I bought an 09 S in September and as my title says Ive driven it 11k miles and added 16 qts of oil since the day I bought it new. Of course the dealer is paying for the oil. Mini has finally respoded to this waranty claim made by the dealer and Im taking the car in for a testing in a few weeks so this problem can be taken care of. The reason Im posting about this is that I'm curious as to what opponions are about how I should handel this. The low oil pressure light has come on 6 or 7 times, mostly when cornering, is there any damage to things like the turbo or head that I should be concerned about if they just want to swap out the engine with a new short block. I really dont like the idea of a new engine being put in my car by a tech being that it is a brand new car but I guess its better that being SOL with out a waranty. Just like to get some thoughts on this, maybe things I need to ask of the dealer, what I should expect out of them or compensation for all my time.

-Matt

 

how many times have they tried to fix the issue before? What are your local lemon laws?

 

Yeah, what have done to it so far, surely they're not just telling you to keep adding oil?

 

The dealer will probably need to determine where the oil is going.Could be rings/piston clearance,valve guide/seal leakage or a problem with the turbo. A check of the plugs and a leakdown test will get them pointed in the right direction.If it is an internal engine problem they will probably replace the short block and/or cyl. head.And don't despair about it being worked on at the dealer,big jobs like engines etc. are generally done carefully so as only having to do it once.And remember, if you go into the dealer acting like an ******* you will probably be treated as one.Keep in mind that they didn't build the car.Give them a chance to fix it.

 

all theyve done so far is take off the boost hoses and see if oil is leaking through the turbo seals, lemon laws say that they have to fail at repairing 3 times i think. Ive been really nice to them so far, but Im fairly tired of going in every other week for oil

 

Have them keep checking it each time you go back for oil then and threaten to sue after you get to the prerequisite number of visits for the lemon law. That's really excessive. I go about 6k between changes and it doesn't burn any that I can notice. Of course, the dealer overfills...

 

So, what have you done about it then?

Why not be proactive? Meet with the service manager, explain that it's not normal oil usage (it's not, believe me!) and set up an appointment for them to FIX the car, not just look at it. Have them provide you with a loaner until it's fixed and ask them to call you when it's done.

My guess (is it leaving huge clouds of oil smoke when you drive? First start up, on long decelleration?) is a bad turbo, if that's not it - you'll probably be getting a new engine.

Anyway you cut it, someone needs to get busy and get it fixed, and if you don't ask them to, they won't do it.

 

I agree with MINIdave. The dealer has to know something major is wrong with the car, so why do you just let them put more oil into it every week? I mean let's get 'er done already, new engine or whatever. They've gotta tear into something sometime right? Get out some wrenches and go nuts. And make sure they get you a loaner, it might be awhile before you get it back lol. BTW I don't ever remember anyove ever posting that they had to add oil to an R56 between changes. I never have.

 

On top of everything else, that level of oil consumption must be raising havoc with your entire exhaust system, I'd guess.
I'd have left that Mini (with a smile) the second week that level of consumption was going on.
Just remember to SMILE when you're talking with them. But be firm. At this point you are playing with the house money. They OWE you a proper engine repair or replacement. Just be nice...but do not keep driving away in that oil burner!
It will be interesting to hear the outcome. Good luck....

 

Wow that oil has to be going somewhere, what does the underside of the car look like? Do you see smoke or smell smoke? Breathing that stuff for a long time can't be good for you? Don't rant and rave, but take it up a notch, ask to speak to someone at the regional level.

 

I'm surprised your cat isn't dead yet. Cat converter that is.

 

never thought about the cat before, the car is finally getting a new short block, probably. it had low compression and bad scoring on cylinders 2 and 3, so far the dealer has had it for 10 days and they haven't even received approval from mini to do all the work but they know it needs to have a new engine, one other problem that has developed is the back of the cars paint is a mess, apparently the oil that it has been burning has eaten into the clear coat and paint and made it look like matte black...

 

 

Yuch. Keep us posted on what they have to say about the paint as well. Sorry for your trouble.

 

Not the first time I have heard of a 4cyl having high oil consumption.

 

I finally got time today to stop by the dealer and see what was going on, turns out that mini requested pics of the pistons and once they pulled them out they realized that #4 was missing the last ring, aka the oil guide ring. They said its just human error... Should have the car back in 10 days or so they said which i think is fu*king ridiculous that it takes a month but at least its all under warranty, heres some pics i took with the cellphone




no ring in the last slot




below you can see the missing ring in the right piston compared to the left

 

I don't know if it's a DFI side-effect but those pistons look awful!

 

thats what i thought too, theres so much build up on the side of one of the pistons, and its not even the bad one

 

sounds like u got to the bottom of it and should be back on the road soon

i burn through way too much oil as well -- i'd say 1 quart every 850 miles

they keep telling me it's normal and that adding a quart every 750 miles is within the spec

they have replaces the timing chain once and when every i got the tractor sounds i'd add more oil and it would quiet down --- i found out later that the first install was done incorrectly and it had to be done again

now sometimes when i hit the gas in 4th I'll get a small cloud behind me -- hmm

i'm still concerned that some damage was done -- i'm at 37K miles

there have been a few threads on this along the way

not sure what to make of it

 

Well, a missing oil ring will definitely cause it to use oil!

Glad they found the problem, but I wonder exactly what they're gonna do about it, just replace one ring? They should hone it out nicely and replace all of them, IMHO.....

Edit: reread where they're going to put a new shortblock in it - that's the right thing for them to do. Good deal......

Bhozier......a quart every 750 miles may be in spec, but clouds of smoke sure aren't. I think I'd sit down with the service manager and have a conversation.....

 

What a mess, hope they get your car back in order and running like new...

 

Thanks for the pics! Had the dealer done any carbon cleaning treatment prior to engine tear down? The reason I ask is I have an '08 MCS engine with 11k I pulled from a wrecked MINI and after tearing the engine down like the dealer has yours the carbon buildup on #3,4 pistons was significantly worse than what yours appears to have. Were you able to see the cylinder head?

 

You might want to remind the dealer that if your catalytic converters aren't already toast their life has been seriously shortened.

 

2nd that. I put 60 miles on a Jag after the fuel pressure regulator died and that fouled my cc's. Burning all that oil couldn't be healthy.

 

Mattyj4,

The car can have long term reliability issues. Perhaps you can suggest that they do a goodwill buyback for the problem car and give you a new one.