Hello,
I last took my 08 Mini in for an oil change at 33,000 miles. Everything checked out fine but when I did get it changed it was at the 12,000 mile mark since the last approx. I for sure thought that was too long in between changes so i'm going to take it at the 7000 mile mark this time at 40,000. I have ~38,000 on it right now.

I've become alot more concious of the oil since I realized the dealer apparently dosn't consider it urgent to change it until it's 14-15 thousand miles in. I do not have any black smoke coming out the tailpipe or anything like that but there is a small amount of black residue that builds up on the lip of the tailpipe every 2-3 weeks, is this normal? I'm just trying to determine how oftern to change the oil & is it consuming properly etc.

Also, When I checked the dipstick, it showed the oil level was slightly below halfway on the little hash marks that mark min and max amount of oil in the engine. My question is, when the dealer changes the oil, do they fill it all the way to the max amount of oil? Did my car consume half the oil in 5000 miles if it was full? After I checked it I put about 1/4 of a quart of clean pennzoil SAE 5w-30 in to supplement it. I didn't fill it all the way because i'm not sure if it is intended to be topped off all the way.

The car is running well and all but I don't think i've hit the sweet spot when it comes to oil changes and maintenenace timing yet. I just want to maximize the life of my car and I want to maintain it optimally while it has only 30-40 thousand on it. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Well, you'll get a lot of opinions on this one. If longevity is your main concern, I and many others would recommend more frequent oil and filter changes. I change mine very 5K. Second, the Pennzoil you used, most likely isn't an "approved" oil. You'll want to use a full synthetic. There are several threads that discuss this. I am using Valvoline SynPower 5W30 which according to many sources is "approved". Regarding the black soot on the tailpipes, that is normal. MINI's are known for burning a little oil, with 1K miles per quart being considered within the normal range. It sounds like you're burning less than that, so that's good. This is a much discuss topic in the forums so you could easily spend a day searching and reading all the threads. Best of luck.

 

I see what you're saying, and common sense would suggest that more frequent changes would be better, but there is much debate over if it is really necessary for a mini or not. Actually, the Pennzoil I used is recommended on miniusa.com as a substitute for the 'official' mini oil. It is SAE 5W-30 full synthetic. It's the 'platinum' version which is the full synthetic. I also have Mobil 1 SAE OW-40 which is also recommended. The pennzoil claims it meets BMW LL-04 requirements which is what I would be shooting for in a substitute oil. I also live in florida with extreme heat throughout all of summer and the front half of fall and back half of spring, and mini recommended to use an 'extreme weather' formula and the pennzoil is the one I found.

Thank you for the input on the consumption. I figured it was fine so long as I didnt have black smoke actually chugging out the pipe. So all I need to know now really is if I should top it off more than halfway of the 'max' on the dipstick. before the last change I got I didnt touch the oil for 12-13000 so I could only imagine how low it was. I only have 5000 going on this oil so if I could top off the consumed half with clean oil I figure I would be good to go.

 

As for the black stuff on the tailpipe extensions, that has nothing to do with oil, as I understand it. When you first start the car, the engine management system enriches the fuel mixture so the cold engine can run normally. Once it's up to operating temp, the mix leans out somewhat. In the carburetor days we did this manually by pulling out the choke **** (I still do this with my MG... manual choke conversion), until chokes became automatic and then carbs went away. But that black deposit is carbon from the rich fuel mixture at startup, and it's essentially normal. I get it on my MINI too, and it never seems to use oil at all.

Cheers,

Spridget

 

As long as you use MINI approved synthetic oil, you're good. MINI's free oil change is for when the car tells you to change it or one year, which ever comes first.

I had 6500 miles on my odometer one year after the day I took delivery of my car and my dealer changed the oil for free. In that time, I added one quart of oil. I used MINI brand oil that I purchased from the dealer. With my 10% local MINI club parts discount, the price of the oil is comparable to auto parts store prices for synthetic oil.

I check my oil every time I fill up with gas, it gives me something to do other than stare at the gas pump.

Regarding the black deposits in your tail pipe, that is from incompletely burned fuel from when the engine is running rich, right after starting from cold. Black smoke is fuel related, blue smoke is oil burning and white smoke is water.

Dave

 

I stand corrected on the Pennzoil. I just haven't seen it on any approved lists.

 

Thanks very much for the replies. I filled it up the rest of the way about 3/4th to max on the dipstick and no problems. The oil is just lighter/cleaner on the dipstick now because it's at least 1/3 clean. While i'm here I have another question about the coolant. I know I can just add the 50/50 coolant mixture or just a little distilled water but I was suprised yet again when I looked at the coolant tank and it is below the minimum line. I guess the real minimum it needs is really below the min. mark because I have no coolant light warning or engine temp warnings. I just happened to look at the coolant level and it is about an inch below the min mark. Would my best bet be just to buy some BMW approved 50/50 coolant and fill it past the min mark? Or could I just add some H20? I obviously want to be safe rather than sorry and don't want to wait for a problem to arise.

Also about the oil, alot of people are veryconcerned about having a hard to find specific type of oil for the mini, but I think for just merely supplementing/topping off, a good brand sae-5w-30 or 5w-40 full synthetic to supplement the 'official' mini oil is fine. To completely change the oil may be a different story and being 'exact' is more important when completely replacing the oil.