In the USA the exhaust and emissions system has to have a 100K warranty period. The Turbo charger is part of that exhaust system and it must be covered period. The dealers will resist but it is the law. I had a MR@ Turbo that went out are 80K. Dealer said it was out of warranty. I pushed the emmisions for 100K and they said the Turbo is not included. The state thought other wise. 1 letter from a lawyer and they replaced it under warranty at no charge. Emmisions systems have to work for 100K period.
The Turbo is part of that system but many people get screwed because they do not push it. I did not even own the car at the time. I sold it to an employee and felt really bad the Turbo went. I did the pushing at Toyota and
the dealer. From what I hear MINI can be real jerks about there warranty issues. Just try it with me I can not wait. Love making dealers squirm. I got MB to replace a 350 SLK I had that burned a qrt of oil every 500 mile from new. Said it was in spec. Not easy but I got it done. Protest a few dealer with some signs and chase off a few customers and they paly ball real fast.
MB corp. blew me off as did the dealer. MB was not happy I was protesting another dealer because MB refused to work with me. When that dealer called MB wanting to know why I was in front of there dealership(Public Property) protesting MB customer service and Quality on new car it got replaced right away. I actully got a year newer car because they could not find an exact new one as the change over was in progress. I will still never by another Mb product. I feel the same about BMW and was hesitent to get a MINI for that reason. Superior German mentality. They never build anything wrong. It is always someone else fault. If it happens I just say let the games begin.

 

My father was a jet engine mechanic and car mechanic/enthusiast so, at a young age I was around him and the cars. The one thing that he always said is that you can never change your oil enough. It stems, basically, from science that the more your car runs (and by this I mean around town stop and go driving as well as highway cruise), the more combustion occurs and the more bi-products that are potentially introduced into the oil especially as the car wears. Considering I live in the Northeast, the temperatures also play on clearances which adds one more variable to the contamination equation. You can come out and call me "wasteful" and trust me...you won't be hurting my feelings. I will gladly buy 5 qts of synthetic for $20 and a good filter ...it's CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP insurance! I have always done all of my own oil changes as I am fortunate enough to have a lift (Which makes it super easy) and never miss a 3,000 mile mark. It's common sense in my mind...you can call it wasteful but I believe that I am protecting my investment. Plus....all of the oil I waste gets recycled so....I guess, in the end, we all win. I don't want to rob this OP's thread so this is my last pontification...

 

IMO, the most economical and eco-friendly thing to do is to determine what the optimum interval is for your driving conditions. Do this by sending a sample off to a lab such as Blackstone to have it analyzed. The standard test will tell you about metal build-up and other contaminants. Adding TBN, and TAN tests can help determine if the oil additives are still active. If you are wanting to push to long intervals (such as following the OBC odometer) those tests can be useful to find out if your oil can still neutralize acids.

Costs about $30. If it shows you that you can safely extend your interval a little, it will pay back the cost of the test by reducing the amount of oil you buy.

If it shortens your interval it could lengthen the life of the engine. Even if that only affects a subsequent owner, it is good for the environment because it means less energy used to refine metals, cast parts, machine parts, etc.

If a test indicates no change in your oil change interval, it gives you peace of mind.

My impression is that the intervals should be shorter at first, and can be extended longer after the engine is fully broken in. The build-up of metals in the oil will be rapid at first and taper off during the first 30,000 miles.

 

Hello all... Just a brief update, I am still with this issue, working with Mini USA, the Dealer and the southeast field technician on the issue.

Now I am trying to find where I read this:
Engine oil can be changed at dealer's descretion at 1 year of delivery date

Not exact words, but same meaning. I know I read this either on the manual (which can't find that info now) or online. Anyone seen or heard of this before? Please let me know. Thanks

 

What that refers to is that if you are a low mileage driver, you can request an oil change once per year, before it is due according to the computer, and mini will pay for it under the free matainance. One year is usually quote as the max time interval between oil changes...to get rid of acids, etc that build up and slowly make the oil corrosive. It is not one year, regargless of miles, but one year if you drive very little....the first 3 years of having my MINI I averaged 6000 miles a year and I got my free oilchages/inspections on this 1 time per year schedule....and I did a 6 month inbetween one too.

 

My dealer (Scottsdale) told me they did this, and did it for me at a year (about 15k, my service light said no first service until about 23k). Then they did oil again at the first service light (about 23k). Then the second service light came at about 30k and they don't do oil then (only lookover and brake fluid). Then second year I got another oil change (about 32k). It's common knowledge that they'll do oil at one year, a lot of people's service lights have not gone off by then. It's not a "required" procedure, but they are supposed to do it if you ask them. Like I told you earlier technically my oil did not "require" changing until about 23k. When you get the car the default oil indicator is 18k and mine went up.

