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Dealer Response Needed

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    Posted: May/10/14 at 8:10am
So, without a dipstick on your new 2014 MINI's how does an owner add oil or check the oil?

Is oil a thing that only a MINI Certified mechanic can handle?
I wish there was a local MINI Dealership, like our Honda, Subaru, Mazada and VW.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wildfamily Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/14 at 8:00am
They don't want "dipsticks" checking the oil at BMW/MINI any more. The car will let you know. :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/14 at 8:15am
When BMW/MINI designs a dipstick that is very difficult to read AND is prone to being bent/damaged it is easy to understand your statement.  I probably have owned 50 motor vehicles in my life and this one has the worst dipstick.  So I guess BMW is just deleting the dipstick to solve a problem they created.

Now they will have computer issues when it comes to reading the oil level.  As we all know computers are so stable that nothing can go wrong there, can go wrong there, can go wrong there....


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CORNERS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/14 at 6:14pm
Stefano and I were trying to check the oil level on his Clubman. Neither of us could read that blasted dipstick. We ended up using the dipstick out of CORNERS (R53) and putting a piece of tape at the correct length. It was the only way we could actually see the oil. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JoeW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/14 at 8:04pm
To check oil on the f56 the engine oil temperature needs to be in the middle of the guage that shows up in the speedometer/tach. Once the engine is warm, you select 'read engine oil level' from the radio display. The car has to be parked on a level surface and at idle. B38 (3 cylinder) takes 5 quarts and the B48 takes 6. 

As for hard to read r56 dipsticks. Wipe the dipstick clean, spray some brake cleaner onto the dipstick end, and then insert it. The brake clean dries out the dipstick and then you can see the definitive mark from the dipstick.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/14 at 6:23am
So the F56 has a series of lights for engine temperature, but no gauge?

Carry around a can of brake cleaner!  Seriously?!?  MINI's are not the most spacious vehicle as you should know.  I was having trouble finding room for Windex and paper towels to keep all the bugs at bay during our most recent adventure. Went through 1-1/2 bottles of Windex and a big roll of paper towels and now it appears that I need a can of brake cleaner.

A better dipstick would be the best idea.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ipeverywhere Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/14 at 10:52am
I recommend the Craven dipstick. Otherwise here is the process I found to read the oil level from the current R56 stick.

1) Take out stick and wipe it clean.
2) Insert 2/3 of the way.
3) Remove and wipe clean.
4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 5 or 10 times.
5) Leave the dip stick out for 20 minutes.
You get ONE chance at step 6
6) Insert stick fully, remove, and read. This is your oil level.

This method works because steps 2 and 3 are "cleaning" the oil off the tube that this dipstick deposits every time you insert fully and remove. Step 5 is there to let whatever oil is left on the tube time to drain down back into the pan. You only get one chance at step 6 because the act of removing the stick at step 6 covers the tube in oil again which will make it impossible to read the stick as soon as you insert.

So, there you go. That's the only way I've found to read it. I now am a happy Craven stick owner.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/14 at 12:13pm
That works! 

I do something similar, but I might wait longer and I put a rag over the open dipstick tube while the stick is out, laying in a position diagonally across the engine to get my attention before I close the hood.  I am old and need all the cues that I can muster :-)


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DneprDave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/14 at 3:36pm
I check the oil when the engine is cold and the car is on a level surface. I just pull the dipstick out and read the level. I can see the oil level clearly because when cold, the oil is a little more viscous and sticks out from the surface of the dipstick a little bit.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/14 at 5:57pm
Dave, that method works OK but what do you do on a long drive?

S.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rockystone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/14 at 6:43pm

I contacted MINI today and asked them the question - here is what came back:

 

"MINI is thrilled to offer a new way of measuring the engine oil level which has many customer benefits:

The electronic readout in the radio display shows the low mark and high oil mark from the comfort of inside your MINI.

The low oil sensor makes it difficult to drop below the low mark thus avoiding oil starvation.

Cleaner: no more greasy hands - more accurate: digital read out (vs. Visual) once engine has reach normal operating temperature.

At MINI, we miss the greasy hands a bit but we think this new way of measuring engine has many more positives than negatives."

 

I appreciate that this is pretty freaky. I was with BMW when the dipstick disapeared and quite a few people had the same reaction. There has been talk of how difficult it has been to actually check the oil in previous engines, so this may be a solution.  It seems like a number of brands are going the same way.

Hope this helps.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/14/14 at 6:05am
Thanks for the response Richard :-)


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DneprDave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/20/14 at 4:45pm
Originally posted by SMOG SMOG wrote:

Dave, that method works OK but what do you do on a long drive?

S.


On an overnight drive I check the oil level in the morning before I start.
So far, my MINI uses less than a pint of oil in 5000 miles.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SMOG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/21/14 at 5:47am
That is what I was doing on the long trip I just took and I too do not use oil at a rate to even notice on the dipstick.

We found very few parking lots for motels to be flat.  Most are sloped away from the motel for obvious reasons so the dipstick was merely a DO I HAVE OIL IN THERE OR NOT situation.

We were driving 7 hours a day for many days in succession both going to the east coast(close) and returning from and the weather was pretty nasty to be standing out in the wind and rain trying to read a dipstick that tough to read in a well lit garage!  Cravenspeed is getting a Fathers Day order....


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