Here is what they told me the part numbers were for the crank sensor seal and axel seal...

11-11-7-5688-264 $20.55* SHAFT SEAL
23-11-7-545-082 $13.98* SHAFT SEAL
***FRONT AXLE SEAL****
83-55-0-416-599 $86.520 TRANS AXLE FLUID

Can anyone confirm?

 

Penske parts is a good place to go to for checking part numbers and parts pictures.

http://www.penskeparts.com/fiche.aspx?brand=mini

 

obviously I didn't read it right!

I never said it wasn't my fault. I'm saying that it would be in BMW's best interest to improve their oil monitoring system, considering they are building some BMWs with no dipsticks?
That being said, shouldn't their "minimum required oil pressure" threshold that would trigger the sensor be set lower? Again, if the engine is experiencing so much friction due to lack of oil that, at idle, it's dying, it seems common sense tells you their threshold is set too high.

 

This has been something that people have been saying for years and it hasn't changed. The only indicator you will have of low oil in most cars is the oil pressure light. Luckily you were still maintaining decent pressure so the light didn't trigger. Sadly by the time the light usually triggers, the damage is done.

For as long as I can remember this is nothing new. Should there be better sensors? Maybe, but remember that the more than they put into the car the more it will cost and the more it will cost to maintain. I still prefer a car with a dipstick because sensors can fail and if you are out of warranty, the likely hood of them repairing a blown engine due to a failed sensor will be nill.

So, it seems you have a choice. I would maybe invest in a new dipstick like one that Craven makes which is easier to read or spend a little time playing around with yours to make sure that you are reading it right.

 

Hi all-

2x now in the past 8 months, I have found that the oil light only went on AFTER something happened to my car. I brought it in and I asked what happened. Well, you need to fill the oil 1 quart every 700 miles. When the oil gets too low, it screws with the timing chain, and then you need it fixed. What I noticed when timing chain got stretched was weird sounds once started for a while, and the go to normal, then more oddness at 2k rpm, and not wanting to hold the shifting. Gets worse, more rattling in the front right side of the car, and then the oil light goes on.
When I took it in, he said it's normal and it happens all the time. You have to keep the oil up like crazy: again, every 700 miles 1 quart of oil. WOW. Don't you think the oil light should go on BEFORE things start breaking?

Does anyone else have this issue or know anything different?

Thanks,

Meredith

 

Technically they can just pull the car manual out and it says to check the oil after every fill up. Which if there is any indication there is steady use of oil with your car you should do that. When you pop the hood it also gives you the ability to check other things like loss of coolant....and rats nests like some people have had

I don't know how much you can trust what is told to you as you walk out the dealership doors. For my mysterious coolant loss I've been told everything from my car "uses" coolant to maybe the coolant (even though it's low) is going out the overflow tube. Seems like no real fixes happen unless the car is on a flatbed on the lot.

 

I believe that it takes responsible drivers to keep a car working properly. I think that you need to learn what your car needs and how it asks you for help. I think people get in trouble with the Mini because the Mini is not an average car.

Most people don't expect a new car to use so much oil so fast. Mini should spec a Miles per quart of oil number on the window sticker. The other BIG problem is, "The Dipstick can TRICK you into thinking your car is overfilled when it is low on oil." This is a major problem (sorry but this is not the consumer's fault in this case). The next MAJOR problem is that MINI tells you check your oil in a way that is very likely to trick you into thinking you have more oil in the motor than it does. Mini does not tell you how to interpret the reading on the dipstick so when you see oil mist on the recessed part with WET oil on the top mark and WET oil on the cone at the bottom it may trick you into thinking that you are good to go when you are just about to damage your motor.

I called Mini USA and the very nice person on the phone told me to check the Mini manual but she believed that a dash light comes on when the motor is one quart low. I had to tell her that her advice could get a lot of people in trouble. From what I understand the oil light is a an oil pressure indicator. It is possible to have oil pressure with very low oil. I have seen posts from people that have driven with 3 quarts low and not seen the light.

 

I am currently in the midst of the exact same problem as the OP. Car is currently at the dealer. They called and told me today that the car was 3 quarts low and that my idle/dying issues were caused entirely by that. Problem is, I checked the oil a couple weeks ago and all was good. I would consider myself a solid mechanic and have been wrenching on BMWs for years, all starting with my first car ('86 528e) about 13 years ago. How the MINI went from full to 3 quarts shy is a mystery, especially in the span of two weeks.

I change the oil every 5,000 miles and have always drained materially as much as I filled. My wife noted seeing a plume of blue smoke emit from the exhaust the other day, which aligns with the beginning of the idling and dying issues. Something catastrophic must have happened, but the dealer seems reluctant to diagnose it as such. I convinced them to perform more tests this weekend.

It's under the MINI equivalent of BMW's CPO warranty right now. Hopefully they're honest folk over there at Steven's Creek MINI and actually honor their warranty obligations if something is properly found wrong with the car. Seems like most people in the MINI CPO warranty program are having issues with dishonest technicians being too conservative in their diagnoses.

 

If something isn't done immediately you can be sure it will go south pretty quickly given the amount of oil loss in such a short time, how long do you have before the CPO warranty ends?