 

MINI recommends changing oil at least once per year, but the OBC doesn't.

Go figure! MINI explains how sophisticated the OBC "condition based oil change" system is, but it can't tell time.

 

I have a very similar situation going on at the moment, my car just had to get shipped back to the dealer again because the turbo went out a couple of days after having a lot of work done on the engine and electrical system. Incidentally, ther IS an issue with the cam chain tensioners, or more specifically their mounts. The dealer replaced mine, and they said that rattle when cold is the symptom. The engine work was for that issue. I am waiting to hear back about the turbo, and see if they try and foist the repairs off on me.

 

Well keep us posted, because if they try anything funny on you we'll muster the troops and all show up with pitchforks and torches in front of the dealership.

 

OK, we are good to go. I misunderstood the SA's message. The car is home, all fixed under warranty. They said the oil line to the turbo had clogged causing the failure. They attributed it to the previous owner(s) not having used premium top tier fuel, thus leading to excess deposits in the oil. Matter of fact, the SA said they had just had a group conference call with MINI USA where BMW announced that BP premium is now the recommended fuel for all BMWs and MINIs. So, no horde at the gates required, although I appreciate the support.

 

BP = British Petroleum.

"Recommended" fuel? Riiiight. Stupid marketing agreement BS. BP is no better than any other name brand gas.

These knucklers tell us it's OK to run our oil > 20k miles, then want us to believe that one particular gas is what's good for our cars? They need to kick the bean counters and marketing department OUT of the room and let the engineers that design and build this stuff make those calls.

 

So Shell has been eating Crackers in Bed...Huh??!!

 

I'm glad they fixed it under warranty. But this is why I keep telling customers to change the oil every 5k.

 

Hello everyone and Good morning. So the after several weeks of fighting this with Mini USA, here are the results:
1. Opened a case with Mini USA, couple of days later Mini said they stood firm in decision
2. Escalated to their supervisor, couple of more days later, same results
3. Contacted dealer and they contacted their field rep. Field rep agreed to Good Will 50% of the charge. I was not satisifed with this.
4. Visited dealer with lawyer and met with their Service Director, service manager and assistant manager. The service director agreed with us that he knew this was BS and not sure why it was covered. He agreed to escalate and see what could be done.
5. Received a call later that day and field rep agreed to cover 100% of the charge.

In the end, it was similiar to the gentleman above where the oil lines had become clogged. So all in all, Mini USA is full of it and you should do the old school thinking of changing your oil every 3k miles or so. It was a rough 3-4 weeks with this issue. I will say that the car has a lot more turbo lag now then before. I can now hear the turbo's stock blow off valve or whatever it is called. As you accelerate and release the pedal, you will hear the turbo releasing the excess air. But still I do feel more turbo lag. Thanks again for all info received in this forum, since it gave fire power when arguing/discussing... Thanks

 

I'm not getting the connection between using lower quality gas and fouling the turbo oil lines. I don't think there's supposed to be gas anywhere in the oil system. On second thought maybe running some gas through it would clean the sucker out . Glad the OP got his car fixed under warranty. It was time to lawyer up. Sad thing is that's what it took to get them to back off. I'd not be in that dealership again if I were him. Not nice friendly folks in that joint . Hey, maybe you could have prevented this with good 'ole STP!

 

The engine oil picks up soot, carbon and other by-prodcuts from the combustion process. Using "bad gas" could make combustion dirtier than normal. Running the car low on engine oil (or coolant) can overheat the oil, making it thick and tar-like. Some combination of these things could lead to gunky oil which could leave deposits in the oil pathways, oil lines, etc of the engine. With enough deposits, the oil lines could have reduced flow.

The turbo could easily be the first component affected by low oil flow. It is small, fast spinning and produces a lot of heat. It needs a lot of clean, cool oil to keep from cooking itself.

Just like overheating can shorten the life of the engine, overheating will shorten the life of the turbo too. "Cooking" the turbo might not lead to immediate failure, but once the bearings and other fast moving bits are damaged, it is only a matter of time before the thing tears itself apart.

It's easy to understand how just a bit of "slop" in the machine will lead to premature destruction.....if you had two cars chained together, bumper-to-bumper and one pushed the other one...as long as the cars were chained tightly together, this "machine" could last for a long time. You can imagine just a bit of slop creeping into the machine (via a stretched chain) and then the cars start to bump when starting/stopping. It's easy to see how just a small bump between the cars will build into full-on bashing eventually. At some point, the machine just tears itself apart through normal use....

When a machine stops working, it usually isn't from sudden and catastrophic failure. It might seem that way, but the path to destruction has probably started long before....

