I keep reading that several dealers are overfilling the 2nd generation MINI's when they do an oil change. My dealer thought that 4.7 quarts was correct for my 2011 MC. That is the correct amount for a 1st generation MC but not for any of the 2nd gereration MINIs. The following data was copied from SI M000 02 02 MINI Operating Fluids February 2012:
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N14 and N18 – 4.20 liters

All the 2nd generation MINI's require 4.4 quarts. The 1st generation MCS required 5 quarts.and many of the dealers are putting 5 quarts in the 2nd generation MCS.

Overfilling the oil could be a major part of the carbon buildup problem some MINI's are having. Overfilling also whips air into the oil making it less effective.

Reading the dipstick on the 2nd generation is so difficult may owners might not be aware of this problem. I made a thread in the 'How To' section on reading the 2011+ dipsticks because I think having the correct amount of oil is so important. This thread has lots of information on what causes the difficulty in reading the dipstick, methods to insure you get a good reading, methods for replacing or making the dipstick easier to read..



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4.8 LITRE = 5.0721 Quarts...

4.2 LITRE = 4.43809 Quarts....

One LITRE is not the same as One Quart...just as a Meter is not a Yard.


Most shops I know put in 4.5 and the dispensing of oil is regulated by a preset dial on the handle since it is purchased in bulk and dispensed by central hose/supply system.

But even if that were correct, I don't see how .062 of a quart of oil is going to make the sorta foam which would cause that sorta carbon buildup in the R56 S....

What you are probably seeing is 5 qts billed out on a repair order since there is no way to bill out 4.5 Quarts to a customer when it's purchased in bulk by the quart.

If I had an R56, I'd be buying a Craven Speed dip Stick. The OEM one is a PITA to read.

 

I know liters are not the same as quarts. The MINI SI was only in liters as I copied. I should have shown the conversions you added. The values in quarts I stated were rounded to a tenth and match your conversions.

After I found the dealer was overfilling my oil, I asked the amount they were adding and how they measured it. The service manager said they were using 4.7 quarts which was pumped from a barrel with an accuracy of tenths of a quart. MY invoice only shows the cost of the oil change for the oil changes at a shorter interval and doe not state the quantity.

I confirmed this amount by pumping oil out through the dipstick tube. I pumped out approximately 1-1/4 cups to bring the level down to the center of the top bulge of the dipstick. 1-1/4 cups is approximately .3 qts. I am not sure this amount of overfill is enough to cause any problems, but I want the oil in my car to be at the correct level.

 

Good catch. While I have friends who use them, I've never used a topsiders before.

Not sure what a 1/3 of a QT would do for additional internal pressure buildup since I have never had an oil pressure gauge in my MINI. But gaskets and such are designed to operate under a certain specs and these things have enough issues with leaking gaskets without adding to it....1/3 of a quart is not a good habit.

 

I thought of another point I should make. My dipstick measures 35mm (approximately 1.378 inches) between the hole in the upper bulge and the hole in the lower bulge. These holes are in the approximate center of the the upper and lower bulges and according to the manual show the change for 1 qt. of oil. When my dealer overfilled by .3 qts., they raised the top of the oil by .3 x 1.378 = .41 from where it should be. If they added 5 qts, that would be an excess of .6 qts and raise the level by .6 x 1.378 = .83 in. In my opinion, these are significant differences.

2011 MC PW/B 12,000 trouble free miles.

 

2009 clubman s and 2012 s coupe both cars have a good bit of track time.i always use 5 ots.oil with filter change NEVER a problem.

 

between my cms all4 and my dad's cms all4, i have done 4 oil/filter changes so far (have yet to get a freebie from mini yet, but i am getting close)

i have been putting 4 quarts in with the new filter, i pull the drain plug to drain, not a top sucker

4 quarts with a filter change puts the oil level exactly half way between full and add

neither of our cms all4s use any oil between changes, it is still at half when i drain the oil

dad, at 91 years does not drive very agressively, but i do, yet neither car burns any oil

scott

 

I just did my first oil change on my 2012 justa. I used the topsider with excellent results and added 4.5 quarts. The level is just at the top bulge on the dipstick so I am pretty sure 4.5 or 4.4 quarts is just fine.

