I checked my oil yesterday. I was super careful with the delicate dipstick. Wiped it thoroughly, reinserted, etc. Well, it comes out dry! Now I have no oil leaks, and the oil was changed a couple thousand miles ago. No SES lights, etc. Anyone else have this issue?

Also, when I checked the oil, the car was cold. The stick still shouldn't come out dry though, right?

Is the dipstick totally unreliable for checking oil levels?

Ken

 

Hopefully you've been monitoring your oil level since it was last changed. A couple of quarts usuage in several thousand miles would not be considered too abnormal and possibly enough to show a dry dipstick. Since the MINI has no "low oil level" indicator, it's important to check that oil level regularly.

 

Difference between "high" and "low" on the dipstick is approximately 1qt, according to the owner's manual. So showing no oil at all would be a loss of just over 1qt. I don't know the rate at which these cars consume oil, but the previous poster seems to indicate that 1qt in a few thousand miles is possible under normal conditions.

I did find my dipstick to be showing no oil just after I bought mine. I can't comment on how long it had been since the last oil change, but mine was about 1.5qt low and I had no warning or anything either, so it would seem this is normal.

 

I don't know what oil was being used in mine since I bought it with 40K on it, but in the first 10K miles or so it did go thru a several quarts. Since I switched to Mobil 1 5W30, it hasn't used a drop in over 5k miles, FWIW.

 

I had to add about a 3/4-quart of "top-off" oil in the first 5,000 miles, but I haven't had to add *any* between changes in the 35,000 miles since then, with oil change intervals in the 9-10k mile range. The oil level never gets more than a few millimeters below the "full" mark, so even if I wanted to top it off, it would only be a matter of a few ounces, not quarts.

 

Mechanics do make mistakes and so the oil level may have been low since the change. I have had a couple of bad experiences with oil changes--low oil, over-filled and once a catastrophic oil loss (filter burst about 5 minutes after the change while they were pulling out to test-drive it).

When I get the car serviced I check the levels in the parking lot after I have run it a few minutes.

Don't worry, but top it off ant watch it carefully.

 

The dipstick is reliable but but really badly designed and impossible to read sometimes.

Put a half-quart at a time in and see if you get some indication on the stick. Hopefully you are one quart low. Take your time with this one as it is much easier to put oil in than to take it out.

Rich

 

Thanks everyone. I will put in a small amount and see if I get any on the stick. I have a coolant leak also, so might as well have the oil looked at while it's at the dealer.

Ken

 

Add oil quick if needed. I checked the oil a little over a month ago, and it went low enough in that time to total the bottom end...Thank God for Jan and RMW. He'll be getting it within the next week or two to do his magic....

 

Mine seems to burn a lot of oil. I just check/fill it regularly. I'm used to that, I've owned British sports cars, 'merican muscle cars, they all drink oil too! ;-)

BTW, you should check the tire pressure frequently too!

 

This may be a silly question, but best to ask I usually say: The oil has always been changed by the dealer, so I assume it's Castrol 5W-30 synthetic. If I can't find that brand, can I mix in a quart of another brand, as long as it's the same weight, i.e. 5W-30, and synthetic?

Thanks!

Ken

 

Yes - the manual says you can "top off" with any synthetic oil of the appropriate weight. After you've gotten about 5-7k miles on the car, you generally shouldn't have to add much oil in-between scheduled oil changes.

 

+1

Mine burns about a quart every 2,500-3,000 miles. The tire pressure is a crazy thing I've noticed too. The MINI seems to be more sensitive than my other car. I keep a journal of gas milage (I'm a dork) and I noticed my MPG dropping. I was getting 25-27 MPG, when I've been averaging 31-33. I thought the tire pressure light would come on if they get low, but I was wrong. They were all at about 25 psi. Oops!

 

The oil is carried into the intercooler through the pcv system as vapor. Those with oil catch cans do not have this problem (it is caught and dumped back into the valve cover). Otherwise, about 2 quarts every 11k (from what i've seen)
When I bought my 03 mcs, it had no oil. When I bought my 04 MCS, it had no oil either. check your oil!

 

Do any of the catch cans for our cars actually recycle the trapped oil this way? All the ones I've seen just have a valve on the bottom, and you periodically have to drain the catch can manually into a container.

 

I have a catch can, and recently emptied it. I usually let it go into a cup for measurement, but this time I thought it would be so little that a rag would absorb it all. Wrong! It made a mess. Was probably a bit under an ounce.

I put in a quart of oil yesterday, but still not much appears on the stupid dipstick! Of course after running the engine, the stick shows oil!

 

Yea its very possible for the level to drop! I dont really have a drop being i change my oil every 5000 miles! 15000 on an oil change is absurd!