You can get it from CravenSpeed here: http://www.cravenspeed.com/mini-dipstick/

I never thought I would buy a different dipstick for a car, but here we are. Actually, I wanted to buy the CravenSpeed when I had my R53 because the plastic shaft started to crack, but they weren't selling them anymore. I'm glad they started making them again. I think the only downside is that the handle gets hot, but since I don't check my oil while the engine is hot I don't really care.

 

http://www.cravenspeed.com/mini-dipstick/
The handle does get hot, just use a paper towel or rag to grab it. Also, it will arrive in a little box, because it is so flexible, don't be surprised when the box arrives and it is so small!

 

OEM dipstick works just fine. Put some effort into it. Quit your whining.

 

No, it doesn't.

 

Would a dipstick from a 2010 or earlier car work in a later car? It seems that it would be cheaper than the Cravenspeed dipstick.

Or, just modify the stock dipstick, like was mentioned earlier in this thread.

The Craven dipstick is too expensive, in my opinion, especially when there are cheaper alternatives.

Dave

 

The dipstick from my wife's 2010 Clubman looks identical to the one from my 2012 Countryman, so I don't know how the newer ones are different.

 

It's a bad design. The whining is justified.

 

Yeah, it's a weak design. I've gotten used to pulling it out and wiping it dry, then inserting/removing it several times... reinserting it NOT QUITE all the way... and wiping it with each removal, to clear oil from the tube. When it comes out dry, I then insert it all the way, pull it out, and get a reading. Seems silly, but it works, and only takes a minute or so.

Spridget

 

Agreed the dipstick is not the best design. It takes some time to get used to reading the small "honeycomb" section with the indents, especially if you just had an oil change. The dipstick gets stuck because of the internal vacuum on the motor. I have to use a paper towel or rag to provide additional grip to ease the tension on my finger when removing it. If the dipstick does not go in properly, just rotate it 90 or 180 degrees. I actually attribute this problem to how the tube is bent.

I had one of the older Cravenspeed plastic (composite) dipsticks awhile back and really liked it until it became shaped to the tube. I see now they sell a flexible steel one, so I will see about getting another one. Here's one source for it: http://www.eurosportdesign.com/p-446...-dipstick.aspx.

As for oil consumption, most likely your loss is from the oil pan gasket, or it's being sucked through the PCV hose. Even after I had my oil pan gasket replaced brand new, a small leak ended up developing in the one of the corners. Nature of the beast; some say it's because it's a British car (as they all seem to leak oil). In my experience, I have to add 1/3 to 1/2 quart every couple of thousand miles. I'm not burning it; no blue smoke out the back.

 

My manual says to check the oil only after the engine has reached normal operating temp and waiting 5 minutes after you have turned the engine off. When I do it as the manual says I get a full reading. If I let the car sit overnight and check when cold the oil is almost always below the full mark but not quite to the halfway mark. Go figure.

 

Agree,dont have a problem reading it.

 

So, all of the people who have posted independent threads on how hard the dipstick is to read, and all the people who file, notch, and modify their OEM dipstick, and the engineer who did a super graphic post on why the dipstick is unsatisfactory, and Craven who went to the trouble of engineering new dipsticks, are all "whiners"? Who aren't 'putting effort' into it?

Really?

Just because you have found a way to be okay with it, means you have to knock others down when they would really like something better?

Really?

Wow.

I bought a pretty pricey car. And love it. But I want to have an accurate reading on my oil, and I want to be able to read it whether it is new oil, or whether I am in a gas station with people waiting behind me because I am on a trip, or whether it is almost dark. I want a dipstick that **works for me** instead of having to dance the Hokey Pokey with it (you put the dipstick in, you take the dipstick out, you wipe the dipstick off and you shake it all about....)

It really is puzzling. Go on other car's forums and see if there are a lot of cars out there whose owners complain about the dipsticks.... no? Huh. Maybe only 'whiners' buy MINIs.... or maybe... JUST MAYBE... it is a bad design and some of us want a better option.

Snort!

 

+1000

 

As I've said before, I've had no problems with reading My MINI's dipstick.

I think that some inexperienced people have had trouble reading the oil level, they complained and it snowballed as more people jumped on the bad dipstick bandwagon, when there really isn't a problem with the dipstick.

There's an old saying, "It's not a problem with the wrench, it's the nut behind the wrench."