 

I wonder if there is a big variety in the accuracy of the dipsticks, when I change my oil and filter 5 quarts fills it to the top of the mark on the dipstick. I've never had any issues with my 2009 Clubman S either when doing it this way.

 

MINIdave,

How do you read the oil level? Until I saw the article in MC2 magazine about how to read the oil level with the 2011+ dipsticks, I never got a good reading.

The instructions in the manual and in the video provided by MINI say to:

1. Run the engine up to full temperature even though no water or oil temperature gages are provided.
2. Wait 5 minutes.
3 Pull the dipstick out and wipe it off.
4. Push it back in all the way.
5. Pull the dipstick out and read the level.

This method would work for most cars but not the 2nd generation MINI's. The information shown in the MC2 magazine explains why you can't get a good reading with this method and gives methods that actually work. All the information that was in that article and much more is given in the thread 'How to read the 2011+ oil dipsticks' in the 'How to' section. I have used the methods to measure the oil level hot and the methods to measure the oil level cold. Both methods gave me the same reading. I check my oil every week and it only drops slightly by the time I am ready for my next oil change.

It is truly a shame that a magazine article and/or aftermarket dipsticks are required to do such a simple and important task.

 

I must be the only person, but I honestly don't find the N18 dipstick to be so hard to read. As long as I don't twist the dipstick at all while pulling it out of the engine, I can easily see where the glossy section ends on 3/4s of the read area. The dipstick on my FSI GTI was actually harder to read.

As far as knowing when the motor reaches operating temps... turn on sport mode and wait for the popps and burbles to show up if it's a 2011+?

--Matt

 

mattkosem,

I tried what you suggested and could see the small almost dry area just below the start of the top bulge. The dipstick had oil on it above and below this almost dry area. There are two reasons I would not trust this reading.

The first reason is that the dipstick was totally covered with oil well above the upper bulge. I do not trust a reading that has oil above and below the amost dry area. The previously suggested methods will give consistant readings with oil showing only up to the indicated maximum. Any oil above the upper bulge has to be caused by oil being wiped off the dipstick tube and/or being overfilled.

The second reason is that I know the actual level of the oil is above the almost dry area I saw using your method. The almost dry area was just below the start of the bulge. My actual oil level is approximately in the center of the bulge.

I agree that it is very easy to see the oil on the dipstick if the oil is not overfilled and/or the dipstick tube is mostly free of oil. The method I use to make sure the dipstick tube is mostly free of oil is as follows:

1. After the car has been run and I don't plan on using it for at least 2 hours, I pull the dipstick out, wipe it off, and set it aside.

2. I cover the dipstick tube opening with small piece of tin foil. I use the same piece of tin foil each time I check the oil. With the engine hot, I don't trust covering the hole with something that could burn or melt. I cover the hole because I leave the hood open until I put the dipstick back in. I leave the hood open to remind me that the dipstick is removed.

3. After at least 20 min. ( 2 hrs is better) I push the dipstick all the way in, pull it out, and read the level. You can only pull it out and read it once without starting the process all over again.

I check the oil once a week using this method. The actual time removing the dipstick, covering the hole, and taking the reading is only a couple of minutes. The reading using this method are very consistant.

 

I've only done it with the car having sat for a while and, as long as I read the side facing me and only dip once, I get a clear read without oil above the read area. Its nowhere near as clear as an American car's dipstick, but neat cars always have quirks.

Out of curiosity, if you see a completely dry spot on the read area, how could there be oil above that level? Even if the dipstick hits the oil at a 45 degree angle, that's still a tiny cross-section with a diameter as small as it is.

--Matt

 

Matt,

If you are waiting a while after running the engine, the oil has probably drained out of the tube even with the dipstick still in. If the dipstick tube is clear of oil when you pull out the dipstick it is easy to read.

