That is a great tip! I mean, the OP is saying the bottom end, but what on the bottom end and why? Clatter as described could be a bearing bad etc...

I do feel bad for the OP and the problems but before we start assigning blame to anything we really need to know what failed. It is possible that the dealership doesn't want to dig in and is looking for an easy repair with high cost.

 

Tech said the amount of labor to disassemble, discover failure, machine, reassemble would be close to cost of new engine, if not more. Plus, it would take longer.

I spent 20 minutes on the phone with Way this afternoon. He was very helpful and informative.

 

Oops Your right....I meant the "pistons, rods, crank, crank case, etc." also. I have tranny on the mind as I just bought one But even more so are they bullet proof, I mean the ABF drag car had stock everything except the pistons and it was putting out 600+ WHP

 

Ugh... This is a standard arrogant comment. I don't live overseas and most people on this forum don't either. Not my problem they charge that much, and if they do, then do it yourself. How do you know how hard I drive my car? I'm sure us "Americans" drive our cars just as hard as anyone else. Go ahead and put as many miles on a oil change as you want. Do you work at a shop? I do. You want to see the oil that comes out of these cars and the filters? Nobody talks about the filter, they get cooked after so long. My wife had a Z4 and we changed her oil at 15k, the oil was so so, but her filter was literally toasted. I'm just saying that changing the oil is a small investment compared to some major expenses down the road, especially if somebody plans on keeping their car for a long time. Believe it or not, BMW wants to sell you parts and a new car.

 

My point is that you clearly missed is that we Americans are not the driving force behind long changes. BMW is not out to take your money and there is no conspiracy. Try to look past your own borders from time to time....


FYI, no, I don't not work at a shop. Since you need my resume, I was an aircraft mechanic for 10 years and have worked on my own cars since I was 15. I rebuilt a VW Bug from the ground up at 16 and have been working on cars since. I used to do all my own fluid changes until we recently moved back to the states and I don't now because I have no shop or garage to use. I work for the military and we had the ability to use the auto shop with lifts and air tools. I have done engine swaps and engine rebuilds and I was also skeptical of the long oil change interval myself until I sent a sample to a lab while in Germany to be told it was fine. I then inspected the filter and it was also FINE but ready to be replaced. Bottom line? The engineers have it right for a daily driver. Now, if you track then that is a very different scenario. Good enough for you?

Lastly, you can do as you please. If you want to do early changes then go for it but leave your conspiracy theory out of it because it simply isn't true.

 

The great thing about the mini filter is that it is easy to inspect at oil changes...no need to cut it open.
+1 to the above comments!
One thing to add...due to the taxes on euro consumed oils, it only makes sense to use the "best" in Europe to get the longest interval between changes..that and carzy labour costs...
Here the oils are cheaper, and so is the oil, but the oil companys are formulaing their oils differently for the us markets cause people do change their oils more...ever wonder why it is so hard to find a BMW/mini approved oil....cause it might cost 10% more to make, and 99% of buyers don't need the longdrain compatibility...so a refinery prices itself out of the market...hense the "euro" oils and oem oil....

 

Tax is the big reason for the cost, this is true.

To my knowledge there is no difference in those oils other than marketing. Several German mech friends of mine have stated this and I really have no reason to not belive them. That 10% more is because it is packaged in Germany and imported. You are going to pay extra for that. To be honest though, I have never tested the two oils to see if there is a difference but I can't see why there would be. I run Amsoil (Good ol Pete) which has an API of SM/CL SF SJ which exceeds the recommended MINI rating of API SH. Their oil is also rated to go 25k which I won't do (not recommended by MINI)but it likely can do it. Even Mobil1 has an API rating of SM, SL,SJ,EC,CF which exceeds that. They also say on their site that you can go as long as 15k on their oils with no problems. Why is this so hard for people to believe?

So, to date (MINI has been around for a good while now) how many engines have we seen destroyed because of bad oil? (none that I know of) and sludge? (Again, none that I know of)....

So maybe it is the filter.... Again, I have seen my filter at various intervals and it looked fine at 15. Nope, I don't think that MINI would push a 15K change yet slap a 5K filter in, that would make no sense.

I think the biggest problem is that we Americans think that everyone is out to get us. We grew up with the 3K oil change and bumped it to 5k and surely we know better than an engineer on when that oil should be changed. Like I said, I was the same way but I am now a believer and my MINI is running great. No need to fix what isn't broken and save a few dollars in the process.

 

Hey do as you please, no skin off my back. FYI, another mechanic here is a Master Chief of 28 years in the Navy, has his own squadron of F-18's at Lemoore Naval Air Station and changes his oil every 3500 miles......I think that also qualifies him as a "aircraft mechanic".

 

It's so funny how on every automobile board I've been on, be it cars or motorcycles, oil threads ALWAYS turn into heated debates. I love it.

