I am closing in on SS-Social Security--and I am having a tuff time seeing the level of oil on the dip stick. Mine has a "yellow" plastic thing at the end. I don't see a full/or add line on that part or any part of the stick. The manual shows the lines. Help. Thanks. Nick

 

The end of the dipstick looks like this:
|_|
|X|
|X|
|X|
|X|
.\/

You can set the end of the dipstick on a paper towel to see the transfer of oil. If oil is all over all of the cross-hatch section, you are good to go. If you have no oil on the cross-hatches, you are at least a quart low. If there is oil halfway up the cross-hatches, then you need a half-quart. Make sense?

 

I have a 2005 MCS (~2500 mi) as well and I'm a little frustrated with the dipstick. I have never encountered a dipstick that was so difficult to remove. First of all, it does not want to click out of the tube at the top. Then, as I try to remove the stick completely, it wants to twist as it comes out. So, I try to just let the stick spin in the direction it wants to in order to remove it. And it just doesn't slide out either, you've got to tug on it a little.

Once out, checking the oil is a little tricky as I really need to look for the oil level (Ryan, thanks for the tip regarding the paper towel :smile: ).

Putting it back is probably the most aggravating of all. Again, the stick wants to twist as it travels back down the tube. It usually takes a few tries to get it all the way down and clicked as it just seems to hit something as it goes down. It feels like something is going to snap. Last night I almost bent the darned thing!!

Has anyone else experienced this? In the big scheme of things, it's not such a big deal, I know, just annoying. I wonder if this is the result of the fact that there is just no where convenient to put the dipstick in the engine compartment due to lack of space and the strange angle at which the stick has to enter the engine?

~Paul

 

Paulie: Thats standard for the dip stick. I just give mine a small twist when removing and re-installing. You can feel the point and direction for the twist.

 

Can't get your dipstick In or Out? Agreed, it's a bit strange for Virgins, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough. Practice makes perfect!

 

I guess I'll just have to keep poking away at it. I hope I don't hurt anything with all that twisting and pushing .

 

Join the gang. We've been complaining about the dipstick since at least the 03's and probably before.


Not a biggie, but it is aggravating.

Ken

 

Amen, Brother.

 

By the time I'm elegeable for SS there won't be any... and I cannot, for the life of me, EVER get a reading that I'm 100% comfortable with.

So... good to see that MINI is concerned about customer feedback. NOBODY likes the dipstick and there's been more than adequate whining about it and still the stupid yellow plastic bit remains. Wouldn't it be cheaper for MINI to loose the plastic?? I mean, that's got to run them about $.03 per bit...

 

It's really strange but my 02 MC's dipstick must be different and is not plastic or have the yellow marker. I have no trouble reading the oil level in the dipstick. I wonder why they changed it.

 

Soon there won't be dipsticks and it will be an electronic indicator. :smile:
Yet another thing to go wrong.
I do think the Mini dipstick is a very poor design.
I too figured out the paper towel method.

 

Hey gokart... what I meant to post above (and I'm sure everyone else will agree) was that the unique and handy yellow plastic nib on the dipstick is really useful. It increases my oil-checking pleasure tenfold. I'm really sorry you don't have one, but as I am a selfless person, I would be completely willing to trade dipsticks with you. Just PM me your address -- I'll even pay for shipping of both...

 

Like I say, I'm puzzled as to the change in dipstick design. I'm happy with mine. Maybe those dipsticks in BMW/MINI's design studios can come up with a better mousetr.....er... dipstick?

 

Thanks very much for the diagram with the end of the '05 dip stick.

It was exactly the information I was looking for. I couldn't decide from the Owner's Manual where I should be since this dipstick is different.

Will sleep better knowing my oil is at the correct level!

 

The Coopers and the Cooper S actually have different dipsticks... You guys got the superchargers, we got the halfway decent dipstick!

 

Another vote for stupid dip stick. I always thought it odd that the owners manual shows instructions and diagram of the old standard type dipstick, and not the stupid-yellow-can't-read-can't- pull- out-one.

I get the impression when the purchaser for MINI ordered the dipsticks from the contractor, he/she accidentally entered in a few too many zeroes, and they can't get rid of them all.

 

It's only a problem if you are low on lube.

 

Wow what a thread! Some of you guys need your mind washed out with soap!

Add my name to the list - I thought I was pulling the wrong stick , when it did not resemble the drawing in the manual. I've been meaning to Search/Post for a few days now, but the "NAM Magick" was in effect and my topic bubbled up in a most timely fashion...

Thanks all, and please pass the paper towels... and the lube (full synthetic of course),
Tatt

 

The dipstick is easier to read as the oil gets dirtier. So if it was topped off correctly at change, by the time U need to check the oil it should be brown enough to read OK on that weird cryptic dipstick. Jimbo

 

Yeah, crappy dipstick..Just felt cheap to me. Replaced it with a aluminum and stainless one from Moss. After a bit of "modifying"...just ask Ryephile".....It works great. A hint on the hard to remove issue on the OE and any aftermarket...just use a little lithium grease on the O ring(s). Removes like it should!

 

Ok so I'm not that stupid then. On a related note, since I can't read the %^$# dipstick yet since I only have about 1300 miles (there is NO LINE or LEVEL no matter how close I look..It just looks oily) how long would I have until I need to top off?

 

I'm a few years from SS, but I'm right with you on that dip stick. My oil is so clean I can't get a reading. I used a clean paper towel & just touched the area where you are supposed to see the reading. I could see the oil on the paper towel, but not on the stick. And speaking of that stick......I've checked oil on a lot of cars in my time & that's the absolute worst excuse for a dip stick I've ever seen. After a few years that plastic straw will get brittle & break. That ought to be fun.

Chuck

 

guys. please stop I am dying here the deepstick has a good ol crooked neck
sorry I feel like I am 12 right now.

 

I have been checking it on a few occasions, all I see is an oily stick with a yellow tip. It makes no sense to me. I only have less than 300 miles on, so the oil is so clean, there's no contrast. Since some have mentioned oil should be checked regularly during break-in, it makes me nervous as the level looks low to me. Yet, I don't want to over fill. What's everyone's experience in terms of noticing a drop in oil level during break-in? Thanks in advance.

 

AHH, my thread lives on.That's a tough one. Because most of us cannot read the dipstick oil level so we really don't know. I initially changed oil at 5,000 miles and it may have been down a little. I have not seen any threads on excessive oil consumption during break-in or thereafter.