Oil Gauge

[SilverBullet]

I bought my Mini in December, and the dealership replaced the oil and such. I called this week to make sure. Is there any way to reset the oil light/reminder?

Also, I might as well ask the experts. Since I'm not doing too much other than city driving. So will I need to change the oil more than once a year?

[Tmini08]

I am no expert, but I would suggest you change the oil every 5k or 6k miles.

[SilverBullet]

Well that is what I did for my old car, doing it about every 3-5k but the dealership told me once a year in the Mini.

I thought it was weird that the car would only need it once a year. Even my extended maintenance warranty only pays for it once a year. So I don't really understand about all of that.

[BThayer23]

Think of the "free maintenance" plan as supplemental maintenance. The dealership will pay for your oil change every time the service counter runs down to zero (it shows up for a few seconds in place of the clock whenever you start the car). I would strongly advise changing your oil every 5,000 miles with synthetic oil (or 1 year, whichever comes sooner). If you're paying for it, don't reset the service interval counter, because that will only delay your free oil change.

See pictures here for what happens when you don't change your oil often: http://www.tarheelminis.org/showthre...your-dipstick!

Trust me, modern precision engines need the oil changed every 5,000-7,000 miles. Synthetic oil tends to get better after a couple thousand miles, and it's overdue at 10,000 miles, so an oil change interval of 5,000 miles is best.

[SilverBullet]

Thanks for the heads up, he definitely didn't explain it like that during the meetings. And I definitely do not like the looks of that engine at all. Not at all.

[jcauseyfd]

To echo what Ben posted, the MINI has a computer that tracks the distance between oil changes. I'm not sure how it works on the 1st Gens like you have, but on the 2nd Gen cars the computer is supposed to adjust the distance based on driving style. I'm not sure anyone really knows, but it probably factors in things like mileage, possibly revs, speed, etc. In addition, MINI recommends changing the oil at least once a year even if you don't hit that calculated distance. Your MA probably assumes you will hit the one year mark before the mileage mark, which is why he told you change it at a year.

MINIs use synthetic oil, which should last longer than regular dino oil. On top of that, at least for the 2nd Gens they also use synthetic oil that is supposed to be formulated for "long life", e.g. 15k - 20k between oil changes. Unlike Ben, I do not think a 5,000 mile interval is necessary. If you are really compulsive, you should send your oil off for testing at each oil change (heck, pull a sample between oil changes even) and monitor this over time to better establish the appropriate interval. If you are not going to go the testing route, then educate yourself as best you can and make a decision that you will be comfortable with.

[BThayer23]

I'm not sure how it works on the 1st Gens like you have, but on the 2nd Gen cars the computer is supposed to adjust the distance based on driving style. I'm not sure anyone really knows, but it probably factors in things like mileage, possibly revs, speed, etc.

We do know how it works. It counts gallons of gas burned, and multiplies that by your average speed to come up with an estimated distance. If you think about it, if you drive harder you'll get fewer mpg and burn more gas, hence the quicker service interval. If you drive like my grandma, you'll get higher mpg, burn less fuel, and get a longer service interval.

MINIs use synthetic oil, which should last longer than regular dino oil. On top of that, at least for the 2nd Gens they also use synthetic oil that is supposed to be formulated for "long life", e.g. 15k - 20k between oil changes. Unlike Ben, I do not think a 5,000 mile interval is necessary. If you are really compulsive, you should send your oil off for testing at each oil change (heck, pull a sample between oil changes even) and monitor this over time to better establish the appropriate interval. If you are not going to go the testing route, then educate yourself as best you can and make a decision that you will be comfortable with.

I respectfully disagree with Jeff and will argue till the death that 5,000 miles is the best oil change interval. 15,000 miles is an appropriate interval to change your cabin air filter (Service I & II), but not your oil. Let's put this in perspective. In 7 years, you're selling your car; put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Let's say it has 200,000 miles on it. Would you rather buy this car if the owner said he had changed the oil every 5,000 miles, or would you rather buy the car that had the oil changed every 15,000-20,000 miles?

Other answers here: http://www.motoringfile.com/2006/03/...visor-answers/

Also ask BlimeyCabrio. I know he did oil analysis on his 2006 convertible.

[jcauseyfd]

We do know how it works. It counts gallons of gas burned, and multiplies that by your average speed to come up with an estimated distance. If you think about it, if you drive harder you'll get fewer mpg and burn more gas, hence the quicker service interval. If you drive like my grandma, you'll get higher mpg, burn less fuel, and get a longer service interval.

Ben, do you have a source for this info?

[BThayer23]

Ben, do you have a source for this info?

