Most liked posts in thread: MINI raises minimum mileage for scheduled maintenance

I been changing mine at 5000 even when it was under warranty, no way I was gonna wait till 10000 and then 15000.

 

Me too, tho I use a 7500/15k interval.....which works out just about perfectly.

I did the first change on my '09 at about 3K as we were headed out on our first long trip in the car and man was the oil nasty! I can't imagine running that stuff till 15-18K miles.....I changed it again at 10K and it was much much better, it really didn't look like it needed it then, but cheap insurance....

Then I took it in at 1 year and about 15K and the dealer changed it. My service light came on at about 18K so I took it in again just before MITM and they changed it again! So, my next time will be at 25K, when it will be due for tire rotation too. (I know the manual says not too, but my last set of tires lasted 30K, I don't think the fronts will go much more than 15 if I don't rotate them)

All in all I should get 3 "freebies" out of them...

 

Well that's very interesting.......
If MINI / BMW is doing this, there might be an uproar.

You would think that legally they couldn't do that to a customer who signed a purchase agreement for oil change intervals that were in effect at the time of vehicle sales. Even if it's advertised as being free. You accepted the contract expecting a certain number of changes. You should still expect to get that number. Now for those sales after this announcement, well that's a different story. It's what's in effect at the time of sales. :nonod:

 

So what exactly has changed? I thought scheduled service oil changes were when the service counter ran down to zero, or at one year (whichever comes first). I hadn't heard of a minimum mileage. Do you mean that they will no longer change the oil after one year if you've driven less than 6000 miles?

 

There is no "contract" that they will change it before then anyway, although most dealers seem to do it and most owners are convinced they will. If someone signed something that said they will change it earlier for free, I'd like to see it - nothing like that was ever offered to me.

The only "contract" is what's in the service manual, and there it only says they will change it for free in accordance with the CBS computer - no mention of "or one year" - according to my '09 owners and service manuals.

 

Yes, that's what's changed.

OTOH, the thing about a free oil change at one year or when the service counter hits is a myth - they really are only obliged to change it under the service agreement when the onboard computer says to, not at 1 year. It says in the service booklet that MINI requires a yearly oil change, but nowhere do they say they'll pay for it if the computer hasn't called for it.

Most dealers seem to do it anyway at 1 year even if the counter hasn't hit yet - but there's no written requirement that they do so, and some don't.

My dealer does, but some folks on NAM are up in arms because their's didn't or won't.

I appreciate their position, but it doesn't seem worth getting into a pissing match over an oil change - my humble opinion of course......

 

Here's another example of changing the oil on a regular basis and to use fully synthetic irrespective of BMW / MINI changing their oil change service interval.:mad5:

Fluid Motor Union » Willful Disobedience

 

+1

If you care about your MINI or any car you will change it more frequently. MINI/BMW does not care about the long term health of your MINI. Once it is out of warranty they'd love to sell you a new engine if they can.

EDIT.... Them are some ugly pictures Metalman. Yikes!

 

Now I'm just saying, but if you can prove (which would not be hard) you followed BMW's published procedure of 15000 and/or every year and this happened, you would have a strong case for a free engine which I doubt they would contest.
Now, with that said, I have seen this matter spoken of many times, but has anyone who actually followed the 15000 and/or one year changes had any problems?

Jim

 

I think BMW/MINI providing a free anything after the warranty is up is very unlikely. That being said our local dealer has gone to bat for some of their customers after the warranty has expired & helped them find a solution.

 

I was beat down recently on NAM about oil change intervals. I had linked a good article about how, yes, synthetic oil will essentially last forever, but that does not mean that oil will be clean for 15k miles. Then what about the filter? 15k miles is too long for a filter, they get dirty and cooked before then.

 

Well....
I'm not going to cut corners on oil or filters. I do it myself, and often. Factory filter and Castrol Syntec European synthetic.

 

Those pictures definitely illustrate what can happen inside your engine if it's not cared for. It would be more meaningful if we had the maintenance history of those engines. How many years between oil changes and were short trips a contributing factor?

You would think someone driving a BMW (or any other luxury car) would understand the need to have the oil and filter changed at the appropriate time. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Sometimes there's little relationship between wealth and common sense.

 

Many non-car folks feel if the maker says they will change the oil when the puter says it's OK. One reason I would not buy a lease return. I guess if I was leasing a car I wouldn't care either. Since I own them well, I do care.

My old boss used to lease a car & do zero to it. He'd have the oil changed & get it cleaned just before he had to turn it in. He even made fake oil change receipts.

 

I got my first free oil change in Nov 2009 (15000 exactly) at one year. Got the second when it counted down in Apr 2010. Now that it is Nov again, I called and asked for a yearly change. No dice :frown2: and I didn't think so, but it was worth the try. I will now go to 12000 intervals (better then recommended) and keep good records, so if anything happens I have a solid argument.

I have a friend with a 2002, who followed the recommendations to the letter and has had no problems. I do not disagree with those who feel the need to change more often and it would also depend on how you drive your car, but what is the point in developing better and better oil, if you do not take some type of advantage of it and go beyond the old standard? I'm giving it a go and see where it leads, as I have not heard one person report anywhere, that they followed the 15K/Yearly and had any type of problem. All I have seen is that folks are merely afraid to do so. :nonod:

Jim

 

Oh...... I know today's oils are much much better than they have ever been, especially the synthetics. I'm not concerned with the oil breaking down in the 15,000 mile period. With me, at any rate, I'm more concerned with what gets added to the oil in that period of time.
I live 5 minutes away from work. In that short run I don't feel the PCV system and oil get warm enough to deal with the condensation of such a short drive. I've checked my oil filler cap and found water condensation and a white oily emulsion under the cap in the colder months. Then there are the "products of combustion" that continue to build up in that 15,000 mile period along with the minute particles of metal that are supposed to be caught by the filter.
I guess at least for me, I'll stick with the 6,000 mile changes, not because the oil itself is bad, but what is floating around in it. The oil may have seen major improvements but the filters haven't kept up with the change. IMHO

Oh yeah, then there is the "Lifetime" oil in the manual transmission. It'll also get changed before it gets too close to the end of it's "Lifetime". And keep in mind, there is no filter in the manual, only a magnet. But maybe a magnet is "good enough" for a manual (no products of combustion). My $0.02

 

I'm coming up on 110,000 miles on my 03 Justa. Oil has been changed every 5000-6000 miles, and the first change was at about 2500 miles. I feel fine about possible wasting oil:cornut:

Mark

 

One of my first jobs while still in high school, I worked for a guy that had a MGB. If I remember correctly it was something like a 1963 and this was in 1969. So it was 6 years old. The guy never changed the oil or filter, and he was proud of that fact. All he did was check the oil level and top it up from time to time. I could never understand his thought process.