 

That's probably why the F56 doesn't have a dip stick, so new owners don't fall into a false sense of security regarding the oil levels. Now they finely have an idiot light for oil levels.

 

The oil lever before a longer trip is very inaccurate.In the oil is a lot of condensation(short trips, low speed) it gives a false image.If you drive at a decent speed the water will evaporate and disappear trough the exhaust.Every engine will consume some oil.
When the dipstick has some oil at the bottom you are very low on oil.
Oil has a very important function for cooling the engine.

 

Isn't adding oil every time you fill up your gas a 2 stroke? I QRT of oil every 700 miles is a joke in a modern engine and I am sure it does not meet emissions just like your 1965 Buick with 250,000 miles. So all that oil now going into your Cat and plugging that up? I modern car that burns a qrt every 7000 miles is either defective or a very poor design. Period! I had a Mercedes my wife drove that was exactly the same way. dealer said it was normal. Really. Please have a Mercedes engineer write me a letter that this normal and work that they would be proud of! Mercedes replaced the car with a one a model year newer. BMW tells there customers to eat it. Unbelievable. My car had the rough idle right before it blew up. I traded it when the engine needed to be sea-foamed at 24K miles on my nickel while it is still under warranty. They told me I needed to do this every year. Are they f-n crazy? I loved my MINI but I hated dealing with BMW. I would never drive another one if it was free. I would got back to a horse. Do a little research. MINI is just about the worst car currently being made. Look at all the reports and MINI engineers changing nothing year after year. Just sell you the same piece of crap and you pay and pay and pay. Good luck but I done with MINI- BMW and the German's. MINI JCW- First line of there advertising is breed for the track on the JCW. First thing MINI did was say I was at a track. I was at MINI Event! 35K for that car and nothing but idiot gauges on the car that don't really work. They come on after its a bit late. Oil on the windscreen is bit late.

 

I'm curious to find out what happenend with blackjackmark's MINI!

 

I will say that Mini's official stance is our cars burn 1qt per every 1k, which explains 1 qt. I, for one,
am completely astonished by that figure. It seems you need an oil emergency kit over a spare tire! I have owned a FI Japanese car and it didn't consume 1/10th of that, and it was a 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse! This may be why there is soo much oil in our little 1.6 liter!

 

I was told it was a Mini!
Is that an excuse, that is the company line.
Either way if you are using oil it almost certain that oil is becoming carbon on the valves, I had burned valves.
Suggest Seafoam in the intake pvc system often to clean carbon.☔️

 

Even my 1982 mini didn't consume a lot of oil.Between the oil changes I did never have to "refill"

 

I'm sure that when they designed the engine excess oil burning wasn't part of the plan, but since it does burn through oil Mini must do damage control by stating 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles is normal to avoid responsibility I remember back in 2007 right after the release of the 2007 MCS's a lot of Mini dealers and Mini themselves said that the timing chain rattle was normal only because they didn't know any better, they didn't understand what was going on, in this instance it bit them in the *** financially and hurt the brand!

 

Not to put anyone down, but I fail to see how it is so hard to check the engine oil occasionally, and do it properly. I check mine religiously, after reading of the oil consumption of some of the Mini engines. Definitely NOT the easiest dipstick to read, but I always pull mine, wipe it off, re-insert, THEN pull and read it. If in doubt, I re-insert and pull it again, and roll it on a clean white paper towel, as someone else mentioned earlier. I also REALLY hope that all of you are shutting the engine off, and letting it sit for at least a minute before reading your oil level. My 2011 N18 does not seem to be using oil in any kind of "extreme" fashion, and I understand that some of the earlier engines may have used excessive amounts of oil. I think I am adding less than 1 qt between my 5000 mile oil changes. I always top-up when 1/2 quart low, just to be on the safe side. And I really have to question the statement that there are BMW's or any other cars out there WITHOUT engine oil dipsticks. I know that a LOT of the newer auto trannies do not have dipsticks, but have yet to see any car without an engine oil dipstick. And low engine oil pressure will trip a "low oil pressure light", if you do or do not have a gauge, in most cases, but will not set a code in the ECM. As far as I know, at least.

Long rant over. I really hope that I did not offend anyone, and I would be VERY curious to see any late-model engine (actually, 1920 or so on up to today) without an engine oil dipstick.

 

2012 BMW X5 diesel - no engine oil dipstick. You read the oil level in the maintenance section of the computer.

Eric

 

Interesting. I hope she doesn't use much oil. I guess I have been away from progress for too long. Thanks for the update.

 

Check this out. Index 1:38

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb9-j3lZCq8#t=91

 

The dipstick gives a good reading after an oil change; however, after a few weeks it is hard to trust.

 

The problem lies with the bottom pointy metal tip can pull oil up into the dip stick tube which gives you a false reading, at least this is my experience.

 

Good info. Thanks, guys. I always find it harder to read fresh oil, as it is kinda clear, but find it gets easier to read as it darkens with mileage. I have no idea how I will EVER deal with not having an oil dipstick, if that day should come for me. I am a dinosaur, I guess! LOL.

 

I agree...