I'm new to Mini so I don't really know what to do and when to do it.

What oil do I use?
When do I change the oil?
What about other essential fluids?

2008 R56S

 

Any type of synthetic, 5w-30 or 0w-40 I use mobil 1 0w-40 in the winter and 5w- 30 in the summer. There might be a lot of controversy over that though.

Looks like your an a so around 5-7k miles.
Depending on your miles since your new Look up timing chain rattle and turbo oil line leaking.

Again depending on how good you are with a wrench its probably a good idea to change your transmission fluid. If your an automatic its a long process. Manual on the other hand is really easy. Hope that helps.

 

Your owner's manual has that info, though many on here like to do some of the maintenance more often (especially oil changes).

 

Mobil 1 0w40. It's easy to get, covers the needs of the hot turbo.

Change it every 5k. Yes, it can be pushed.. But 5k is safe. I do a filter every 10k.

Other fluids, brake - every two years. Coolant and trans fluid at 40k. It's not bad at all.

Get the Bentley repair guide. It's really useful.

 

The MINI oil is usually about $7-8 at the dealer, depending on how they have pricing setup. Mobil1 0-40 european formula also meets the specs. Don't save a couple of bucks and use cheap oil. Use the OEM filter as well, check pricing on dealers. Online retailers can be cheaper on that stuff, but you will pay shipping. You will need a metric allen wrench (not positive on the size) and special socket for removing the oil filter. I have been doing changes every 5k miles.

There have been recalls on the auxiliary water pump, and extended warranty on the high pressure fuel pump. Your dealer can confirm if you need either of these issues corrected.

Listen for rattle upon startup, this is the timing chain. This is another issue that the dealer can check if this has been repaired.

Checking the oil is critical. Some of these cars use oil a bunch. Lots of bad things happen if these cars run low on oil.

Check for oil leaks. There is an oil line that goes into the top of the turbo that will tend to leak. If you see oil dripping on the exhaust where it goes under the engine, this is likely the oil filter housing. This leak will also make it to the ground.

Oil drips near the passenger front wheel are from the timing chain tensioner. This can go from a small leak to a major problem quickly.

Coolant leaks are also something to watch. The thermostat develops a leak, if you see any blue stains under the air intake tubes on the trans, it is the thermostat. Coolant on the ground near the passenger wheel is the water pump.

Sorry for the long list, but there are a bunch of things that go bad on these cars as they age. I've replaced all on this list on my 08.

there are lots of threads here on how to do this work, check out the Modifications: How to section.

Biggest thing: Check the oil.

Have fun,
Mike