Most cars that I know of (though I am mostly familiar with older cars) have a simple pressure-activated switch that turns the oil pressure light on. On cars with oil pressure gauges, the light sender is generally a separate part that is dedicated only to making the light function--because redundancy is a Very Good Thing (TM) where oil pressure is concerned.

I'd be surprised if the MINI's low-pressure light was operated by the computer based on info from a gauge-type sender. Then again, I've been surprised by the design decisions made by automotive engineers in the past...

 

I'd be surprised if the MINI's low-pressure light was operated by the computer based on info from a gauge-type sender. Then again, I've been surprised by the design decisions made by automotive engineers in the past...[/QUOTE]


It wouldn't surprise me at all if the mini had a mechanical oil level sensor since all my Audi's did. It was a simple float type sensor mounted in the oil pan.
That being said, when I google it I don't get any images of a level sensor, only pictures of oil pressure sensors.

 

when the OIL light comes on in a MINI it means trade in time LOL

 

Getting back to the original post, I have owned 7 new cars in my life and have kept them for a long time. Pontiac(1978), Honda(1982), Honda(1985), Oldsmobile(1994), Saturn(2002), MINI(2008), Hyundai(2012).
I have broken them all in according to the book, i.e., vary your speed the first few hundred miles, don't red-line it, easy accelerations. No car ever needed oil added between oil changes except the MINI. I add about 1 quart about every 5000 miles and have since year one.

 

I have a 2008 Cooper S Hard Top Auto, changed oil at 89,100 miles and just added another quart (that's 2 quarts so far) at 89,900. The car runs normal and no problems, but she burns oil like crazy. I am starting to think something is wrong but don't know where to begin my search to find out what is wrong. Couldn't be engine issues, could it? is it the Turbo itself needs to be checked. it seems abnormal that she consumes this much oil. last time I believe I added 5 quarts between oil changes (5000 miles). I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla and a 2002 Toyota RAV4 and never once added a drop of oil...what do I do?

 

I sold mine. That fixed the issue.
I do miss the drive but not the headaches.

 

A qt every 1K miles is right on the ragged edge of "acceptable" meaning you could just keep adding oil and hope for the best. It might get worse or might get better. Sometimes letting the oil level reside in the lower half of the dipstick reduces oil consumption, but you have to be more diligent to add oil in smaller quantities more often.

Anytime you have high oil consumption, the first thing to check for is leaks - are there drips on the floor when you park it overnight? A good inspection, ideally on a lift, with a strong flashlight looking for leaks is where you start.

Another valuable clue is whether you note any oil smoke in the exhaust and what throttle conditions generate oil smoke. Have someone follow you as you drive. Smoke on full throttle generally indicates problems with the lower-end of the engine and smoke when you let off the throttle indicates valve issues. But 1-qt /1K miles may not generate enough smoke to be easily visible.

You probably want to do a compression check, look at the plugs, and possibly do an oil inspection. Putting all these pieces together will tell you whether correcting the problem is super expensive or just expensive.

There is a remote possibility it could be an oil seal in the turbo or possibly even something as simple as a clogged PVC valve. As I understand it, the PCV valve is internal to the valve cover and not replaceable. Perhaps someone might have some ideas on how to diagnose these systems.

As I said before, you could just live with it. Many are stable with relatively high oil consumption and can be driven like this for tens of thousands of miles.

Good luck,

- Mark

 

A faulty breather system can cause oil consumption and the problem and solutions are covered in the Bentley manual.

 

Thank you so much for the information...I bought the car about 7 months ago, currently No oil drops at all, I park it in my garage and its very clean of any oil drops. I will though lift it up and check underneath for oil leaks. I did change the valve cover after I bought it, also had cold start issues, took it to dealer and they replaced the high pressure fuel pump (under warranty)...Thank god.
did replace the spark plugs but not the cables...Thank you.

Mark.

 

Our 2008 Mini Cooper had been using oil for some time with no sign of smoking or oil leaks. It was also running rough occasionally (especially when slowing to a stop) and hesitating sometimes upon acceleration. Recently, an oil leak from the valve cover gave me reason to replace the valve cover gasket. When I took the valve cover off (which is a very easy task) I was surprised to find not only the valve cover gasket hardened, but also the gaskets surrounding the spark plug wells. 3 of the 4 spark plugs wells were full of oil. Once I cleaned everything out, replaced the spark plugs and all of the gaskets (kit comes with valve cover gasket, 4 ring gaskets for the spark plugs and 2 ring gaskets for the center valve cover fasteners) and started the car, I revved the engine to see if any of the oil that was in the spark plugs wells (and drained into the combustion chamber) would burn off. Sure enough, a little bit of smoke for a few high revs, and then clear. Car seems to run better already. I'll keep a close eye on it to see if this was the cause of all of the problems.

 

When we developed the Tritec engine, the oil consumption target was < 1 Qt/10,000 miles, which we met with the naturally aspirated engine. I don't know what the consumption was on the supercharged engine, as I left the program before final durability testing was complete. Anyone who tells you that 1qt/1000 miles is "acceptable" is pulling your leg. That's horrendous oil consumption that I'd never expect out of an undamaged engine, even one with 200,000+ miles on it.

