Ok, here's a video of the oil change I did today. Mileage was 5200, ECU says another 8k until scheduled maintenance but with the turbo and ECU tune I wanted to do it early.

I hope this helps out...let me know if you have any questions.


http://youtu.be/dAYFRseVvwg

 

 

How do you make sure you put in the last .4 or .5 quart? Measure it with measuring cup? haha.

 

The oil quarts have measuring marks and a see through window as well, no need to dirty a measuring cup.

 

Oh cool. Never changed my oil before.

 

That's great, thanks for posting! On the base version, looks like there is ample room to get to the filter without removing the reservoir.

 

Well done, I'm doing mine next week, ordered 6 filters through the shop... Going to cheat cause I use a lift... Grass roots style was when I didn't have friends with a shop.... question did the ecu sense fresher oil or is it a time based calculation, I know in my cayenne that I change about every 5-7k still have to do the annual laptop clear the service in xxxx miles reminder, wondering if I have to gt my own software reset, actually I think my buddy has that for BMW already...

 

The service remainder will not reset if you change the oil. Remember with your MINI you still get a couple of oil changes that you paid for when you bought the car (the free maintenance thing.) In order to get them you need to be within a few hundred miles of the service remainder so do not reset it unless you want to give those back to MINI.
There is no special tool required to reset the service remainder. I don't know what the sequence is off the top of my head but searching in the R56 forum would bring it up.

 

Oh, and good video 1BigPea!

 

Thanks for the Info... Yeah I will do the free service from mini also... and once again great write up....

 

I was wondering the same but no, it didn't sense the new fresh oil. I'm letting Mini do the scheduled in about 8k.


Thanks everyone for the feedback, much appreciated!!!

 

Nice job, thanks for the post!

I'm thinking that if you remove the drain plug and align the catch pan first might be less messy since there's not yet an air intake to quickly evacuate the system and the oil drips out slower? Then loosen the filter assembly to let more air in (or wouldn't removing the oil fill cap do the same to allow air in, or is there an advantage to loosening the filter assembly?)

Good work - thanks again!

 

Good question, I dunno. lol.

I do know that I'll be putting the car up on ramps for the next oil change. There's just not enough room down there. Also I'm going to get a "bucket" type pan for the draining oil. Then I can dump that oil into the closed one for transport to oil dump site.

Doing those things will alleviate a lot of spilled oil.

 

Awesome info, thanks for posting.

 

Thanks! Much appreciated.

 

Great video. It will be a help to lots of folks, including me, who have done their own oil changes but had to deal with a new model.

I like to buy my oil in 5q containers (like Mobil 1 5W30) so I can dump the used oil into them and drop them off at a recycling center. Unfortunately, I haven't found any of the MINI recommended oils in 5q containers.

 

Thanks for the vid.....

To the people that change there oil between intervals....why? Don't you think BMW has tested and retested this engine since the 2nd gen launch? You're wasting your money on oil and helping oil companies profit...listen to the manufacturer....if it ****s up, it's on them...if youre past you're warranty...(which hopefully you're not since the car came out in 2011) still do it when your car tells you. It's a beast little engine and can take a hell of a beating!!

 

Thanks for the video feedback.

Eh...I'll bite. If it was a lease I'd definitely stick to the scheduled intervals. However I would never let any of my cars go 15k before an oil change if I plan on keeping the vehicle outside of the maintenance service intervals.

If the computer is so good at sensing when I need an oil change why didn't the ECU know that there was fresh oil? Shouldn't it at least change a bit? It doesn't.

For me it's not a waste of money, it's a piece of mind. Especially on a ECU tuned turbo engine, the way I drive it I floor it quite often. If the ECU doesn't know I have fresh oil it's not going to know when it's completely broken down either.

Next time I'll pony up for a Blackstone oil test around 5200 miles after Mini does their scheduled service.

 

Nice job.

I drain my oil when the oil is warm and remove the filter after I rotate the wheels from back to front and adjust the tire pressure. Then the motor is cool and I don't burn my hands and all the oil drains out of the filter.

just a tip.

 

Sounds like they're still testing and we're the beta. According to my dealership they will shorten the oil change intercal on the 2013 models.
Since I'll probably have this thing past 100k miles, I'll change oil every 7,500 miles. Cheaper than engine work.

 

They changed it to 9000... They say check it and change it because of oil starvation....thats why the engines/turbos die all the time and why they make oil catch cans...to help keep the crap out that wont clog up your OVCs. you're running a stock turbo and prob putting down around 175-200 to the wheels with the ecu tuned.. No where near the threshold of these engines...help the environment and save some money. And drive it like you stole it except if u have a base model....

But thank you for taking the time with the vid

 

the main problems are that 1) the turbo heats the oil and old dirty oil can make resin and sludge that can clog passages in the turbo and result in turbo failure. 2) Several gen 2 Minis have had both chain and turbo damage at around 50-60K. 3) The direct injection does not clean the valves so keeping your Mini's oil cleaner can help prevent some dirt build up from the PCV gas. I have seen several gen 2 motors fail and it sure looked like more frequent oil changes would have made a difference.

Several factory/ Mini trained mechanics feel strongly and insist that changing your Mini's oil every 4,500 miles will help prolong the motor's life. Most of the problems show up after the warranty ends. The mechanics that are now independent have more work than they can handle replacing Mini motors due to low oil levels and or long change intervals. Many Mini drivers don't check oil levels for very long periods and find that oil has vanished in the crank case.

Mini has shortened the frequency of oil changes. My Mini (was at 15,000) is now on 10,000 mile intervals per the computer update. We believe that Mini found it better to bring the cars in more often and keep an eye on the oil as well as attempting to improve the poor reliability of the brand.

It is up to you. If you think that Mini wants you to drive your car for 20 years and the car will never fail then go for it and save a few bucks now neglecting your oil. You may have to junk the car at some point but that is a risk you took. If you think Mini wants you to enjoy driving your car for 3 years and then they want you to get a new Mini then neglect your oil and get a new Mini in a few years. If you intend to keep your Mini for 4-10 years than think about how expensive replacing the motor will be if you neglect your oil.

 

You make a lot of great points, I agree 100%.

Can you elaborate on the interval change? Irvine Mini recently told me they have not heard of any change in the oil maintenance intervals. I see you're in SoCal, what dealership did your update?

Thanks.

 

We went to Crevier this month (great job too) for our first Mini maintenance oil change and they told us that they updated the firmware. When we looked at the service interval after the first MM change it was set for 10,000. A few months before the service we asked if the interval would change and the same people told us that they can't change anything unless Mini makes the change. It looks like Mini made the change.

For the record we changed the oil in our Mini 3 times before the Mini maintenance change. The first change was the dirtiest. The oil is now clean for the interval and the motor does not use any oil. The catch can is clean. Everything looks great.

 

If the computer is so good at sensing when I need an oil change why didn't the ECU know that there was fresh oil? Shouldn't it at least change a bit? It doesn't. [/QUOTE]

I would be interested in learning exactly how the computer predicts it's time for an oil change. I'm confident that it does not involve checking the condition of the oil, so if you change the oil before the computer tells you it's due, it does not know that. I would imagine it's based on time and mileage, and also engine cycles, so it knows that if you tend to take short trips the change interval will be shortened. I suspect that the system is not sophisticated enough to know how hard the car has been driven. Anyone know the answer?