Like a lot of you, I can't bring myself to wait until the light comes on before changing my oil. So with just a hair over 5K on the clock, I changed it this afternoon using oil and a filter bought from MINI of St. Louis.

I couldn't help but notice that the used oil was quite dark. I only rarely drive enthusiastically (I work 8/10 of a mile from home...) so the car's had a pretty easy life so far - mostly city, with the occasional highway blat to stretch its legs. So I was a little surprised to see blackish oil at 5K. Goodness knows what it would look like at 15K.

BTW, I discussed early oil changes with the very nice chap at the parts desk at STL MINI. He said that by all means, change the oil more frequently than the car's indicators suggest. He observed that of all the owners to whom they've sold cars, the ones who change their oil regularly are the ones whose cars the service department never sees again, or at least very rarely... he said that the usual problem with long-term oil in the MCS is sludging that can block the oil pipe to the turbo, with very expensive results.

And kudos to the folks at STL MINI for the substantial discount they provide to St. Louis MINI Club members!

Spridget

 

The SA gave you accurate and very good advice. Turbo gets red hot and helps to cause that tube to clog up.

I remember one member complaining his MCS was making strange noises under the hood....MINI was down 3 qts oil.....

 

Check your oil and change it often. Best words of advice

 

I think that first change is the most important, when I did my '09 S at about 3K the oil not only was dark, it felt nasty too.

Since then I do it about every 7500 and with almost 30K on it now, each time I change it it actually looks cleaner than the last time!

I always use the factory filter and the MINI oil, although the first time I used Mobil 1.....

However, your turbo is water cooled, unless your running on the track or pulling a trailer up the mountain, your turbo does not get that hot, so don't worry about it. Just keep clean oil in it and check it often till you determine a usage pattern, as some of these cars use a little oil.

 

At the time that I was introduced to the Service department Manager , he suggested that I either have them, or myself change the oil every 7500 miles and only reset the maintenance indicator at 15,000 or so. If they ae giving me this advice at the time of purchase, then I think I'll take their advice. I more or less did this with my previous turbocharged engine and drove it 150,000 + miles with no turbo or oil consumption issues.

 

Based on that little bit of information, it sounds like your MINI actually experiences something more akin to severe duty usage than an "easy life".

 

You're right... short trips with minimal warm-ups are definitely not the best. I guess what I meant was that in daily driving, I seldom generate the extreme turbo heat you get under hard use.

Any trips other than the daily commute, and the MINI gets driven somewhat more exuberantly! We have some great roads around here, once you leave town.

Cheers,

Spridget

 

Mine has gotten new oil and filter every 5K miles. Its over 20K now and the last change had the old oil still looking pretty golden in color -- not very dark at all.

The way I see it, new oil is about the cheapest protection I can give my $26K investment.

Can't hurt, and its an easy job -- can do it start to finish in about 30 minutes.

 

would it be bad if i changed the oil every 3k miles with mobile 1 0w-30 ??? im so use to changing oil at 3k miles =P that if i did at 5k miles i would feeel badd for the motor...

 

I've read a bunch of these oil change threads. The people who have sent their oil in for analysis seem to agree that the magic number is about 7500 miles. By that I mean that the oil is still protecting the engine maximally and hasn't broken down by that point. You could probably go longer, but why?

 

Do U track or race yr. car? If no, you can easily stretch that to every 7500-10K. every 3K with M1 is a colossal waste of $$ and perfectly good oil.

 

how many liters of oil is needed?

 

Folks, you can't tell a thing about the condition of motor oil from the color. Dark does not mean that it is no good. Our engines are boosted and run at higher temps, this alone can cause this oil to change color.

I change mine at recommend intervals and have never had a problem. I had it tested in Germany at 15 and was told that the oil was fine but starting to wear. Do what you please, but changing the oil frequently won't necessarily keep you away from the mechanic. I should also mention that I have an R53 and not and R56. I might think differently with the turbo....

 

Good thread...
My wife is approaching 5 months and 2,000 miles (granny car! :>) and we are planning to take it in at 6 months for the first change.
Will be interesting to see what the total charge is from Midwestern Auto Group (MAG) here in Dublin, OH.
I have read quite a few posts of folks doing it themselves....I'm just not that inclined. :>

 

I did the first change at 1500 miles and the second at 6500 miles, I sent samples to Blackstone labs for each. Seems 7500 is going to be the number...