Not that I didn't believe you, but when it comes to the health of my MINI, I'm a little ****. So I Googled "NAPA filter WIX" and it appears you are correct, sir.

Gracias.

 

The only problem I have had with the NAPA filters is when you unscrew the housing to change the filter, it falls out and throws oil everywhere down the back of the engine. I guess it's the plastic ends or something because the OEM filter sticks in the housing real good.

 

No its cool, only reason i know is because my Dad ran the NAPA whare house here in fresno for 25 years and i worked for NAPA for 3 years when i was in college as a stock boy in the sacramento whare house. I am really really good friends with someone who works for WIX's (This is how i get my Filters at cost) So if you have any questions about something NAPA or WIXS sells i can most likely get you an answer if i don't know it already.

 

Can some please explain to me why they do not trust the oil indicator? MINI is not the only vehicle nowadays that uses this. My buddies 2001 Chevy Silverado has this feature and with his driving style, which varies quite a bit. He has gone as long as 15,000 mile to as short as 3500 mile, and that was on non-synthetic.
I have been reading all the great synthetic oil information on here and doing research about the change interval. From what I have read here on NAM if there is a question then send it out for analysis.
I understand that this is the live blood of the engine, however, I also understand that I am not using oil designed for a 1927 Ford Model T, technology has done wonders in all aspects of our lives.
Just wondering that is all, maybe some one can explain this to me as I asked.
Happy Motoring.

- KP

 

The basic premise of we non-believers tends to be that BMW/MINI are only on the hook for 50K, so they optimize the change intervals to minimize maintenance costs while ensuring the engine will 'last' through the warranty period.
That, and the whole idea of leaving dirty oil (just look at it!) in a car for that long is abhorent. Some use oil analysis to test the properties and particulates in the oil as a failsafe.
My $0.02

 

My NAPA filter sticks in the housing... no drips, no problem. Maybe your installing it upside down? I did notice that the supplied O-ring isn't quite the same size as the OEM, it's a little thiner. It probably works fine but I've been reusing the OEM (after cleaning and checking it closely).

 

The ends of the filter are different sizes, so you can't put it in upside down.
It may have just been a single incident....

 

Mr Rowland

I can see your concern if BMW/MINI was the only manufacturer in the industry doing this. Oil technology has come a long way from the 1950s, and the cars in Europe have been going strong with intervals up to and over 10,000 miles since the late 1980s. The 3 month/3000 mile oil change has also been suggested that it was introduced by the oil companies themselves.
I do not have a problem with people doing this if it makes them more comfortable. I just do not understand how in these days of iPods, Big Screen HDTVs and Synthetic Oil people are still preaching this as 'you better or you will have problems.'
Are some people still that afraid of technology? Just my $0.02
Happy Motoring.

- KP

Thought these was interesting found it while doing research on this topic.

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html
http://www.allpar.com/eek/synthetic.html

 

The only real way to tell is if you send a sample of your used oil out to be analyzed. Every oil is made of different base stocks and has different additives. You can't be sure that oil 'A' will last as long as oil 'B' because they are both synthetics. Still, when driven on the street, synthetics should have no problem going well over 6k miles between a change. As for European cars, they can go 10k+ miles because they have been designed with very large sumps so oil circulates through the engine less often, therefore, it breaks down slower.

 

Since cars have been manufactured on a mass scale, there is a certain amount of obsolescence built into them so that you have to buy another one down the road (but not too far down the road). Part of the reason today's manufacturers come out with redesigned models every three or four years is so that they can sell you the latest and the greatest. (Same thing applies to pro sports jerseys these days, but I digress).

The problem today is that obsolescence is now mostly built into a car's design aesthetic and features and not its basic structure. Why? Because the basic structure (body and drivetrain) is much, much, much better built than in cars made just 10 years ago. Designs are better, tolerances are smaller, and computer control allows engines to run with an efficiency and within parameters that are much narrower than before.

Carmakers know that the vast majority of car owners will get a new ride every 3-5 years. A generation ago, that wasn't the case for most; one owned a car for 8-10 years. Warranties are more of a selling point for that reason and several others. In the 'old' days, it was easy to fix a car yourself as well as perform maintenance. Today, it's impossible to do that in many cases with computer control, electronics everywhere and complex luxury items that a backyard mechanic can't (and shouldn't) have to deal with.