 

Do you suppose it's because it would be nearly impossible to "prove" one side or the other?

 

Actually it has been proven. Pull a sample at 15 and send it in and you will be told that that the oil is fine. What more proof does a person need? Audi, BMW, Porsche and various other vendors are moving to a long change interval so they clearly know something unless the Auto, Oil and Testing industries are all wrong.

As I said, I have no problems with folks changing it early that was not why I was arguing. However, the OP immediately blamed his problem on the oil which was not tested and he is making a HUGE assumption without even knowing what is failing in his engine. This is misinformation... Secondly JIMINNI came on saying that BMW do this to make you buy parts, aka the conspiracy theory, and this also isn't true. I am simply trying to curtail the misinformation that these folks are posting.

If you want to change your oil early then go for it. I really don’t care about it as it is your money but please stop the madness with posting blame on something that you have no clue about. Trust me; if BMW was trying to take your money they would be trying to sell you a new car, not parts.

Here is a conspiracy for you, Jiffy Lube and X mechanic want you to bring your car in more often so they will tell you that you shouldn't follow the recommended timeline and change it more often.

 

Reminds me of being on the debate team....
Or maybe on the playground!!

 

My oil can beat your oil up.

 

Some good info, I like that he talks about BMW specifically at the end:



2) If synthetic oil is used, the oil's properties (viscosity, pouring temperatures, etc.) are determined by the actual molecular structure of the oil not by the addition of viscosity modifiers.
The main problem then becomes suspended dirt, thus synthetic oil requires changing to eliminate the slowly accumulating liquid sandpaper that will eventually damage an engine. Essentially, synthetic oil, again, would last, effectively, forever if it were not for the problem of particulate contamination.




3) Common filters might filter down to 4 microns, a size that is close to the bearing gap size in modern engines. As it becomes clogged with larger particles the filter begins to 'load up', decreasing its passage size and actually increasing its filtering quality until the filter throughput decreases and begins to starve the engine whereupon, hopefully (and unfortunately), the filter bypass activates and lets dirty oil pass through unfiltered.
Again, leaving the filter in the car for 15,000 miles as per some current car specifications is asking for trouble, especially in environments with high particulate density (smoggy cities, dusty plains, areas prone to tornados or high water levels....). 7,500 miles is a max for the filter and certainly for standard oil.


4) Extended oil changes can be effected if: The oil chosen does not break down during the period of usage - spec: Synthetic Oil
The filter in use will not 'load up' over the period of use and is capable of filtering down to a particle size smaller than the bearing gaps of modern engines. Only the Amsoil bypass oil filter with its 1 micron filtering capability or similar quality unit would be adequate for this specification, however, it is not available for all cars and requires a bypass installation.




Solution: Use synthetic oil. Change it at 7,500 miles and change the filter halfway between changes.


Personally, my BMW specifies 15,000 mile oil changes and BMW insists on the use of synthetic oil in their products. If they could guarantee that the filter would remove all particles larger than the bearing gaps for that period I might comply.
As this cannot be guaranteed, I change my synthetic oil at 5000 miles to decrease the potential wear caused by suspended dirt, not because the oil wears out. What maintenance is done on a car during its lifetime will greatly determine the length of that lifetime.

 

LOL, good information, but that wasn't what you were going on about earlier. So now it is the filter instead of BMW trying to sell you parts? Environment certainly does play a part but I'm still willing to bet that if you pull a sample at 15 and do mostly city driving that it would come back fine. FYI, if it does then the filter is still doing its job. I lived in Texas for many years of my life and would still do a 15K change there, dust and all. The engineers planed for this and I'm pretty sure that they tested the filter as well. That being said, I use only BMW filters as they are the ones that I know are rated to go the 15. There was nothing on a Fram or STP filter that gave any indication that it would go the distance so I avoided them.

Source?

 

http://www.trustmymechanic.com/change_oil.html

Not sure what your talking about? But I specifically mentioned the filter in one of my posts. We use nothing but genuine BMW filters. Point is, yes, synthetic oil can last a long time, in a clean, controlled environment. But our cars live in a dirty, hot and high revving environment. All im saying is, for 2 maybe 3 oil changes, for a normal driver, in a year, it is good insurance that it will help your engine last longer. PS. as for BMW not wanting to sell parts as they designed everything so well.....you should see the pile of thermostats and motor mounts in the shop

 

Parts fail, nothing is perfect... The motor mount is a piece of junk, this we all know. The Mrs. had a Buick that went though dogbone mounts every 5K miles. As for testing, you do know that they do environmental testing don't you? Listen I am not going to argue with you any longer... Point is that there is proof of the oil being fine at 15k posted all over these forums and changing it more often is no insurance because if a bearing fails, it fails....

Do as you please and spend as much as you like. Me, I'll stick to the recommended as I know that my oil is just fine.

 

So then why did you come back and argue?