MINI dealer says...
Discussion
...a 56 reg Cooper using 2 litres of oil in 9 months and under 10k miles is ok? Would you guys agree?
My other half bought a Cooper from a MINI dealer in Feb this year, I checked the oil level yesterday, as you do, and it was very low. As it's in warranty and I thought there might be an issue of excessive oil use, she popped over our local dealer this morning to get it checked.
The technician said all appears fine, filled it back up and sent her on her way. He DIDN'T run a diagnostic check as he said it wasn't necessary, plus it bloody costs £90!
I could understand a performance car, driven hard, could use a bit of oil [my Integra did], but my OH certainly doesn't drive hard! So what do you reckon?
On another note, I've always thought the engine sounds pretty awful; harsh, unrefined are just a couple of words I'd use to describe it. While she was at the dealer I told her to mention this to the tech, which she did - his answer, 'they all sound like that'! Anyone here got a Cooper of a similar age and surprised by the somewhat 'noisy' engine??
Sorry I haven't put this in the MINI forum, it seems a bit quiet over there.
My other half bought a Cooper from a MINI dealer in Feb this year, I checked the oil level yesterday, as you do, and it was very low. As it's in warranty and I thought there might be an issue of excessive oil use, she popped over our local dealer this morning to get it checked.
The technician said all appears fine, filled it back up and sent her on her way. He DIDN'T run a diagnostic check as he said it wasn't necessary, plus it bloody costs £90!
I could understand a performance car, driven hard, could use a bit of oil [my Integra did], but my OH certainly doesn't drive hard! So what do you reckon?
On another note, I've always thought the engine sounds pretty awful; harsh, unrefined are just a couple of words I'd use to describe it. While she was at the dealer I told her to mention this to the tech, which she did - his answer, 'they all sound like that'! Anyone here got a Cooper of a similar age and surprised by the somewhat 'noisy' engine??
Sorry I haven't put this in the MINI forum, it seems a bit quiet over there.
I'm guessing on a 56 its one of the early R56 mini's?
My GF has an 09 R56 which uses a bit of oil (she does a good few more miles though) and sounds a bit agricultural from cold, mini will tell you its a "characteristic"!!! The dip-stick is a bloody nightmare!
I had an older mini with the lower-tech chrysler derived engine and it didnt use anywhere near as much oil by comparison, nowhere near as efficient mpg wise mind!
My GF has an 09 R56 which uses a bit of oil (she does a good few more miles though) and sounds a bit agricultural from cold, mini will tell you its a "characteristic"!!! The dip-stick is a bloody nightmare!
I had an older mini with the lower-tech chrysler derived engine and it didnt use anywhere near as much oil by comparison, nowhere near as efficient mpg wise mind!
Edited by mx5cl on Thursday 8th November 10:18
BUG4LIFE said:
...a 56 reg Cooper using 2 litres of oil in 9 months and under 10k miles is ok? Would you guys agree?
My wife's Cooper S does - she only uses it for local runs and these engines are known for their excessive oil thirst when used in such a way - I'm putting in a litre every couple of months and she's doing 6k a year in it.
clarkey said:
That's not considered high usage now - for most new cars something like a litre every 1000 miles is thought to be excessive (or it could be half a litre, I can't remember. Either way it's a lot). The answer is to check the oil more often!!
Tis true! Guess I've been lulled into a false sense of security with my 328 BM, which seems to use next to no oil...BUG4LIFE said:
...a 56 reg Cooper using 2 litres of oil in 9 months and under 10k miles is ok? Would you guys agree?
My other half bought a Cooper from a MINI dealer in Feb this year, I checked the oil level yesterday, as you do, and it was very low. As it's in warranty and I thought there might be an issue of excessive oil use, she popped over our local dealer this morning to get it checked.
The technician said all appears fine, filled it back up and sent her on her way. He DIDN'T run a diagnostic check as he said it wasn't necessary, plus it bloody costs £90!
I could understand a performance car, driven hard, could use a bit of oil [my Integra did], but my OH certainly doesn't drive hard! So what do you reckon?