How does all of this relate to oil and the recommended change interval? Simply put, MINI knows its cars will last 50K on a 10K (on average) oil-change interval because of current manufacturing abilities and advanced oil blends. (If the Cooper were built in 1986 instead of 2006, the interval would be 3-4K miles. Manufacturer-recommended oil-change intervals have been creeping upward since the early 1990s; this is true of tune-up intervals, too). It's also cheap for a dealer to do an oil change and all of the maintenance up to 36K miles (and it's a GREAT selling point). But oil -- even synthetic oil -- still breaks down and friction still happens, so that even at 100K, such a wide interval may not be affecting it much, but at 200K, breakdown is likely imminent.

The thing is, most of us won't own the car to 100K. But the kicker is that popular culture still demands that a quality car last into six-digit mileage figures. Today's cars -- even poorly made ones -- can easily last until that point mechanially. But societally, we don't know that.

That's the built-in obsolescence; manufacturers can get away with requiring less maintenance for a car that really should be having more of it to last longer. But virtually none of us will own it (or WANT to own it) that long.

 

I use WIX branded. and do my LOF myself, we don't get the FREE LOF like you guys south of the border.


The napa store in town has pissed us off... LONG STORY...

 

I spoke to the owner of a Local MINI garage here and he said that those following the recommended oil changes from MINI WERE starting to see problems around 75K+ miles.

The fact is, there is no free ride. Your paying for the oil changes in the price of the car ... they are not free. MINI warrants the car for a period of time and then its your money to fix it.

Engines are becoming more reliable in terms of plugs changes every 100K miles and such.

However ... more and more cars are coming out with 20K mile recommendations between oil changes using synthetics. This is a matter of economics and your correct ... MINI wants you to buy another $25K car in 4 years or move up to a 3 Series car.

This is, however, different as you move up in price. If you drop $80K in a car and they tell you to change oil every 20K miles, do you really believe they want to take the chance of the engine dying at 100K miles? AH ... no. They want you to buy another $100K car when its time. Car makers vary but technology marches on.

 

Just to clarify, I've never said 'you better or you will have problems'. My philosophy is more along the lines of 'For the $30, *I* feel better knowing that I've got fresher cleaner oil flowing through my engine.' In my case, I hit the one year mark well before I hit the mileage recommendations, so it's kind of moot. There's nothing magical about 5K, or 15K miles that makes oil 'stop working' - over time oil absorbs combustion byproducts and contaminants in addition to breaking down. The fewer contaminants it carries, the better. It comes back to a tradeoff of money and time vs. performance.

On a practical level - ever had a ipod go belly up? Even new technology is not infallable.
On the other hand, I personally have never seen an engine problem that could be directly attributed to dirty oil - it's more of a gradual thing. So in the end it's more of a subjective than objective exercise. Even for those who do the oil analysis thing (for me, given the cost of the analysis, shipping the sample, etc., I'd just as soon do an oil change!)

 

Yes I agree, nothing is FREE, it is worked into the price.. BUT... we pay a lot more for our cars up here, even with the CDN $ being stronger...

I bought mine in 04, it is an 04 Cooper.. I paid $35,000CDN for it.. I know of ppl that have bought in the US, shipped it here, and even after exchange.. saved about $7,000 CDN.

 

I agree with the $30 is cheep to make me feel better about my MINI.
I will be keeping it for 100K, or more. Every car I have ever had I have put at least that much on, even ones I bought used.

However, like has been said, oil change is one of the simple things we can do to the car without a lot of equipment.
I just like to work on my car, and changing the oil gives me satisfaction.

To each their own. One of the aspects I have liked about this site.

 

This is true. One odd thing: my '89 Jeep had a required interval of 3 months or 3,000 miles. Then, my '00 Intrepid by the same maker (Chrysler) said every 6 months. I didn't really trust them at the time and went for 5 months since I didn't hit 6,000 miles by then. NOW Mini is saying once a year? Something just doesn't seem to add up. I'm probably going to do mine between dealer-scheduled changes because it just feels wrong to let the oil sit in the car for so long. Makes me wonder if BMW will be the target of class-action lawsuits in the next 4-5 years. We'll see. BTW, if there are indeed oil-related issues popping up on Minis, we should all get together and file a class-action lawsuit against BMW if our engines are suffering from premature wear because of poor lubrication. For now, I'm still going to do mine just a little more frequently than they require. Even synth oil needs to be replaced eventually and this is why I'm worried about how the dealers are scheduling the oil changes.