Yeah, I read it on Motoringfile a couple years ago, but I couldn't find it in a 5 minute google search. Memory is a blessing and a curse...

[jcauseyfd]

Yeah, I read it on Motoringfile a couple years ago, but I couldn't find it in a 5 minute google search. Memory is a blessing and a curse...

Hehe, wait until you have another 20 years.

[BThayer23]

Ok, I found a great post on www.bimmerforums.com. They've been talking about BMW's and oil for a long time.

Source: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=638610

Attn: newbies,here are your OIL FACTS
maybe this will help stop all the new OIL posts for awhile: new BMW's require synthetic. As far as weight, only certain production dates of M3's and M5's require the use of Castrol TWS 10w-60.

2) The Factory BMW Synth 5w-30 is a version of Castrol TXT Softect sold overseas. A few important things about the BMW oil a) it is a Group III hydrocracked oil which cannot be called synthetic in Europe, b) it is a heavy 30 weight (30 weight can run from 9.3-12.5cst@100c, the BMW oil is about 12.2cst), c) it is a ACEA A3 oil which means that it is approved for longer change intervals and has a HTHS (High Tempurature High Shear) measured at 150c of greater than 3.5.

3) In the US, the only Group IV PAO Synthetics that are available are 1) Mobil 1, 2) Amsoil (but not the Xl-7500), 3) Royal Purple, and 4) German Castrol 0w-30 (it has the red label and says on the back, "Made in Germany). Redline is a Group V PolyEster based oil. All other Castrol, Quaker State, Pennzoil, Valvoline "synthetics" are a Group III hydrocracked oil. It is debated how much better Group IV base oils are than group III, but generally they are considered better.

4) When looking for oil for any BMW that does not require Castrol TWS 10w-60, you want to purchase an oil that has either/both of the following ratings, a) ACEA A3, or b) BMW LL-98 or LL-01.

5) Note that Mobil 1 0w-30, 5w-30, and 10w-30 are NOT ACEA A3 or BMW LL approved oils. This is because they all are thin 30 weight oils (approximately 9.8-10 CST@ 100c) and have HTHS of approximately 3.1. Mobil 1 0w-40 and 15w-50 are A3 rated and the Ow-40 is BMW LL-01 approved. For 99% of climates and users 0w-40 or 5w-40 is the appropriate grade. There are some 0w-30 and 5w-30 oils (like the BMW 5w-30) that are forumlated on the heavier end of the 30 weight scale and are accordingly rated A3. These oils will work well also. LOOK FOR THAT ACEA A3 rating. If the oil doesn't have it, pass on it.

6) Some people seem confused about how oil thickness is measured. The first number (0W, 5w, 10w, 15w, etc) is a measurement of how thick the oil is at tempuratures of -35c- -20c (depends on the grade). The lower this first number the thinner the oil is at LOW tempuratures. The second number (30, 40, 50) refers to oil thickness at 100c (operating tempurature). 30 weight can be from 9.3-12.5 cst, 40 weight from 12.6-16.2 cst, 50 weight from 16.3-22cst (approximate). So you can have two oils, one called a 5w-30 (i.e. bmw oil) another 0w-40 (Mobil 1) that are very similar thicknesses at operating tempurature. Compare this to Mobil 1 Xw-30 which is close to a 20 weight oil at 100c. For more information here is a link with exact numbers

7) BMW's recommended interval of 12,000-15,000 miles is to long. Used oil analysis has shown the BMW oil is generally depleted at 10,000 miles. Running it longer results in excess wear. It is highly recommended that you change your oil once between each BMW recommended interval (approx 7000-7500 miles). If you want to run your oil the BMW recommended interval, I would suggest that you use Mobil 1 0w-40 or Amsoil 5w-40 and change the oil filter at 7500 miles. I would encourage a full oil change at 7500 if you want your engine to last.

8) If you want to spend a few hours learning about oil, go to bobistheoilguy.com

Cary
-------------------
but its like a different language.... so which one do you suggest if you were going to change your oil?


Unless you have an M3, in the following order:

1) Mobil 1 0w-40,
2) Mobil 1 0w-40, and
3) Mobil 1 0w-40

If you can't find the 0w-40, the Mobil 1 SUV 5w-40 is a great oil. Can't find either of these, then go to your dealer and get the BMW 5w-30.

The Mobil 1 0w-40 is a great oil, widely available (Walmart, Checker, Kragen, Autozone]), and moderately priced. It is factory fill in Mercedes AMG, Porsche, and Austin Martin.

