Change my oil every 8,000 miles (every 60 days) and haven't had to add oil between changes. I must be driving a different R56 than the rest of you:arf:
The PCV system in the valve cover has a maze of traps, valves and even a cyclonic separator designed to try and remove oil and moisture. Some of the trapped oil is routed back into the oil pan and some is sucked into the intake as part of the emission requirements. This is not a serviceable part. If it gets clogged, one of the indicators is an increase in oil consumption. This is mentioned in the Bentley repair manual for the R56. Not saying this is what is causing your oil consumption problem but it's one of several possibilities.
2 stroke MINI's who'd a thunk it? :wink: I think the cure is to drive a lot & get those new Pug engine'd MINI's warm. The hardest service a car will see is stop & go short trips.
I changed my own oil at 3000 miles. MINI changed it again at 8000 on the first anniversary. I will change oil every 5000 miles regardless. These motors run hot and the turbos appear to be susceptible to old oil. It takes me half an hour and 45.00 dollars to change my own oil.
One of my High School buddys has worked at the local BMW dealer for over 30 years. He has always stressed early oil changes (a no brainer) at appx. 50% of the factory's recommended oil change interval. I ran into the oil change attitude with our '06 525i a couple years ago and finally had a "Come-to-Jesus" with the Service Manager to settle the arguement. Since the BMW doesn't have a dipstick, you're at the mercy of an idiot light and your ability to keep track of your driving miles. All the more reason to follow the advice of a friend in the know... As everyone has said, your experience is unacceptable and certainly isn't indicative of all BMW/MINI dealerships. It does seem to echo a really piss poor attitude by some who feel they work for a superior car dealer and/or feel they hold a place of higher regard. Sadly and unfortunately they are out there. Best of luck in your future dealings!
I'm not at all surprised. In fact, the OP hasn't even come back to M/A to see if anyone posted information that would be useful to him if he chose to fight.
I understand that people feel the need to express their frustrations. If what happened to OP happened to me, I'd be pretty mad! But at the same time, if I were to take the time to post a complaint, I'd also want to take the time to follow up and respond to those who try to help or at least express their sympathies. It's almost not fair to just drop in, complain, and then breeze out without so much as a goodbye. Oh well, I hope OPs issue gets resolved and he finds something that better suits his needs
If you check out someone's profile, you can see when their last activity was and what they were doing. In your case for example: Last Activity: Today 02:49 PM Current Activity: Viewing Thread New pedals Kind of cool yet creepy at the same time. Any stalkers in the house? :skep: :smilewinkgrin:
I've seen that pop up before, but it is not always, actually what I am currently doing. Only what I had done at some point. I also see that you were one of the last 10 visitors to my profile site. Thanks. Jim
Hi- Thank you for the interest and postings. Here's an update on the turbo saga. BMW dug in and refused any support. The dealer was sympathetic and was indeed helpful, offering discounts on repair parts and service. In the end I found an independent shop to R/R the turbo as well as another shop that rebuilds turbos- both for less than what the dealer quoted by over $500. Borg Warner is the mfgr of the mini turbo and at this time there's a 12 week backlog for the turbo cartridge and none of the Borg Warner distributors had the mini turbo on the shelf anywhere in the US. Some distributors suggested that there's a run on these; maybe my issues are more widespread. Hard to say. As a result I ended up back at the dealer and had to buy a new mini turbo, thankfully they had it on the shelf. Got the new turbo installed and my wife's back on the road. The shop that did the turbo replacement was amazed at BMW's oil change intervals. BMW's pushing it, probably because they're on the hook for maintenance. This was an expensive lesson. Oil changes for minis done more frequently for S models than recommended will avoid huge headaches and tests of resolve. While I appreciate the dealer's help, BMW's attitude stings and I'll consider that when buying more cars, and I need 2 more in the next 6 months; I have a hard time thinking about giving BMW roughly $70K given that experience.
Glad you got the MINI up & running. The fact that turbos are in short supply plus the dealer stocking a turbo says a lot. I think 7,500 mile oil changes are in order. Thanks for coming back here & filling us in. Good luck with the MINI.
There's short supply of almost all components within the automotive supply chain today...not because of the condition that you claim, but because of higher than projected component demand by the OEM's. With raw material commercial lead times in the 13 to 26 week range, having large component replacement parts on the shelf will not come to fruition for the next 14 to 18 months.
Glad you got your issue resolved. It's too bad you had the problems you did, but on the bright side you're now back on the road and ready to motor.