On another note, I've always thought the engine sounds pretty awful; harsh, unrefined are just a couple of words I'd use to describe it. While she was at the dealer I told her to mention this to the tech, which she did - his answer, 'they all sound like that'! Anyone here got a Cooper of a similar age and surprised by the somewhat 'noisy' engine??
Sorry I haven't put this in the MINI forum, it seems a bit quiet over there.
Doesn't sound too severe to me. Bear in mind that BMW considered 1l of oil per 500 miles on the E39 M5 acceptable...My other half bought a Cooper from a MINI dealer in Feb this year, I checked the oil level yesterday, as you do, and it was very low. As it's in warranty and I thought there might be an issue of excessive oil use, she popped over our local dealer this morning to get it checked.
The technician said all appears fine, filled it back up and sent her on her way. He DIDN'T run a diagnostic check as he said it wasn't necessary, plus it bloody costs £90!
I could understand a performance car, driven hard, could use a bit of oil [my Integra did], but my OH certainly doesn't drive hard! So what do you reckon?
On another note, I've always thought the engine sounds pretty awful; harsh, unrefined are just a couple of words I'd use to describe it. While she was at the dealer I told her to mention this to the tech, which she did - his answer, 'they all sound like that'! Anyone here got a Cooper of a similar age and surprised by the somewhat 'noisy' engine??
Sorry I haven't put this in the MINI forum, it seems a bit quiet over there.
My Mum has a 2004 Cooper S which uses quite a lot of oil as well. Albeit her's has done 120k miles.
It's a crap engine really. Nothing to worry about unless your O/H lets it run dry.
Great Pretender said:
Doesn't sound too severe to me. Bear in mind that BMW considered 1l of oil per 500 miles on the E39 M5 acceptable...
My Mum has a 2004 Cooper S which uses quite a lot of oil as well. Albeit her's has done 120k miles.
It's a crap engine really. Nothing to worry about unless your O/H lets it run dry.
I am surprised how rough the engine is really, but I figured they're not made to be super refined so it hasn't worried me. Fun car to drive though.My Mum has a 2004 Cooper S which uses quite a lot of oil as well. Albeit her's has done 120k miles.
It's a crap engine really. Nothing to worry about unless your O/H lets it run dry.
Hmmm, my 08 Cooper might have required half a litre between services (20-25K miles) at most, and actually the engine was quite refined (which was a good thing as it needed all the revs available not to be a moving road block on the Autobahn when accedlerating past an obstruction that had gone back to their lane, with a load of the usual suspects at your rear bumper 
).
Which I guess only goes to show how different engines can be after a certain amount of miles owing to running in, useage and maintenance. I'm sure yours will be well within 'acceptable' standards.
).Which I guess only goes to show how different engines can be after a certain amount of miles owing to running in, useage and maintenance. I'm sure yours will be well within 'acceptable' standards.
900T-R said:
Hmmm, my 08 Cooper might have required half a litre between services (20-25K miles) at most, and actually the engine was quite refined (which was a good thing as it needed all the revs available not to be a moving road block on the Autobahn when accedlerating past an obstruction that had gone back to their lane, with a load of the usual suspects at your rear bumper ).
My plan is to listen to some other Coopers, to see if there's a difference... ).currybum said:
Sorry for the double post...but who told you that?
And how did they manage to persuade you it is ok?
Well it's policy with Honda and Ford and Volvo and if you check your vehicle handbook it is probably stated in there also - you can argue it with them if you like but oil is just a consumable that is there to prevent engine wear, and if the engine consumes less than 1 litre per 100km it is not viewed as a fault.And how did they manage to persuade you it is ok?
currybum said:
That is most certainly the case with the VAG 2.0LT engine that according to Audi is ok to use 1L per 1000 miles....you can't just cover up poor engineering with a blanket "it's supposed to do that".
I'm surprised how many people accept it, and then even defend it.
And in not accepting it, where have you got? Had a succesful warranty claim on that basis? or just got shot of the car after harrumphing a bit? I'm surprised how many people accept it, and then even defend it.
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