[SIZE=1]---------- Post added at 04:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:10 PM ----------[/SIZE]

Also, a good post on oil analysis here:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...7&postcount=27

[jcauseyfd]

7) BMW's recommended interval of 12,000-15,000 miles is to long. Used oil analysis has shown the BMW oil is generally depleted at 10,000 miles. Running it longer results in excess wear. It is highly recommended that you change your oil once between each BMW recommended interval (approx 7000-7500 miles). If you want to run your oil the BMW recommended interval, I would suggest that you use Mobil 1 0w-40 or Amsoil 5w-40 and change the oil filter at 7500 miles. I would encourage a full oil change at 7500 if you want your engine to last.

Just note that number 7 is not a fact, it is an opinion.

[Augie05]

If you plan to keep your Mini beyond the warranty period then I recommend changing the oil every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. For extra insurance, I changed my oil the first time at 1,500 miles right after break-in. I now have 15K miles and its oil will be changed next week for the 4th time. This will be my second "free" change and the first one based on the service indicator.

I "plan" to keep my Mini for the long haul and I maintain it accordingly. Many may say that my four oil changes were overkill but it works for me and my peace of mind. If you are the type of person who trades his/her car every 3 years then I guess it does not really matter how often you change your oil. (other than it might be an issue for the new owner....)

BTW, my two other cars have well over 100K miles on their clocks and they run like new and I plan to keep them for another 50-100k miles.

[ohbuga]

Not that it matters but I have point out that, in the UK most cars have been at a 12000 or once a year oil change for almost as long as I can remember or at least owed cars. I do understand that if you run hard your oil may need changing earlier. Unless there is something very different with the oils in the US then I can see no reason that you can not go by the service indicator or once a year providing you are not driving hard a lot of the time.

[JumpingJackFlash]

Here are two links to reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_o...nthetic_blends
http://www.mobil.com/australia-engli..._V_Mineral.asp

...

My father and I have been using synthetic oil since the early 1990s. Although I cannot confirm, he often said fully-synthetic oil is kinda like liquid teflon. It has a higher temperature resistance against thermal breakdown and tends to smoke less if any blowby occurs. He put Castrol 5W-50 in his '89 S-10 pickup during the 14 years he had it, changed the filter every 5,000 miles, and changed the oil itself every 10,000 miles. It had over 156,000 miles when my dad traded it in, and it never smoked.

Now, I did not know it then, but the main reason for a given viscocity on the low end is the clearance between the bearings in the crank and connecting rod journals. 5W-30 is a typical viscocity weight oil that GM used for many years in the older 1st-generation V8 blocks. By the time they came out with the LSx series engines (e.g. '98-'02 Camaros), the viscocity went to 0W-20. It's almost like water. It's that thin because the bearing clearances are much tighter. Too high of a viscocity oil will actually cause a lack of proper lubrication.

Now, when I ran hot-rod V8 GM blocks, I tended to use 10W-40 oil in them, primarily because it was cheaper and more common to find in just about any store. To my best knowledge, changing the viscocity here did not really cause any problems. But it's definitely more of a concern going back-and-forth between 5W-x and 0W-x viscocity weight oils. And, in my father's case, I would not have run such a high-value viscocity like 5W-50; I would have kept it at 5W30. The only thing I can recall in this case is that there were not as many grades of synthetic oil available on the market back then.

...

In my old '02 MCS, I used the computer as a primary gauge of the life of the oil. I put about 15,000 miles on it a year, so changing the oil once a year balanced out across the board. Even though the engine manual and engine sticker said Mini recommends Castrol, to my best knowledge, Checkered Flag Mini uses Mobil 1. I used this myself when I started to change my own oil.

The '02 MCS had 105,000 miles in it when my buddy changed the oil pan gasket in May 2009. When he pulled the pan off, he said there was "no grit, grime or sludge inside the engine compartment. It still looks brand new." This led me to believe the motor would go another 100,000 miles before any significant problems occurred.

...

It is true you should change your oil at least once a year, even if you do not meet the 15,000-mile interval. The main reason is the oil will have accumlulated too many impurities, making it less optimal in protecting your engine life. For this very reason, if you decide to store an old engine block for an extended period of time, make sure to at least drain out the old oil.

Synthetic oil is designed for the purposes of increased longevity and higher temperature resistance. I cannot tell anyone here how often you should change your oil. Only you know how hard you drive your Mini. With general driving (a balance between city and highway, plus an occasional hard acceleration), it is my opinion that you are wasting money if you change your oil every 3,000 or 5,000 miles, especially at $7.50/quart (or whatever the current cost is). If you use Mobil 1, just make sure you know which one you are buying. They make both regular synthetic oil and a super-high grade synthetic oil.