they changed my oil with full synthetic and as i went to leave i noticed that at an idle my oil idiot light comes on. so i returned and asked them why and they proceeded to tell me that it was because of wear on my engine. they used 5w40 and i had them change the filter again just to make sure there wasn't anything not sealing correctly. please if anyone has any ideas on how i should proceed it would be very much appreciated!

it is an 02 just a cooper cvt with 48,147 miles.

Jesse

 

Wish I could help, but I have no answers. I don't buy the "wear on engine" reason though.

 

neither do i especially since i know that light has never been on other than the few seconds of diagnostics on start up. i'm very frustrated right now.

 

Do you know how much they put in? Is the light still on? That's an oil pressure light, and I would not drive anywhere until it shut off (it's a red warning light for a reason)

 

Stop DRIVING NOW, they took the center part of the filter housing out and threw it away. This way the filter doesn't seal at the bottom and is an oil pressure problem. Nothing to do with wear on the engine. They screwed up this is another reason I always say NEVER go to a NON MINI shop. I've seen this several time.

 

Ok Thank you! What do I need to do to fix it?

 

Put the center part (plastic core + spring) of the oil filter housing back.

Just FYI, some brake shops don't know how to install rear brake pads, either. :(

 

You need the filter changed with the center part, as Wayland said.
I think you can use an MCS filter which comes with the cage part as part of the filter. Your best bet is to call Wayland and find out if you need the part or can use the MCS filter. (And remember his great service when you need to buy parts.)
This seems to be a common problem with oil changes on the MC when the shop does not know MINIs.

 

Why oh why would anyone in their right mind use Jiffy lube or any of the other fast lube places for an oil change on a car they care about?

These type of stories are all over the net, on every car forum there is. They send you out with no oil in the crankcase, strip drain plugs, or overtighten them to the point where the threads gall and you can never remove th eplug, and in general are a nightmare waiting to happen!

Don't use these guys if you care about your car!

Learn how to change your own oil or take it to someone who knows your car, someone you can trust!

 

I agree with the Jiffy Lube comment. I'm not sure I even trust them to use fully-synthetic oil. And they will insist on coming back in 3,000 miles, too. Fully-synthetic oil lasts longer than that.

Beyond the dealership... Vehicles such as BMW, MINI, and Mercedes should be worked on by competent shops that specialize in them. Two in our area are Atlantic Auto Werks and Auto Haus. I just had Auto Haus change my oil four weeks ago. Total was $88 for parts and labor.

Or DIY.

 

Funny how they blamed their error on engine wear...even though the car drove in without the problem, even though it was caused by the incompetent folks throwing a needed part in the trash....be sure to send them the bill...too bad you can't bill them for the extra wear caused by low oil preasure due to their error too....

 

They are not only screwing up Mini Coopers. They Screw up most cars they work on. They are not aware that you do not use an Air Impack wrench on a drain plug.

What did they use for a filter on shockers's car? I'm sure it was not a Mini Cooper filter. They just jammed anything that looked like it almost fit and sent him on his way. These places are just plain wrong and should be run out of business. I have never ever heard anything good about any of them.

Learn to do it your self or go to the dealer. ""NOT A JIFFY LUBE" type place that don't even stock the correct filters. Another option is to purchase the oil & filter at the dealer or on line and take it to a place you know & trust and let a real mechnic do it.

 

Jiffy Lube - so many stories, so many bad outcomes.......

Kevin

 

+1 STOP DRIVING NOW!!!

For the love of God stay away from Iffy Lube.

 

Jiffy Lube

used 'em for many years on cars that had "standard" filter set ups.....

in that time the only place that screwed up an oil change was the dealer

"oops .... we forgot to put the oil in" TRUE STORY

I would not recomment Jiffy or other quick places for a MINI cuz of the MINI's unique aka ancient filter design.

But beyond that ... welll .... how much training is required to change oil? Our own threads say DIY cuz it is SO simple .... if we can do it .. so can they.

 

The only one who will care about your car is you. Use the Local Quickie Lube Franchise at your own peril.

FWIW more & more cars are reverting to a canister filter these days.

 

I used to stay there by the car basically checking the oil change, but I agree, that I can' see how much torque they are applying. And I saw that they use the wrong socket to remove the plastic cap of the filter.
BTW - I took the rain check yesterday for the car wash, and I was told that they won't be changing the oil on Mini's anymore. I wonder if they had any other issue?

