I have a 2007 Cooper, purchased used Jan 30th 2010, with 9900 miles after Motorwerks Mini in Minnepolis changed the oil and checked over the car post sale (did not buy it from a Mini dealer).
The trans (manual) would grind occasionally between 1st and 2nd only. I thought it was me but this is my 2nd Mini, I had a 2006 S.

Motorwerks BMW Mini in Minneapolis told me it was me, I was shifting too fast. They were able to make it grind, and told me if they shift it too fast, then it grinds, I asked how fast is too fast, they said "fast enough to make it grind" and were not interested in pursuing any repairs to the issue.

A couple thousand miles later, still occasionally grinds, only 1st to 2nd on upshift, me thinking I am doing something wrong but knowing better, I had another friend drive it. He was an experienced stick driver and he had the same problem.

I took it on July 16th 2010 to International Autos in West Allis, WI (Milwaukee) They drove it 3 times, the third time it would grind. They replaced the clutch oil with new oil and it would still grind, maybe 1 in 8 shifts. They had the car for a week, installed a rebuilt by Mini transmission. They did a complete checklist (I have copy of) citing evrything ok, but they did not load test the battery per their checklist.
The car had 16500 miles on it. I came home, July 24th, trans is ok.

I got an oil red warning light last night, flashed on then off...with an audible. I stopped at a gas station. No oil registered on the dipstick. A passerby gave me one quart of Mobil 1 synthetic as the gas station only sold regular oil. I was afraid to mix it. I babied the car to a walmart who had Mobil 1 synthetic. I live in SW WI, so synthetic is not common at gas stations. Pickup trucks, bait machines that look like soda machines, however, are.

When I start my ignition, it tells me june 2011 or sometime in the next 13000 miles I need to change it. How much oil is in the pan to begin with? The manual does not spell out volume. I put 3 quarts of Mobil 1 5w 30 in to get it to the safe level. There is no oil under my car, no smell of oil when the car is hot. While filling the engine oil, looking in the top of the engine, I thought it should like like shiny metal in the engine, it looks brown. Any suggestions? Did they have to remove motor oil to change the tranny? The service writer told me the tech that was working on my car would occasionally get called away to do other stuff, then come back to my car which was partially why it took almost a week. The trans did not get there for the until Wednesday. The car was done by Friday afternoon.

 

Pulling & installing a transmission should not have caused your MINI to lose it's oil.

You had it changed at 9,900 miles on Jan 30. The oil light came on Aug 7. Can I ask if you have ever opened the hood & checked the oil in your engine? All cars will use some oil, some more than others. The only way to check the oil is with the dipstick.

If an oil light comes on STOP NOW! Put in whatever oil the bait shop/gas station sells, do not drive with no oil to Wally world. You are damaging your engine by doing this. Get the oil changed now & if you are lucky you did not damage it.

I'd recommend taking 2 minutes every week & check that oil.

Good luck....

 

Yes, do check it about every 3 weeks--as well as tire pressure, etc. I was asking if they had to drain it when they changed the tranny? Also maybe if oil lines are in vicinity of tranny and would have been bled or removed.
I picked up the car from Mini dealer July 24th, and they also supposedly did a complete check on all systems and levels. Supposedly. I doubt I would burn thru 3 quarts of synthetic in one month? Light flashed on, then off. I was hoping for a bad sensor, was shocked when no oil was in the engine. So it appears there is only 4 1/2 qts in a base Mini oil pan, which is again contrary to me asking a Mini service manager how can I go 15 k on the same miles, and was told there is a larger than normal oil pan, for the car. Yeah. Right. I am freaked now and thinking of trading it.

 

I think I may have misinterpreted your post. Good on ya for checking that oil.

Changing a transmission should not cause the engine to lose its oil. Although you never know about such things.

When ever my car is worked on the first thing I do is open the hood & look around. Mechanics are human like the rest of us & over the years I have found a thing or two that was not right on my cursory inspection. I always pull the dipstick. Maybe I'm not as trusting as I should be, but better safe than sorry.

Like I said, have the oil changed & watch it closely for a while. You more than likely dodged a bullet here. If you start having engine problems it may be time to trade it off. My guess is that it will be OK. One more thing, MINIs long time/many miles between changes is just nuts. For me it's 5-6K at most for an oil change.

Good luck...

 

the first thing you will notice is the red oil light flashing during long turns, like freeway cloverleafs. When this happens, you're 1-2 quarts low. Top up at the next available time.

To the original issue of "if it grinds you are shifting too fast" is just BS. It means that the synchros are going, why they are going is another question, but they are going out. Changing the oil is a stop-gap measure. Sometimes they'll change with a higher viscosity oil, to calm it down for a bit and move you on to the next guy or out of the warranty period. It's lazy service plain and simple.

Don't worry about mixing oils. All the crap about that is fearmongering plain and simple. If it's a choice of running low or running with whatever oil is available, as long as the viscosities aren't too far off, you're better running with the oil. Even non-synthetic. If you have to use non-synthetic, don't worry about it but shorten your change interval.

Matt

 

Fish Bait pop machines!?

 

One more time. I agree with the good Doctor 100%!
Any oil beats no oil! Well maybe not fish oil....

Yep & the dealer was trying to wait you out until your warranty was up. Only then would they agree there was a problem with your transmission & charge you for the work. Not all dealers are that way. Stay away from that one, find a good one & stick with them.