This morning I was driving like a maniac and did a very aggressive corner and the oil warning came up for a few seconds and dissapeared when my kidney went back to it's place after the corner. I was like oohh ******! What now? Good thing my house was just a few blocks away and I was horrified to see the oil level on the lowest metal bead of the sh××y dipstick. That dipstick by the way is the most useless oil stick I have ever laid my hands on. It is so hard to tell where the damn oil level is really at. So I spend 15 minutes trying to see where exactly the line and decided that yes I have a low oil on the motor and opened a quart of mini oil that I was hoping not to ever use when I got the car. So the car has travelled +/- 1400 kilometers and it burned a quart of oil. I jacked the car up and look at a few places and it is dry underneath so I think I dont have any leaks. So car has 112k on the motor, non-S, does not have white smoke on the tail pipes...what gives? Should I expect an N12 engine to burn that much oil? I do drive the car hard from time to time but I was caugth off guard by the amount of oil it burned. Good thing I did that corner or the timing chain might got fried after a few more days of driving. The chain is not noisy (knock on wood) and I hope it did not start to wear out because of the low oil or did I already set things in motion for the impending death rattle?

So is it normal to burn that much oil on a R56 justa? I just did a search and I got mix information. Should I be worried I had that oil lamp come on and dissapeared after the car leveled? I know I need to check the oil now every 2 weeks just to make sure it does not happen again and I will be buying at least 2 mini oil just in case (1 stays at the car and 1 stays at the garage).

 

You drove it like a maniac and wonder why your low oil light came on? Doesn't sound like the first time you've driven your car like a maniac. Aggressive driving will always cause higher oil burn rates than "grandma" style driving.

 

I dont drive it like a manaic everyday I would say when the opportunity is right and the road is open and the corner is clear. I am just surprised it guzzled oil like that and I was under the impression that the S will do that and not a Justa. So is it normal then?

 

If you Positive Crank case Ventilation is plugged up it will eat oil. Stepdaughters had that problem. Solution was a new valve cover that has the PCV integrated into it. Now no more oil loss. Hers is a Justa also.

 

The oil light came on during the corner because the oil pan is flat and the oil moved away from the pickup, in combination with the low oil level. If it was that low, you were probably more than 1 quart low.

As stated above, the PCV valve is in the valve cover, and these can fail and greatly increase oil consumption. YOu didn't indicate year or mileage, but I would think that replacing the valve cover would help a bunch.

The biggest issue with the dipstick is that the oil drains through the dipstick tube. It is best to check oil after the car has sat for a while (at least 5-10 minutes). Pull the dipstick, wipe it off, and read the first time you check. I normally try and remember to pull the dipstick at night and then check in the morning (on weekends). Its a PITA, but this is the best way that I've learned to live with it.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Car is a 07 Justa with 113k on the motor. How do you diagnose a plugged-up PCV valve? That part is around $450 CAD + X amount of labour cost so I do not want just to replace parts for a hunch.

 

In for this answer as well. Same deal on our '10 Justa with 72k, except it's driven grandma style (averaging 37mpg combined). It burns more oil than my air cooled 911.

The result of a plugged PCV is too much pressure in the valve cover, but I haven't seen the effects I would normally associate with this (oil leaks out of the valve cover/blown gasket, etc).

 

I was told by the dealer the revised PCV cover does not have the mini logo on top like the original. Can anyone confirm that? They also told me the oly way to diagnose it is to remove it and shake it and if you hear a tapping or clicking sound it is still good, if not, it is stuck. Again anyone can confirm this will be great.

 

That person was "half" correct on the badge. When purchasing new valve cover, the MINI badges are not included. Must be purchased separately.

Never heard of shake method for diagnosing that valve cover...not saying it's not true, just that it's new to me. If you're MINI has between 70 and 100K miles..if not gone yet it will soon be, so replacing it now not out of the question or realm of possibilities. New cover comes with gasket, and some folks have been able to swap over the MINI badge from old cover.

 

So if you have a gummed-up PCV is oil burning the only effect of it or is there something else? Will seafoam help?

 

The "shake" method refers to the $5 American PCV valves for older American cars. They had a ball inside that acted as a check valve. If it gummed up, the shake test indicated it was bad if it didn't rattle.

Mini has a round rubber flap under the top of the valve cover that acts as a check valve. Most of the cutout for it shows on top of the valve cover. You can't remove it as the cap is glued in place.

 

My engine is the N 12, naturally aspirated, non S, from 2008. I go through a quart of oil each 700 miles, maybe 650 at my current 105,000 miles, but 'twas the same back at 70,000 mi.

I am looking for a treatment short of rebuilding rings and cleaning valves, etc. The PCV valve seems like a candidate after reading this far. Like many, my car has had frequent oil/filter changes using high quality synthetic oil and is rarely driven hard.

I will be looking for more information about the PCV possibility.

Can it be inspected for relatively little and then replaced if found bad?

 

What was the outcome? Did you end up getting the new valve cover with PCV valve built in? I may be having the same issue with a 2010 Justa - I was disappointed when I ask a local BMW/Mini "specialist" about the valve cover/PCV valve, he didn't seem to know that the PCV valve was built into the cover.

I have a 2010 with about 93,000 kms on it and I thought it would be a fairly reliable car for a step daughter - 100kms in, I have the engine light on all the time and a definite oil burning smell in the cabin. Based on all my research here, it could be several issues and I'd like to know which is the most cost effective to address first.

The mechanic suggested doing an oil change with Liquid Moly 10w60 to see if that would resolve anything, but 1 day after the oil change, the CEL is back on .... I fear I have a lemon, which is disappointing since everything else about the car is in showroom condition, body, interior, brakes, etc.

 

^The word 'lemon' is thrown around way too loosely (unless you are referring to N14s, bahaha).

Ours goes through oil but has never thrown a CEL, I would get that read immediately for fear of chain tensioner issues or something more ominous. I recently found a sneaky oil leak, the weirdest one I've seen in 10 years of wrenching. I believe it's the crank seal, which is somehow not actually dripping (I'm a driveway ****) despite dousing the belt and the entire passenger side of the bay in oil.

That, combined with a potentially defective PCV, is likely causing the oil consumption issues we've had. But I'm loathe to drop $300+ on the updated part without more evidence, symptoms of which are hard to find online. Through searching it seems the crank seal leak is more common than I thought, so worth checking for most people.

Tldr; I'm interested in more info, if anyone has recent experience, on the updated P/N PCV valve cover.