 

I don't know if they made you aware of the fact that there's an internal Service Bulletin from BMW regarding oil starvation to the turbo. Here it is:

SI M 11 03 08
Engine January 2010
Technical Service

Load Graphics
This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI M11 03 08 dated July 2008.

designates changes to this revision

SUBJECT
Turbocharger Failure - Oil Supply Line Blockage


MODEL
R55 (Cooper Clubman S) with N14 engine

R56 (Cooper S) with N14 engine

R57 (Cooper S Convertible) with N14 engine

Vehicles produced up to December 15th, 2009


SITUATION
The customer complains of loss of performance and turbocharger noise.

CAUSE
The turbocharger oil supply may be restricted, causing oil starvation and
resulting in the seizing of the turbocharger assembly.

PROCEDURE
Upon replacement of the turbocharger assembly, always remove and inspect the
oil supply lines for blockage or restriction. Ensure that the lines are not
collapsed or kinked. Replace the lines if a blockage or restriction is
detected. Inspection of the oil supply lines will avoid repeated failure of
the turbocharger assembly. In addition, a protective cover should be
installed on the supply line, as seen in the illustration below.

[GRUSB1110-01.JPG]
Protective cover (1)

PARTS INFORMATION
Part Number
Description
Quantity

11 65 7 534 454
Oil supply line
1

11 65 7 603 484
Cover
1

WARRANTY INFORMATION
For information only

I may have missed whether your dealership determined that your failure was due to starvation, but it certainly is nothing new to MINI. Way to stick to your guns.

 

As a matter of fact one of the things the SA mentioned was that the next time I'm in for service, there is a heat shield that needed to be installed. It was on backorder at the time, I wonder if that is the protective cover you mention?

As to the fuel, in addition to what jgohlke said, basically the SA said it doesn't HAVE to be BP gas, it could be Shell, Chevron, AMOCO, whatever, just avoid the no-name stuff you get at places, like Flash Foods, ElCheapo, etc. Most cars wouldn't care, but as we all know, our MINIs aren't most cars.

 

I've been using Shell V-Power, and had nothing but trouble. HPFP problems, had a MINI dealer tell me I had over 20% ethanol in my gas. I contacted Shell expected them to reinburse me for money spent having the gas tank drained, they but it off on the gas station, I haven't seen a penny. I have asked a MINI dealer, why is Shell top tier. Was told today BP added to the list, suggested I try them. My MINI is back in the shop, getting second HPFP replacement. If you really want to rattle your SA, ask him how BMW can sell MINIs in Brazil where the Minimum ethanol content is 25%.

 

I think the whole HPFP failure issue being blamed on "bad gas" is a lot of BS. The HPFPs have been failing on the BMW N54 motor ever since its introduction in 2007 - and they STILL fail in alarming numbers today, even worse than on MC's, it seems. Scour any of the BMW E9x forums and you'll read tons of complaints about them, with plenty of owners who've gone through 2, 3, 4 or more of them. They've allegedly changed designs, changed OEM's, and still can't solve the problem. What gives? Somebody somewhere must know. You can bet that BMW/Mini tears down some, if not all, of the HPFP's that come back from a warranty repair. I wish someone on the inside would step up and tell us what's really going on here.

Also.. you would THINK that if high ethanol content were a known cause of failure of these pumps, that it would be documented by now. To my knowledge, no such document (such as a TSB) exists. If it's true, we need to know, definitively, so that when ethanol does really exceed posted content (typically no more than 10%), that the owner can go after the gas refiner and hold their feet to the fire. Better yet, cover the replacement under warranty, and let BMW/Mini/the dealership go after them and don't burden the customer with it. Ha, like that'll ever happen.

 

believe it or not....

The industry acceptable standard is 1/2 qt every 1,500 miles.....

The dip stick in the engine compartment, ya know that yellow colored handle sticky thingy ? It needs to be checked often between oil changes.

 

1) Impurities are captured by the oil during combustion and dispersed throughout the engine. This is why it is very important to change the oil, and change it before mfg recommendations. And no, the filter does not capture most of it.

2) STP ? I have seen an engine which used that stuff and it's not a pretty sight. Looks like the internal parts wear coated with shellac which actually made those parts a magnet for impurities. Personlly, I would never buy a car which used it...my 2 cents.

btw: I hope all these MINI's with Turbo failure are having a regular diet of High Octane Fuel and not that 87/89 octane stuff. Nothing will kill a turbo equipped engine faster than regular use of low octane fuel. And if combined with long time spans between oil changes, that day will come even quicker.

 

Source for this claim?

 

common knowledge

 

Interesting to see that MINi extended the warranty on the HPFP, of course if they're not going to replace under the "bad gas" claim, I guess it doesn't matter.....