last night i was driving along sunset blvd on my way to dinner... anyhow, i heard a muffled "bump". almost as though i hit something. drove for 2 or 3 blocks and smoke started to come out from the bonnet. popped it open and there was oil on left side of the engine bay. i don't know much about my mini's engine/oil/etc... but i do know that it was engine oil. on another note, i went in for my oil change at 10000, had an oil leak immediately... took it back to my dealer and it turned out that the oil filter was faulty and it did not allow the cover to completely seal... they fixed it that day. i took it in yesterday because the "service" mileage was going backwards everytime i drove it (from 15500 to 15000, then 14775, then 14550, etc. it's now at 12775 and my actual mileage is at 13375.) The dealer knew of my previous incident and told me that the service count was receding because of the oil "cap off" from the fix... but they didn't actually look at the car. just told me to bring it in at 15500. Now here's my situation, maintenance is closed today so im taking it in tomorrow. but i was just wondering if anybody had an idea of what this is... thanks in advance...

 

Did you find out where the oil came from? Did something explode inside your engine bay?

I don't understand your coment with recedding service mileage...they're supposed to count down when you drove...oh the mileage you actually drive doesn't quite match the coutndown mileage due to other influencing factors like injector ontime, coolant temp, etc. Basically harder you drive, the SIA will count down faster.

 

counter should start at 10000 & count down

 

My motor mount went bad. oil was coming from the mount itself.
took it in and the dealer fixed it no questions asked. it took all day but bruce leeroy is happy again

as for the counter thing... im stupid. i didnt realize it was counting backwards.

 

I too recently had my scheduled oil change done @ the dealer... a couple of days ago while having my 19% pulley installed, Eric @ Helix observed some oil at the base of the oil pan... I'm really hoping that my oil leak is the same problem that you encountered, making for an easy fix... i'm setting up an appointment next week w/the dealer.

MotorOn,

 

You seem to be more casual in your maintenance than I am. I double check the maintenance to be sure the tech correctly installed the filter. The last thing I wold want is for the engine to get fried due to a maintenance lapse.

 

hhhmmmm... i hear what you're saying, didn't think i would have to double check the work of reputable BMW mechanics...
I do check the oil everyweek, the level is fine... i think it's more of a slight seep instead of a constant leak...