Before I start, I will just say that no, nothing's flashing at me to say I need a service. And, I like to do an annual service on my vehicles whether it says to or not...

I just passed 1 year, and I have just over 12,000 miles (yup, Ms. Average) on the car. I have done 3 oil changes since purchase, and it's due for another one. What do you recommend for additional items to be checked? I have run-flats - how are those babies maintained - do they get rotated like regular tires? Other suggestions for a worry-free driving experience?

Thanks,

surly

 

Change the wiper blades.

 

Rotate the tires like normal and give the car a good wax and cleaning inside and out.

If you are at your 1 year anniversary then call up the dealership for a free oil change. When the car requests service the dealership will check your fluids, change your filters and wipers if needed, and probably do another oil change.

Whenever you take your car in it's also a good time to address any problems you may have, no matter how little or insignificant you think they may be.

 

Generally the dealers say to come when the OBD says to or once a year. They should check out your fluids and swap your wiper blades, but like geekswrath said, now would be the best time to go ahead and try to get any other things addressed. Keep in mind that if they have to order parts you may be bringing back your MINI for another checkup, but it's still all covered under your warranty.

Also, if you have those evil long tail pipes, expect that swap out to take place.

 

Rotating the runflats is a good idea. I got about 48K on my Goodyear excellence RF's before it was time to replace. I rotated the fronts to the back (Keeping them on the same side of the vehicle) every 5-7k miles. It doesn't hurt to keep note of fluid levels and such. Enjoy your mini!

 

Uh, yeah.. unless U aggressively race or track that car of yrs U need not worry about changing the oil so much. 3 times in 12K (and another soon?) is overkill. as long as yr using what bmw reccomends 7500-10K miles is perfectly fine for normal, spirited MINI motoring (or going 10K and changing the filter halfway). EZ does it there Surly. Old worrisome habits are hard to break.

 

True enough. Let's see, I changed the oil after 1200 mi break-in. Then every 3500 or so after that. Too much you say? Scary to let go of that internal oil-change clock. I come from a place where regular clean oil is the lifeblood of an engine. I love my mini, I mean LOVE my car. I just want that baby to keep on running (had my last car to 175000).

Yikes. Every 7500 you say? Hmmm. Maybe I could go for that - after all they're not cheap services at MINI. Thanks for the advice.

 

Make sure tha tyou let them know it is not just an oil change you are there for. Iwent in for my 1 year 15K once over and nothing got done but an oil change. Car did caount down in less than 3000 miles for me to go back, and when I did the service counter told me it was time for my annual. Go figure! The did change all filters that needed relacing including cabin filter, and roated tires, and you need to mentio nwipers or they won't change them.

 

My dealer is good like that. Very proactive when it comes to maintanence. They even ask me how the wipers are working with a wink and i always say "ya know they don't clean like they used to" and bam, new wipers.

 

you don't need to change the Mini's oil every 3,000 miles. In fact I don't think any well running car needs it's oil changed every 3,000 miles. I had a Jeep for 13 years, I changed it's oil every 5,000-6,000 and it ran GREAT. 170,000 miles when I sold it. I also think that Mini may use a synthtic oil that gets more miles out of it than non synthetic oil, -thus the 7,500 miles or so.

Hey, I am coming up on 1 year with my Mini. I've never changed the oil, is the dealer going to call me? -Or do I need to call them and make an appointment for it's 1 year check-up and oil change?

 

Yeah, I agree that 3k miles per oil change is a bit much. 5-6k is usually what I do or maybe even push it up to 7.5k. I had a Plymouth Laser whose engine lasted till 160K when I donated it to charity. It was still running strong although the auto transmission (which was its only weak point in 12 years of ownership) had to be replaced about 3 times from wear and tear.

As for your oil change, you need to call them or set up it up online when your OBD says it's time or you're coming up on your one year. I always did it online cause I always let it go till the last minute and finally remember to do it on Sundays which is when the dealerships are closed. Never had a problem doing it online.

 

How much do they typically charge for the first service / annual service..? Assuming they top up all fluids and change oil & air filter etc.. the whole works

 

Mine was free of charge for all of the above, though my dealership doesn't have a loaner program, so I paid $25 for a rental.


Aside: Does anyone else keep a sqwuak list? Basically a notepad in the MINI wherein they write down issues for later reference to give to their SA at service time.

 

Are you buying Mini Oil when you change it? If not make sure you do, or use the Castrol Synthentic. that's who OEMs Mini oil. the Mini branded oil has some extra stuff in it to keep your mini happy... supposedly. Otherwise you might be voiding a warranty repair. MINI/BMW dealers are very picky about warranty work on parts that have not been maintained to their specs. I just bought an 09 mini and my dealer had a MINI 101 for new owners. they were very emphatic that you let them do all the work to maintain the warranty without issue. Besides, it's free. All covered for 3yr/36k except for wheels and tires. You should not be paying for any maint. outside of that. If yours is an 08 you shoud fine.

Also, these engines are designed to run for 15k on one oil change for "normal" driving. It's a closed system so you will not get the contaminents in the oil like you would with a carbuerated engine. I know... freaks me out too. I've been programed since 16 for every 3k.

http://www.miniusa.com/#/contactFaq/faq/maintenance-m

 

I thought that in the US (at least) oil changes were free for the 1st 3 years, am I wrong?

Also, how long do they typically keep the car? I always thought it was a while you wait type of thing???

 

The "free" oil changes for the first three years are for the oil changes as indicated by the onboard computer system or at least once each year. If you want to do something more often than that, you have to pay.

My first oil change lasted about 1.5 hours iirc. But that was in conjunction with the first service, so they checked a lot of other things and I had them check a squeak in my clutch pedal. But yes, I was able to wait for it.