Hi All - I know this has been discussed MANY times on nam, and my plan was to originally get an oil change after break-in but i procrastinated. So then I figured I would wait til around 5k...but i procrastinated again. Now I am approaching 8k. Should I still get the change or just wait til my freebie in another 7k miles or so (which I will probably reach sometime in late spring/early summer)? Please don't beat me up for being such a procrastinator :(.

 

I did it at 8K; we had just gotten back from a 5500 mile roadtrip and the obc was saying another 15K to first service...
I'm about to do mine again at the 15500 mile mark with another 7500 miles showing.

 

I think I'd do one.

 

I always do an oil change about half way between the scheduled times.
I think it's a good idea.

 

My MA had told me to ask for the service around 9k, so you might just be able to get it from MINI. I did one myself right after break-in and am at about 7500 now (4 months old). I'll try asking my SA about a MINI service as I get close to 10k. At the rate I'm going I want to try get 3 services in under the plan since it'll no doubt be over well before 3 years.

Can't hurt to try, right?

 

+1
It will do no harm to your car, little harm to your bank account, and great wonders for your peace of mind.

 

+1. Totally agree.

I drove a alot on the Freeway. OBC is telling me to change it about 20K. I put about 15K a year, Therefore, my half way to freebie is every 6 months regardless the milesage.

 

Did same thing, although I was at 12k after 6 months.

 

hmmm, I hit 15k this morning, and computer says I have 2300 miles to go. I'm having my 1st service on Jan 5. I called the dealer back when it was near 10k and service guy insists I don't need it before the car says so, and that I have to be within 1k of 15k before its covered by the maintenance agreement.

Surely if the car computer says I don't need it and something goes wrong it would either be covered under warranty or the service agreement??

 

Change it now.

 

Jeez, enough of this antiquidated talk about changing oil every 3000 miles...

Check out this study they did back in 1984!

They took 12 New York City Cabs and divided them into 4 groups:
Group A, Unit 100: Control, Conventional Petroleum oil, 3,000-mile drain interval
Group B, Unit 076: AMSOIL (Synthetic Oil), 6,000-mile drain interval
Group C, Unit 070: AMSOIL (Synthetic Oil), 12,000-mile drain interval
Group D, Unit 074: AMSOIL (Synthetic Oil), No oil changes, 60,000-miles

CONCLUSION: With the tests completed and the engines removed and disassembled, there was no visible evidence that an AMSOIL-filled engine without an oil change in 60,000 miles was worse off than a cab with 20 petroleum oil changes.
***********

THIS TEST WAS OVER 20 YEARS AGO. Since then, synthetic oil has improved exponentially and the engine tolerances (especially BMWs) are tighter than ~20 years ago.

At 10,000 miles, I took my MINI Cooper S into the dealer 2 weeks ago and the tech said don't come back until the car gives an alert. With the amount of highway travel I do, he said he has seen cars go as high as 20,000 miles before changing oil.

With the 10s of millions of dollars BMW spent designing the MINI engine, do you honestly think that there's an elaborate ruse to screw over MINI owners with blown engines? For gods sake, they cover maintenance for the first 36k and a warranty up to 50k. They'd go out of business if they even had to replace 10% of all MINI engines.

 

Those are some good arguments, Fran. But what about the filter? Can it continue to work efficiently at 15, 20 40 or 60K miles? I'm an old guy (67) and have been messing with cars since I was about 20. Back then we changed oil every 3000 or less. When synthetics came on the market I went to 7500 miles. I guess I should believe the manufacturer(s) now and go for the 15K changes but I just can't bring myself to do it vis a vis the filter.

 

Amen Fran!!

 

We've been using the same euro/full synthetic in the SAAB's for a number of years and I've seen a number of engines sludged up going as little as 5k between oil changes.

I don't care what crap amsoil or the consipiracist down the street from you has dug up. There's always some blow-by into the crankcase & when your car sits the oil collects moisture. How you drive your car, how often you drive your car, how long you drive your car for, it all affects how long your oil will last. Stretch it out if you want, the manufacturers just want to be able to sell you a new car again in a few years.

& take it to the dealer to get your oil changed, it might cost a bit more, but I can't tell you how many damaged oil pans or loose drain plugs I've seen on cars with budget/jiffy-lube stickers in the window. The filters are usually cheap pos knock-offs.

If you're in the 2nd gen section here, your car's under warranty, go to the dealer, anything extra they might spot is covered, there may be other updates or campaigns or faults that haven't set a light yet to be taken care of.

 

I'm happy to see that I am not the only cynic on this topic re "they want to sell you a new car in a few years." I will continue to change my oil at less than half the recommended mileage no matter what anyone says.

 

BMW has lot's of data to back up their service intervals by computer at 12k-18k.

They have been doing this for many years before the MINI was around.

In modern engines it is the water pump failure that will most likely kill your car if you do not catch it and it warps the head.

 

I replaced the OEM water pump in my wife's 2001 325iT at about 90K. I replaced it with an all metal pump. I didn't want to chance the OEM pump going toes up at an inopportune time. The pump was expensive but it's guaranteed far longer than we will keep the car.

 

I'm going to have faith that BMW, Mini and the service manager at my dealership know what they're talking about.. and its not a conspiracy to force me to buy a car in a few years. I have a 100k mile maintenance agreement along with the regular warranty so no worries there if something goes wrong anytime soon.

Besides, I'll probably trade mine in for a new model before the maintenance aggreement expires anyway.

 

Now if only Amsoil was aproved for use in a MINI.

 

I say change it before the recommended 15,000 change...just be prepared to pay about $85 for an oil change.....

 

Actually, some syntheic oil standards have fallen since then. Castrol managed to get the standards lowered to accept highly refined dino oil. As a result, Mobil dropped the quality of Mobil 1 for the USA. Now it only has an ACEA A1 rating and is not rated for 15,000 miles (you have to get Mobil 1 Extended for the 15,000 mile rating). The MINI should have A3 with 15,000 miles +.

Since the MINI isn't an antique taxi cab, and there are different grades of AMSOIL with considerably different ratings (the XLF 5W-30 doesn't meet MINI standards, but the AFL European Car Formula 5W-40 seems to), the best thing is to find out how well the oil holds up in a MINI. In one of the many oil threads (not sure which one) there was a post with results from some oil analysis. IIRC, it indicated an early oil change after break-in was advisable, and after that it was about time to change again after 10,000 miles. I believe one of the issues was fuel dilution. It doesn't matter how good the oil is, too much fuel in it and it should be changed.

 

i would change it.



Chad
Detroit Tuned.

 

Better yet you could send your oil to Blackstone Labs and have them do a TBN analysis on it and find out how much longer it can go. After one race on my oil and about 2000 street miles They recommended that I go no more than 3-4k miles more...

 

you have to keep in mind a taxi car doesnt typically have a turbo charged high performance engine. turbos will definitely affect the oil life.

 

Really strange--I hit 15,000 the other day, and the computer still says 7,000 to go. At this rate I'll just go to the dealer at the end of February for an annual change on MINI.

As for whether or not to change now, I would. And did, yesterday. This was the second change on our nickel.