When I tried your method shortly after turning of the engine, there was only a misty, thin, almost clear area just below the upper bulge on one side. There was no area completely free of oil. When I had my last oil change and the oil was approximately .3 quarts overfilled the service manager read the oil the same way you described. He took the reading shortly after shutting off the engine. When he showed me the dipstick, it had the same almost clear area right below the upper bulge. I used the method of partially inserting the dipstick, wiping it off, and repeating several times until the dipstick came out almost totally free of oil. I then took my reading and it it showed the oil about a 3/8" over the center of the upper bulge. I copied below the portion from 'Reading the 2011+ dipsticks' that illustrates this. I guess as you pull the dipstick out, the oil being scraped off the tube pushes the oil down on one side of the dipstick.

Warm oil check method: Orange = saturated oil on the stick, Red or orange dots = light oil with stick texture showing, Solid red = no oil.

1) Run car up to normal temperature. (note the lack of any temp gauge for oil or coolant)
2) Shut of the motor and open the hood.
3) Wait 5 min.
4) Pull out the dipstick, and then wipe the oil off the dopstick.
5) Put the stick back in without rotating the stick.
6) Wait 10 sec.
7) Then pull the stick out (check 1). look at the tip that is full of oil including the top ball (with the original oil set from the factory).
8) Clean it and insert the dipstick into the tube and remove after 10 sec.
9) Inspect the oil on the stick. (check 2) Look at the false negative and at the same time a false overfill reading.
10) Clean it and insert the dipstick into the tube and remove after 10 sec.
11) Inspect the oil on the stick. (check 3) Look at the false overfill reading.

Notice that in each set of tests the reading is slightly different. In some cases the reading shows a false over fill condition. The only repeatable way to check the oil (if the dipstick is used to check) is to check the oil cold as outlined in the cold method. Unfortunately only the first check will provide usable results. Any attempts after the first check are tainted from oil transfer from the tube.

Mini does not recommend the cold check method and stated the stick is not calibrated for cold checking.

 

Definitely seen that pic posted quite a few times. To anyone that has ever seen oil sit on or flow off of any surface, its obviously a bit of an over dramatization. I've never seen any modern synthetic oil stick in millimeters to a surface like that.. especially when warm/hot.Cold reads, recommended or not, definitely seem to produce the most repeatable reads. I've checked mine the same way 4 times this week so far, and have seen the same read every time. I still have a hard time believing the dry area on 3/4 of the radius of the stick facing me on a "cool" read could possibly have been submerged though.

Definitely concur with the cold read method you posted here (). Dead accurate!
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...649-post4.html

All but 2 of the cars I've owned have been turbocharged, so I've grown accustomed to getting more consistent cold reads after the extra oil plumbing drains out and almost never seeing consistent reads any amount of time less than hours after shutting the engine down.

On the upside, at least they included a dipstick on the prince. :-) As long as this engine burns less oil than my FSI did, I've got nothing to complain about. If I get fed up with reading it enough, I'll just have to cough up the change for a better one.

--Matt

 

simple solution to this problem = craven dipstick

read oil level cold ... remove dipstick, wipe dipstick, reinsert dipstick, remove dipstick, read oil level

read oil level hot ... see read oil level cold

scott

 

+1

 

+2

 

Anyone selling theirs used? $75 for a dipstick is

 

I don't have an S, but I had my dealer change my oil at 3,500 miles to get the break-in oil out. A few days after I got the car I checked my oil after driving about 20 miles. I pulled stick out and cleaned it. Waited 5 minutes then put the stick in and pulled it out. There was oil above the top bulge. Not just spots, it was covered. I checked it again the next day and it was the same.

I took it to dealer and they agreed it was overfilled and removed some. My mistake was not getting any paper work.

So I wonder if dealers aren't overfilling the oil on the R56 models.

I think it was better when you checked the oil cold.

 

Tank251,

When you checked your oil, did you use any of the methods shown in the 'How to" section for checking your oil? Several dealers are overfilling the oil and the MINI owners manuals method won't work as explained in that section. The correct amount of oil for all generation 2 MINI's is 4.4 quarts. Some dealers are adding 5 quarts.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-dipstick.html

 

No I did not. But I will try it the next time I check. I will do the multi-wipe method. Since I want the oil to be warm/hot when checked.