three free complimentary oil changes, and never come back, unless absolutely necessary for warranty work. (In the case of my Nissan, I passed on a few remaining oil changes, never going back.) I'm not sure what they do in each year's complimentary service. If it is just oil changes and wipers and charge you for tire rotation and alignment checks, I may just pass on the free service as it is 90 miles away. Does anyone know what is included in free service?

 

wouldn't a check engine light come on if could potentially harm the engine?............and the MINI dealership filled mine up a little past the upper mark.

 

This is why we need an oil pressure gauge on our mins.

Flav, did you call the dealer and report the mishap? You could also call the mini roadside assistance, and have car towed to dealer if you are super concerned.

 

Wow. I just checked the oil in my week-old MCS, and holy-cow, is that the worst dipstick design in the world or what?! Shiny oil + shiny dipstick=unreadable! Must be one of BMW's better ideas...

 

I haven't seen the R56 dipstick in person, but from everything I've read about it, it seems like MINI went from one crappy dipstick design on the R53 to a new, improved crappy design on the R56.

Seriously, how hard is it to make a readable dipstick?

 

IIRC that dipstick design is the same as on the 996 911. I would expect the 997 model to use the same thing, but I haven't even seen one of those in person yet.

 

Carry a few thick paper towels in your car tool bag. Lay the dipstick end across the towel and the oil line will be very apparent. Hope this helps.

 

I figured out the "paper towel" trick fairly quickly, but there's still no excuse. All you need for a perfectly-readable dipstick is a flat piece of metal with a semi-gloss/matte finish on it, and either two holes in it to denote "full" and "add a quart", or some engraved lines and cross-hatch markings.

The pebbled/textured/grooved tip on the R53 dipstick almost seems like an exercise in intentional stupidity.

 

Nope... the 997 doesn't even have a dipstick! It's read electronically on the instrument panel, and is dependent on engine temperature. Typically before you start the car for the first time in a day, it will read out in just a few seconds. If you try to read the oil level when the engine is hot, I've seen mine say the oil level will display in 25+ minutes!! (You can watch it count down until the display updates.) It's annoying sometimes... I'd rather have a poorly readable "manual" dipstick than no dipstick at all, and have to wait for the electronics to determine when I can check th eoil.

 

I have been meaning to check my oil levels lately but checked 2-3 times early on within a few hundred miles and everything seemed ok. I now have 4K and I checked today and no problem reading as the oil is now much darker. I have a question though and has to do with the dip stick. My stick at the tip has the arrow shape part and then maybe 1/2 inch down is the little metal bulge and then another inch or so down is another metal bulge. After that is all metal stick. I assume everyones R56 is like this. When I checked the oil, the mark is right at+- the first metal bulge and past the tip arrow. The rest of the way down to the next bulge is clear of oil. My problem is the picture in the manual. This seems to show the front arrow tip but not as long and then just below this is a minimum line and the next bulge and jsut above is the maxium line. There not showing the total of three areas of metal on the stick. If I assume that the furthest metal bulge is down and out of this diagram, my max oil level is beyond by 1/4 inch or so. I am confused and this post makes sense to me but I'm sure it will be very hard to understand by most who would be kind enough to read it. Bottom line, I think my oil level is ok but it could be possible over by say 1/4 quart?. Does this make sense at all. BTW, I checked it after the car sat all night, started it for a few seconds and checked a few minutes later. Thanks to anyone who has the time and patience to get through this post.

 

I am responding to me own post. I think the stick shown in the manual does not show that first long arrow style area. The first bulge in the diagram is below the long area . So if this is true, I am just at minimim and down maybe a 1/2 quart or less. Should I add oil or leave it be for now?

 

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your oil should be between the two bulges.

 

pictures help