 

I don't see how Mini can stop doing oil changes - it's in the service agreements for all new cars sold.

 

first off . . . huh ?

FWIW more & more cars are reverting to a canister filter these days.

really, I guess I haven't bought one of those. Can you tell me what they are? None of my cars bought over the last few years use it, except the MINI (and BMW) .. and probably the most popular mod to a classic mini engine is replacing the filter mount so that it uses a spin on filter (cleaner and easier). If companies are moving to this they need to look at the major sellers like TOY and HON ... spin on can there dude.

++++++++++
no oil change place has rocket scientist' working their bays . . .

like I said the ONLY time I had a major problem with an oil change was AT THE DEALER

with a simple spin on the quicky places actually performed BETTER that the dealer

In My Humble Experience

 

Little Joe
Where did you get the impression MINI wasn't doing oil changes.

 

pisco went to the "Jiffy Lube" not a Mini dealer. The "Jiffy Lube" is the place that will no longer do Mini oil changes.

The Mechinec that did my one year inspection and oil/filter change at My dealer in Orlando did a great job. He is a regular mechinec there and he did not miss a thing. He is the same guy that changed my front rotors on the recall just after I purchased my JCW.

Most dealers hire unskilled morons as oil change monkeys and really don't pay them much. I know the Chevy dealer in Daytona does. I had a Corvette that I would not let them touch because of the horror story's I heard from Corvette owners that had their cars messed up just getting the oil/filter changed.

I would rather never change the oil/filter if I had to depend on a Jiffy Lube to do it. (Or any of those fast lube joints.)

 

My Mazda 3 has the same cartridge setup as the MINI. Best thing is to learn to change the oil yourself.

 

SHOCKER

How did everything work out on your car. Hope they took car of you if you went back.

 

I'll stick my foot in with the do-it-yourselfers. Even if you live in an apartment, and your car is parked on the street, this is not a big deal.

For a Cooper, you will need:

- a 13mm wrench (socket or box will do it)
- a pan (a cat litter box pan will work fine)
- a large adjstable wrench for the filter housing
- a pair of garden gloves (makes spinning off the housing easier after its been loosened
- some paper towels
- an old gallon jug for the old oil
- a funnel (makes pouring easier)

1. loosen drain bolt at bottom of engine Place pan under engine. remove bolt. let oil drain.
2. angle pan under car so that part of it is under the filter housing and part of it stays under previously opened drain. remove filter housing with adjustable wrench and gloves. The housing should not be so tight that the wrench cant loosen it without major effort. unscrew housing the rest of the way with gloved hand
3. wait til drain drip has slowed, or better yet, stopped
4. replace 13mm plug. do not over-tighten.
5. remove old filter from housing if you havent already. remove large o-ring from housing. apply some new oil to new o-ring and gently roll into place on housing.
6. install new filter into housing. it only goes one way. the center holes on each end are different sizes
7. screw housing back onto mount by hand. do not cross thread it. if it doesnt go, do not force it with the wrench. if its in right, you should be able to screw it down a few turns by hand. tiighten the rest of the way with the wrench. the Cooper filter housing comes to an abrupt stop when its screwed all the way down. just give it a little pressure with the wrench. do not over tighten.
8. check drain plug again to see that its in (dont ask). remove oil fill cap from top of engine. insert clean funnel. add 5 qts of full synthetic 5w-30 oil (i use mobil 1). replace cap. tighten until it clicks.
9. clean up. pour old oil into old gallon container. use funnel. wipe clean again.

Oil can be disposed of, at your leisure, at any service station. they will take it as long as its not contaminated with other fluids (water is okay, stuff like brake or tranny fluid is not)

If I left anything out, please feel free to add it in, guys.

 

I'll add my experience just for the sake of comprehensiveness. A few years ago, had a '95 Ford Ranger that I took to a northern VA J.L. for expediency. Error in judgment. About a week later I was checking under the hood for unrelated reasons and noticed that the cap on the brake fluid reservoir was completely missing and the fluid was just sitting there exposed like a little hot tub. Probably got set on some surface in the engine compartment when the fluid level was checked and then fell off somewhere down the road.

I think they mindlessly process so many vehicles, it's inevitable that inattentiveness and sloppiness ensues. Never been back since with any vehicle, and certainly wouldn't get my MINI within a mile of one.