Dave

 

 

this is hilarious

 

There's another old saying: "Opinions are like ***holes--everybody has one, and everybody's stinks except mine!"

I've been driving and maintaining cars for two decades. I have never had trouble reading a dipstick before. I have trouble, especially with fresh oil, reading the MINI's. When the oil gets old and starts to darken, it is easier. Making the end of the dipstick orange was not a good design decision.

IMHO.

 

What Slave to Felines said!

So, some inexperienced noooooobies got all confused 'whined' and fussed, and some sort of mass hysteria started, which fed the inadequacies of the unwashed masses?

Ho ho that's a hoot! Because my son, who went to Wyotech and graduated with honors, said it was the stupidest dipstick design he had ever seen. And he never read this site or any MINI forum. He's a JK guy. He's pretty experienced too. And he couldn't read it when the oil was clean, at least not with confidence.

Why does it bother anyone if they are okay with theirs,or don't mind taking extra steps to make it work for them, but other people would prefer something that is easy and reliable?

After all, the MAIN thing is that people check their oil regularly, and reliably! Even more important than how often the oil is changed, is how often the oil level is checked! How many threads on here come down to low oil causing an engine failure? We should be stressing that owners regularly check their oil, and other fluids, and that should be the easiest thing to do so that people WILL do it. If you get false readings from the dipstick design, or can't see the clean oil level and have to guesstimate, that isn't good enough.

So perhaps instead of grumbling about how we are whiners that don't want to put extra effort into it, you should be pleased that we are sincerely wanting to do the right thing by our cars, despite the poor design?

 

I dont know about trouble reading it because mine seems ok but it is the second one I have had because the first one actually broke going back in once, the dipstick is like a carbon fiberglass not metal and snapped in half. That to me is a bad design when a stick made to bend into a tube breaks instead of bending with minimal effort, the new one binds as well on some days, i will be buying a craven soon so i wont have to fish the old one out of the tube again.

 

i have said it before and i'll say it again

get the craven dipstick

read oil level cold:
remove dipstick, clean dipstick, insert dipstick, remove dipstick and read oil level, clean and inset dipstick

read oil level hot:
see read oil level cold

scott

 

It's just that I haven't had a problem with reading the oil level on my MINI, under any circumstance, hot oil, cold oil, old oil, new oil, whatever.

How could so many people have such a different experience than I have?

I figured that maybe, it was a case of mass hysteria. It's not the first time it's happened, in an automotive sense.

Here is an interesting example:

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm...m&File_Id=5136

Dave

 

"if there is any oil on or above the second bump, then you probably are not be getting an accurate reading" ... quote from a mechanic at my mini dealer when i went back to the dealer suspecting an overfilled oil sump the first time i read the dipstick (the morning after i picked up the car)

he showed me "the proper technique" painintheass way to read the oil level, inserting part way multiple times to get the oil oout of the tube

i bought the craven dipstick and went back to show the mechanic and he is now a fan of the craven ... several of the mechanics bought them for their own use to read oil levels instead of the oem dipstick

scott

 

My oil level has been consistently right at the bottom of the upper bulb, the bulb being dry. Except when it was breaking in and used oil down to the midway section between the upper and lower bulb, this was just before I changed the oil. I check the oil frequently and I was able to monitor the use of oil with no problem.

It is important to have the car on a level surface, side to side as well as front to rear, as the dipstick is not in the center of the engine, as it is on most cars.

Dave

 

I have to agree with both sides...bad design but I don't have issues reading it. I dont reinsert over and over again either. Pull stick, wipe clean, reinsert without any twisting, pull, rotate and find lowest dry spot. That's your oil level. The oil in the tube only hits one side of the stick on reinsert so you just have to ignore that false high point.

But still a lame design. I think we have all learned to accept the quirks that come with a mini! This is one of them.

 

PatM is describing the failure mode of the OEM dipstick. Unless one is exceedingly careful (as described by a previous poster) cleaning and re-cleaning the dipstick to drag all the oil off the walls of the dipstick tube, you will very easily get a false full reading.
The Craven Speed dipstick takes away the bulk of the uncertainty, and makes the job easy. Again, as decribed by an earlier poster, the cost per oil level inspection is negligible in my case (and theirs) and ought to be for all, if you are inspecting often enough!
E