Help! Oil loss in my Cooper Convertable - Dealer not helping!

[Martin F]

My own view is that whilst 0.5litre per 1,000 miles is higher than I would like, it is not totally unreasonable. Some engines do use more oil than others and to top up the oil at every third or fourth tank of fuel is not a great hardship.

But perhaps I am in the minority on this.

[Siany]

Hi Martin F

I just find it frustrating that my Mini is the newest and I'm having to put in loads of oil!

The oldest Mini we have is a 2002 Cooper with 160, 000 miles on the clock which we have only ever had to top up 0.25L in between oil services.

This is my first new car that I have bought, and I seem to be the only person having to fork out lots more. I also feel that I look after my Mini a lot better than the guys at work as their minis are company cars (and we all know how people view company cars!)

[Lawrothegreat]

I might be wrong but I have been informed by a dealer before that you should only fill the oil to the mid-mark anyway and filling it up to the max mark will only result in the car burning it off more quickly. If it is only at the mid-mark, how many miles do you need to cover before it gets to the min mark?

[MINImeat]

Unfortunately, auto makers have to setup a limit that the car has to cross over for oil consumption before it's clearly using too much.
That limit is usually regarded as much too high by owners.
I recommend you keep all documents regarding this problem in a safe place so you can wave it in their faces when the consumption gets to their limit or your motor locks up.
I'm afraid you have no recourse but to monitor your oil level and wait.

[oldmots]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawrothegreat (original)

I might be wrong but I have been informed by a dealer before that you should only fill the oil to the mid-mark anyway and filling it up to the max mark will only result in the car burning it off more quickly. If it is only at the mid-mark, how many miles do you need to cover before it gets to the min mark?

The Dealer is wrong or you have misunderstood them, A car uses oil due to conditions of the engine, there is no relationship to the height of the oil up to normal level except for extenuating circumstances like a hole in the block at a certain level and such.

[Lawrothegreat]

Quote: Originally Posted by oldmots (original)

The Dealer is wrong or you have misunderstood them, A car uses oil due to conditions of the engine, there is no relationship to the height of the oil up to normal level except for extenuating circumstances like a hole in the block at a certain level and such.

That may be the case up to the normal level. The one thing that can be agreed upon though is oil expands as it warms up. So if you filled up to the max level when the engine is cold (say in the morning before its driven) then theoretically you would overfill it and the engine would burn it off more quickly?

Despite tolerance levels are often quoted for engines as being 1 quart / 1,000 miles - it is fair to say this isn't normal on the MINI given everyones experience. Infact it is normal for the MINI to hardly consume any oil, so good luck with pursuing the problem.

[adamsmini]

it mostly depens on you driving style mine is right foot and now slowing down more to enjoy the ride but it could have leaky sump or sump plug

[SiBradbury]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawrothegreat (original)

That may be the case up to the normal level. The one thing that can be agreed upon though is oil expands as it warms up. So if you filled up to the max level when the engine is cold (say in the morning before its driven) then theoretically you would overfill it and the engine would burn it off more quickly?

Not if the MAX level was set with this expansion in mind! The notion that an engine manufacturer would not be quite capable of taking this into consideration seems a extremely unlikely!

[SiBradbury]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawrothegreat (original)

That may be the case up to the normal level. The one thing that can be agreed upon though is oil expands as it warms up. So if you filled up to the max level when the engine is cold (say in the morning before its driven) then theoretically you would overfill it and the engine would burn it off more quickly?

According to the handbook (and other posts on this site) the oil level on the Mini should be checked when the car has reached operating temperature and the engine has been turned off for 10-15 mins. So checking the oil level when cold isn't ideal anyway! Hope this helps!

PS can it really be agreed that oil expands when it warms?

[DaFlake]

Oil does expand a "little" when warm.....

However, the oil to the top of the fill line is a myth and been debunked many times. The engineers have given us a range and you can be at the top or the bottom of the range if you like without doing any damage to the engine. You can even go over and under a little without damage as car makers take human error into consideration as well.

[Martin F]

Quote: Originally Posted by SiBradbury (original)

PS can it really be agreed that oil expands when it warms?

I am sure oil does expand as temperature rises. But so will the engine and sump so whether the level on the dipstick rises will depend on the difference between the coefficients of linear expansion of the various materials involved.

I would doubt that it makes much difference.

I suspect the requirement to check levels after the engine has been run and is warm is so that there is oil in oil pump, galleries, the cam followers etc. If it has been standing the amount of oil drained back into the sump will presumably be affected by how long since the engine was run which might be many hours and so may vary.