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this is my first r56 that wasnt covered by warrenty(or so i think i bought it without even a spare key, i have no idea what the warrenty is) i didnt know that r56 minis took so much oil so the idiot light did come on a couple of times.
Those oil pressure lights are well known for coming on when you're well below 1 quarts of oil, they tend to light up at 2.5 quarts of oil remaining, the stock dipstick doesn't help things either. It's tough to get an accurate reading on the stock dipstick because of the poor design, it's to thick and when you pull it out, it usually splashes oil around as it's being pulled out and can give false higher readings which is why I suspect that while you believe you're only a quart low, you are in fact even lower. The pointy tip on the stock dipstick pulls oil upwards do to the thick angled tip which draws oil up into the dipstick tube. There are countless threads here on NAM about this false readings.
The oil pressure light comes on when you make a sharp turn or are on an uneven surface because for a moment your oil pressure gauge detects no oil pressure and lights up. This oil pressure light has nothing to do with oil levels! There's only two methods of getting a somewhat accurate oil level readings, park your car on a level surface and remove the dipstick overnight and check the oil in the morning giving the oil a chance to drain into the pan. The other method is get a Craven dipstick that gives you an accurate reading every time hot or cold!
So if your oil pressure light is coming on you're a bit lower than 1 quart, for a car that drinks this much oil you need a reliable dipstick! The newer Mini's don't even have dipsticks anymore, makes you wonder why... How complicated does a dipstick have to be, there have been reliable dipsticks for many decades now, but German over-engineering complicates things dramatically.
From: Greenville, SC in the United States of Awsome
Originally Posted by Systemlord
Those oil pressure lights are well known for coming on when you're well below 1 quarts of oil, they tend to light up at 2.5 quarts of oil remaining, the stock dipstick doesn't help things either. It's tough to get an accurate reading on the stock dipstick because of the poor design, it's to thick and when you pull it out, it usually splashes oil around as it's being pulled out and can give false higher readings which is why I suspect that while you believe you're only a quart low, you are in fact even lower. The pointy tip on the stock dipstick pulls oil upwards do to the thick angled tip which draws oil up into the dipstick tube. There are countless threads here on NAM about this false readings. The oil pressure light comes on when you make a sharp turn or are on an uneven surface because for a moment your oil pressure gauge detects no oil pressure and lights up. This oil pressure light has nothing to do with oil levels! There's only two methods of getting a somewhat accurate oil level readings, park your car on a level surface and remove the dipstick overnight and check the oil in the morning giving the oil a chance to drain into the pan. The other method is get a Craven dipstick that gives you an accurate reading every time hot or cold! So if your oil pressure light is coming on you're a bit lower than 1 quart, for a car that drinks this much oil you need a reliable dipstick! The newer Mini's don't even have dipsticks anymore, makes you wonder why... How complicated does a dipstick have to be, there have been reliable dipsticks for many decades now, but German over-engineering complicates things dramatically.
Thanks for the help, i will get a craven dipstick then. The over-engineered dipstick is horrible to even see the oil, much less get an accurate reading.
From: Greenville, SC in the United States of Awsome
Originally Posted by ECSTuning
BMW / MINI LL-01 , its the company standard they use for Long Life oil. Search BMW LL-01 to learn more about it, its all over forums. Mobil 1 Euro formula
I have been using the Mobil1 0W-40 for the last three oil changes and it's a great quality oil! We have had a few threads of member's sending in there oil to Blackstone Laboratories for oil analysis, the 0W-40 oil showed that it was still good after 8000 miles and didn't breakdown which is because of the BMW LL-01 long life and the ACEA spec which are both equally important. I won't go beyond 6500 miles because no matter what oil you use it looks like black tar after 7000 miles, the turbo cooks, bakes the oil with its heat especially when you turn off the engine. I don't care if the oil is still good, I'm not going to have dirty oil burn onto my engine parts!
I have been using the Mobil1 0W-40 for the last three oil changes and it's a great quality oil! We have had a few threads of member's sending in there oil to Blackstone Laboratories for oil analysis, the 0W-40 oil showed that it was still good after 8000 miles and didn't breakdown which is because of the BMW LL-01 long life and the ACEA spec which are both equally important. I won't go beyond 6500 miles because no matter what oil you use it looks like black tar after 7000 miles, the turbo cooks, bakes the oil with its heat especially when you turn off the engine. I don't care if the oil is still good, I'm not going to have dirty oil burn onto my engine parts!
Amen. I also switched over to Mobil 1 0W-40 Euro formula per recommendations here and other research. Seems fine. I change at 5,000 because I want to. But ever other oil change for the next 14 months will be MINI oil...if they can get the damn oil filter housing off. Ha. No worries I'm taking my tools into the stealership tomorrow. Wish me luck. Ha
From: Greenville, SC in the United States of Awsome
Ill be changing my oil to OW-40 in a few days then. I am using Castrol 5W-30 right now and its a 4,000-5,000 mile oil. Ill see how mobile 1 is, i used to use it on my old R53 but allass, that story didnt end well.
Castrol also make 0w-40 and sell it at 5qt on Amazon and Walmart (Castrol Edge). I've tried both Mobil1 and Castrol. They are both great oil for MINI. But I do prefer Castrol for being less "noisy" on startup.
Ditto on changing oil within 5-7000 miles - that turbo is HOT!
From: Greenville, SC in the United States of Awsome
Originally Posted by cccplus
Castrol also make 0w-40 and sell it at 5qt on Amazon and Walmart (Castrol Edge). I've tried both Mobil1 and Castrol. They are both great oil for MINI. But I do prefer Castrol for being less "noisy" on startup. Ditto on changing oil within 5-7000 miles - that turbo is HOT!
From: Greenville, SC in the United States of Awsome
Originally Posted by DneprDave
I used to use MINI brand 5W-30 but switched to Mobil 1 0W-40, when I was finished with the free dealer oil changes. The first couple of oil changes, it burned a quart between 5000 mile oil changes, but now I don't have to add any between oil changes. One quart per 1000 miles is an industry standard excuse for oil consumption.
MINI brand is just rebranded castrol, so i hope mobile one will fix my problom
MINI brand is just rebranded castrol, so i hope mobile one will fix my problom
Oil doesn't fix problems, it prevents them by adding oil every 2-3 times you fill-up rather than waiting till 1500 miles when you're already below low which cause major problems down the road.
I add about a half a quart every 1000 miles, 3 fill-ups.