Consumption past the valve stem seals and piston rings on a low mileage engine should be almost nil. Some manufacturers have difficulty designing effective oil separation in their PCV systems. For some reason, the German auto makers seem to have a poor reputation in this area.

If you suddenly experience a big jump in oil consumption, the first place to look (after leaks) is the PCV valve, as they sometimes get stuck.

 

UL-

To be clear so that we don't start this discussion all over again, you are speaking of the gen1 motor and not the n14 turbo' prince motor used in the r56 gen 2.

While your experience would say that the consumption is crazy and unexceptable it is unfortunately chapter and verse from the dealers and MINI. (Most of us would agree with you )

This is one of the reasons so many of us preach to the choir to check your oil EVERY fillup of gas. In a 4.4qt system it doesn't take long to get in serious low oil trouble if you don't top it off.

 

This is exactly why I posted here. Do you really think BMW would have relaxed their oil consumption target when they contracted for the Gen2 engine? Of course not, which is why them telling anyone that 1000 miles/qt. is normal or acceptable is nonsense. That was my point. My daily driver has a 5.7l hemi and I've only ever had to add oil once between 6000 miles oil changes (prior to the 1st oil change). No modern, undamaged engine with < 100,000 miles should burn more than 1 qt. every 3000 miles. And even that is pretty bad. That's just my personal opinion.

 

UL I agree with what you are saying completely. Trouble is when these cars get into the owners hands BMW/MINI doesn't want to pay for the car burning oil & so say it is normal. Nonsense yes, but it is the company line. The same goes for most all car makers. I know VW/Audi say 1000 miles to a quart is normal.

FWIW my wife's MINI non-turbo Cooper now at 71,000 miles uses no oil between its 5,000 mile changes. Maybe it is the turbo that somehow causes the oil consumption.

I was at our local dealer this week & talked with a service adviser. He told me even on the new latest F56 MINI's they are seeing oil consumption issues. They have now added an electronic digital virtual dipstick to warn those who won't open the hood of a car & check. Yet he says they still are seeing these cars come in severely low on oil.

Like 05r50 says, check your oil folks.

 

This is obviously an old issue. My '07 Cooper S with the JCW upgrades burns about 1 qt./1k miles and it has 77k miles on it. The service mgr. at the Mini dealer says this is "normal" but the wrench who worked on my Cayman S and rebuilds 911's from the wrists pins up, says this is BS and says the "oil pressure valve" needs to be replaced but that it's part of the oil pan and will cost $400+. He says the car is NOT burning oil but simply blowing it back into the exhaust? (or something like that). Any thoughts here?

 

My 2011 MCS uses maybe 1/2 quart between 5k oil changes. At 53k, I would call that acceptable. Turbo engines will use more oil, just due to the heat generated. Stuff a high-sprung turbo 4 cyl engine into a tiny package, where things can get even HOTTER, beat the snot out of it (as many of us do), no wonder they use some oil! Blowing oil into the exhaust would seem to me to be a great way to destroy a catalytic converter. Since there are not a lot of catalytic converter failures noted here, I highly doubt that oil is being "blown" into the exhaust system. Check your oil frequently, get to know your car's oil consumption rate. Look for leaks where you park. Trust me, I have seen many cars run low on oil, and even naturally-aspirated engines do NOT like that! Add in a turbo or supercharger, add a LOT more heat, just ignore your oil level and change intervals....you are just ASKING for problems!

 

renchjeep, I don't dispute your thoughts at all and have always thought that some usage was normal since I owned a new 1968 Volvo 245S that used a little oil. I raised the question again only because this experienced Porsche wrench (races, rebuilds in toto) said he disagreed. I've owned 38 different cars in my life and some used, some didn't. I have a 4-year-old Audi Q5 2.0T and it has never used a drop in 38k miles! Small, high rev turbo!

 

Unfortunately when adding the electronic oil indicator MINI removed the actual dipstick.

 

BMW has done the same thing, my wifes 328 is a real pain to check, I could check the oil several times with a dipstick, in the time it takes to figure out the level digitally. I guess I will not be getting a new Mini

 

My wife's 11 year old Mercedes CLS500 has no dipstick! My 4 year old Audi doesn't either.

 

I don't know if this is the right place, and pls be gentle with me as I am new here. Does anyone know what or if there are any signs of blowby that one can find to avoid having to purchase a new engine?

I just received a call from the dealer that my mini clubman 09' needs a new engine due to blowby in cylinder 3.

Does the multipoint inspection not find this? I've had 3 inspections in 3 months. first they said I needed a water pump replaced, then a valve gasket cover replaced, then after I got the gasket replaced I noticed my car smelled like gas and was not accelerating as fast as before and I requested they look into it since there were no issues before.

 

I would suggest that you do not take the car to the dealer after the warranty is over. Some tend to only want to sell engines, as if everyone has a spare $8k laying around. Find a good independent shop.

An engine is always going to have some blowby. But excessive blowby (faulty rings) can be detected by performing a leakdown test. You need to ask them to detail their reasons why they think the blowby is excessive and how they came to that conclusion.

 

Ive been waiting for a detailed report since Friday. Any recommendations in the NYC, PA, or DEL area?

 

Helix is in the Philly area I believe.

 

Definitely take it to an independent shop, Mini dealers are notorious for incompetent or dishonest mechanics and will try to sell a new engine when it's not absolutely necessary.