 

DO NOT BUY STP Oil FIlters. I went to my local parts store and picked up a STP oil filter(this is what the computer at the store told me to get), I go home and change my oil only to find out that it is leaking around the gasket by the filter. I go and get another filter (STP) and replace it and sure enough it was still leaking. At this point I make the 75 mile trek to Ralph Shomp Mini in Denver, and get an official Mini oil filter, I told the tech about what I had experienced, and he told me that to his knowledge NOBODY should be making the mini oil filter. Anyway I went home change the filter again and sure enough it stopped leaking. The O-ring gasket from STP is about 2/3 to small. I have contacted STP through a nice angry email and hope to hear back soon. SO the moral of my story is make sure it is the OEM Mini brand of oil filter.

 

Rockin, that is a great analysis.

The only thing I disagree with (and really its more a thing
I heard clark howard say) is the trading up to a 3 series part.
(I've had two of them btw).

I don't think there are many people out there that buy a mini,
wait for a couple of promotions, buy a 3 series, wait for a couple
of promotions, buy a 5 series, wait for a promotion, then buy
a 7 series. They are all so different. People buy a mini because they
want one. People buy a 3 or 5 because they want one too. If new is
too much, they look at used.

I digress.

I personally think the 15-18k interval is too long. I can't prove it.
I've been changing at 7500 intervals (one I do, one the dealer does).

But your explanation of perceived and real obsolesence really
got me thinking.

Case 1: You intend to keep your mini for a long long time and take
care of it. Say 260,000 miles. That seems to be about the time
you have to start really replacing stuff on a well built car.
Changing the oil every 7500 costs an extra $30 per year. It's an
insurance against what if maybe BMW was just optimizing their
own insterests not yours when they declared 15,000 mile intervals safe.
Not much considering a tank of gas is $60 now.

Case 2: You're not in it for the long term. You got the promotion
and trade up to a 3 series (more likely 1 series ha ha), or, you're just
one of those people that likes to have a car no more than 3 or 4 years.
You go to sell it, and of course you have all the service records.
Case 2.a "Yeah, the official service interval was 15k but i changed
the oil twice as much, because I was really taking care of it".
<person buys it from you at full asking price>
Case 2.b "Yeah, I followed the exact official service intervals".
<person looks at records, sees 15, 18, 19k between oil changes, their
eyes pop out and they run away> (doesn't matter who is right or
wrong most people's eyes will pop out when you say you've gone
18k without changing the oil>

I'm just using hypothetical examples of course to make my point.
Whether you are in it for the short or long term, a good case
can be made to change more frequently, particuarly when the
DIY is like $30.

 

Your Jeep more than likely had the I-6, which was originally designed by AMC in the 70s, your Intrepid the 3.5L V6 (for a time the most powerful NA sixcylinder in the world) designed in the early 90s, one would hope that in a few decades automanufacturers would've improved the engine design some.

I've personally seen a MINI nearing 300K miles following factory recommended oil-change intervals. I'm sure this is an above average driver as far as ease of use on his vehicle goes but even still, I have faith that oil and engine technology has advanced to where this is a possibility with a typically driven car. The caveat to that is that although the engine may still be going strong and not burning any oil, there's probably some element of power lost still. I change my oil every 7500 miles mostly for the peace of mind, but also because I consider some of my driving "severe use" and think I might wear the oil more during my hard runs, that the OBC doesn't fully account for with my easier commuting/stree driving style.

 

Couldn't have been said any better than that!

 

Then why do they ADVERTISE it on their website: it says clearly "free" maintenance service for 3 years? If companies can say something one way and do it another way, that's lying. Plain and simple. I think it's their responsibility to say on the website: "free along the schedule indicated by the trip computer," NOT "free maintenance and oil changes for 3 years."

 

MINI technically isn't lying, since there's no out-of-pocket cost to the buyer for scheduled maintenance during the first 3yr/36k period. All Chows was pointing out was that MINI has already factored the expected costs into the price of the car, so the maintenance isn't really "free" in the strictest, non-advertising sense of the word.

It's like all the "free" stuff you get when you order a set of steak knives off of a late-night TV program. All the extras may be "free", but it would be naive to think that the manufacturer hasn't taken it into account when pricing the steak knives themselves.

And when MINI says "free maintenance an oil changes for three years", I think any reasonable reader would realize that there's some objective criteria that must be met to determine exactly when the car's due for service. Otherwise, you would have people demanding that MINI change their oil every 3,000 miles (or every 1,000 miles, or even every week).

All that being said, I'm as disgusted as the next person regarding how long the OBC-dictated service intervals are. By the time I hit 50k miles (when my extended maintenance agreement ends), I will have gotten exactly *two* services out of MINI ("oil service" at 12,500 miles and "Inspection I" at 33,200). I've never even qualified for an annual low-mileage oil change, so those two services (along with a set of front wiper blades) are literally everything that I'm getting out of the maintenance agreement.