Cooper S R56 Oil Indicator Oil Light

[Mulch]

Hi
I just noticed my oil indicator coming on for 1-2 seconds when doing tight right hand turns.
I checked the oil and nothing came up on the dip stick.
I had the oil changed only 30 days ago and have done 2000km since.
No evidence of oil where the car is parked.
No plumes of blue smoke coming out the back.
Has anyone had any experience of significant oil loss from a R56 engine in such a short period or did the mechanic who serviced it fail to fill it up properly?
Cheers
Mulch

[JME]

Most likely they just didn't put enough oil in. The specifications detail how much oil to add if the oil filter is change or if it is not, maybe they used the wrong specification.

Make sure there is no oil running down from the oil filter or from the drain plug.

[Mulch]

I checked and there's no evidence of oil loss from oil filter, sump plug or dipstick spout (or filler cap) but thanks for the tip, I had to google to find the filter.

I got some more oil for the mini. I put in 250mL, waited for 5 mins and dipstick was still clean. I put in another 250mL, waited for 5 mins and was rewarded with 5mm of oil on the bottom of the dipstick. I put in another 250mL, waited another 5 mins and there was between 10 and 15mm of oil on the bottom of the dipstick. So 750mL added in total.

I then went for a gentle drive as per the mini manual for 10.5kms over 12mins stopped, waited 5 mins and then pulled the dipstick. Bugger me, 25 years of owning cars and motorbikes and I couldn't read the bloody dipstick.

The dipstick is a helical coil job with a spear tip and 2 circular bands that are the high and low. The oil is still very clean and mostly clear. Never having seen the dipstick on the high or the low I have no idea how much oil it will pickup and carry from the sump and how much it gets off the spout as you drag it out. If I had to guess I'd say it was just on low however touching it to a paper towel revealed oil from the low to the high. Multiple readings added not much more joy. Clean oil just doesn't show up well on the dipstick and hot oil seems to happily creep round the helicals.

I am at least confident it's not starving of oil so it will go to the garage tomorrow for a look see.

[Mulch]

I didn't make it to garage today but had time to consider the oil scenario a bit more. I deciding it really can't be that hard to read a dipstick so I stuck it into the oil in the oil bottle. Eureka, the reason it was so hard to read was there was previously nothing on it on the coiled sections, sigh. The oil nicely fills the gaps between the coils and you can read the level easily, very clever those Germans.

Anyway after reading up and deciding from google that the thermal expansion of 5-40W Synthetic is about 7-8% volume increase per 100°C and that typical engine operating temperature might be around 200°C I figured it was unlikely I could overfill the mini by adding oil when it was cold given the maximum expansion was likely to be 900cc and that the manual claimed 1l was difference between low and high on the dip stick when measured hot.

So I added another 250mL (now 1l in total) and after 5 minutes there appeared oil on 1 coil of the dipstick, yay! So I added another 250mL and after another 5 minutes oil was 2/3rd of the way to the low point. Finally another 250mL (now 1.5L in total) and the oil measured low cold. I was going to go for a drive to measure the level hot however I had consumed a bit too much Shiraz by that stage.

Long and short of it was the mini was 1.5L down from low when measured cold (and probably slightly less when measured hot).

Tomorrow I'll go to the garage and see what they have to say for themselves. At this stage either they short changed me on oil (my bet) or the mini is consuming 1-1.5L every 2500kms without blowing smoke or any evidence of leaks (unlikely given the number of hits on this thread and no one reporting massive oil losses).

[Mulch]

Well took the mini to the garage today, they swear black and blue they filled it up albeit I'm unconvinced because so far underfilling is the only explaination for where the oil went.
We where able to add one more litre, 2.5l in total of out 4.5l!
Luckily there's a lot in the sump however I'm sure the mini would have run a little hotter than normal due to reduced volume.
I'll be checking the oil every 500km's for the time being until I can work out where it's going (or not).
Any suggestions anyone has on where it might have dissappeared to or similar issues I'd appreciate hearing about.

[oxybluecoop]

Have a read over here.
MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Excessive carbon build-up in engine

[Mulch]

I checked out the thread and the site, a few mysterys there relating to missing oil but no real answers. I'll do some k's this weekend and see how much dissappears.

[iain cooper]

2.5 litres is too much to be an underfill !! ( unless the mechanic was even thicker than normal ) ..............I would say that you either have a leak or the engine is using it on a fairly rapid basis.

how long have you had the car ? did this problem only arise after the service ?

Iain

[Mulch]

Had the car 2 months, changed the oil just after I bought it at 43,200km. Car has now done 45,600km which means 1litre every 1000km being lost if filled up right last service.
No evidence of leaks anywhere, no oil in coolant, no smoke out the back, no misfires......

[Mulch]

Here's an update....
Looks like the mechanic did NOT underfill.
I've been regularly checking oil I have seen it drop in front of my eyes.
It's gone from 3/4full to 1/4 above empty in 500km. It is definitely consuming 1litre every 1000km
It's going to BMW tomorrow for a warranty discussion.
Anyone got any tips?

[Mulch]

Well, I've had an interesting time.

Basically the local dealer saw I'd done my homework and checked around the turbo seals expecting to find evidence of oil everywhere, but came up blank. So they topped me up and sent me on my way for 1000km to come back and measure.

After about 700ks I returned with about 600mL of oil gone. They where convinced and escalated to BMW technical. BMW technical have given the local dealer a highly precise way to measure consumption and they have sent me on my way again for another 1000km. Sigh.

Anyway, looks like they are taking it seriously which gives me some hope of resolution.

I will keep updating this thread until there's an outcome...

[cruzzzo]

followin this with interest.
thanks

[iain cooper]

yes Mulch very interesting...............keep us informed of the progress/outcome.

Iain

[Mulch]

Hi All

I dutifully did about 1100k's in the mini and took it back to the local dealer yesterday who did all the oil measurements as directed by BMW technical. The result was oil consumption of around 900mL/1000km. This was fed back to BMW technical who asked the local dealer to do some tests and were expecting to see blue smoke streaming out the exhaust. There was no smoke to be seen and the tests didn't point to anything.

As a result, the current diagnosis from BMW Technical is Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. They have got the local dealer to seal the engine (i.e. put clamps and seals on the dip stick etc) and I have to do another 1000km's and bring it back so it can be remeasured again. Sigh...

Cheers

Mulch

[mini0420]

The exact same scenario happened to me with the right turn and trying to figure out the dipstick. The warning light is not on and when you look at the dipstick and don't see oil on it you think you're reading it wrong. The dipstick is too short and the warning light does not come on early enough so you can't count on it. With all the other sensors and warnings the car has I thought this basic oil light would be more reliable. I know better to check the oil now with the dipstick.