Last 4 cars in had no oil! (or coolant ,or...)

[BigShow]

I should probably know this but is it best to check oil and other fluids when the car is hot or cold?

[Cooooooperslad]

Oil Cold
Coolant, leave 15 mins after driving at optimum temp

IIRC

[roland2003]

hi Guys, yes weve got an underground oil line direct to the North Sea. Its true we do rely on people checking things as per the book.
ps. The car in this morning also had no coolant in the tank aswell as no oil.

[MINI-Morgan]

Oil I can understand slightly a tiny bit but no water? Where did it go? leaking tank or venting? Tyres? Well if you have a crash its your wrists that the cuffs will be on. Maybe im just naive that I think people in this day and age must know how to pump up a tyre atleast once a month? Or go to a petrol station and use one of the free ones? A major problem with the runflats as I experienced but once I fitted normal road tyres they barely loose any pressure a month let alone a week like we should all be checking.

Rant over..... hehe

[Richard Crofts]

I just don't get why people don't notice?! I mean water is actually visable when you open the bonnet as is brakes. I would never leave my car more than 2 days without checking at least one of the fluids, even if its just a visual check on coolant as i'm topping up the washers!

I get the guy from Ireland who got the car in blackpool and then went to Roland ... but the others?!

[Nath316]

like alot of things its the little things that count

I always check oil screenwash coolant each week

this can save yur life afterall

some people do not do this and I am not pointin fingers but they are a necessary evil(?)

[Ant FR]

i check my oil every week, but then my car really does like a drink of Oil, usually about a litre every 1000 miles, which is about the same as my mates RS4. The one that puzzles me though is the Header tank losing water, I mean how does it lose so much,

I have also noticed recently my dip stick is bloody hard to remove, so think imay need a new one.

[roland2003]

The cap has a built in pressure release valve, it gets out as steam.(very slowly over a period of time) or the tank is split around the seam and has a slow leak. These are the 2 main causes.

[MINI-Morgan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ant FR (original)

i check my oil every week, but then my car really does like a drink of Oil, usually about a litre every 1000 miles, which is about the same as my mates RS4. The one that puzzles me though is the Header tank losing water, I mean how does it lose so much,

I have also noticed recently my dip stick is bloody hard to remove, so think imay need a new one.

How much Oil??? Mine takes a litre every 10,000miles!

[robbo mcs]

Hi,

I believe that looking after your car should be a requirement of getting a driving license. You should have to prove you can

• Correctly check and adjust tyre pressure
• Change a flat tyre
• Check oil / coolant / brake fluid levels
• Understand tyre wear eg when shown sample tyres, state which ones are OK and which are illegal

If you can't do those, you should not have a license

Thats the easy part, the hard part is implementing proper driver training as part of the license structure.

Cheers

Robbo

[Lucky Dave]

I used to check my oil every week, and it never used a drop, even when it used to do high miles.

to this day it does not drop on the dip stick between services, it just get blacker!

[PmP]

My S ran out of coolant once as fan had stopped working. I tend to check both oil and coolant regualrly at least every weekend, as I know from experience the coolant can dissappear so quickly. And the car can decide to use a little oil every now and then.

[Ant FR]

whats the best method of topping up the header tank, is it best to add a mixture of water and coolant, if so what ratio, I am always worried about doing damage to a core plug but messing up the mixture or putting wrong coolant in.

[Ant FR]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINI-Morgan (original)

How much Oil??? Mine takes a litre every 10,000miles!

But i do have a very very heavy right foot, actually thinking about it its actually nearer 1 litre every 2000 miles. And that is defo in the acceptable level if you ask me. As i said my mates RS4 uses well over a litre every 1000 miles and some RS4's use more than that. Another guy i know has an RX8 and that virtually needs a top up every time he feels the tank with petrol.

But hey least i check it, could be worse if i did'nt i suppose.

[ScottyBoy]

My MCS got serviced on the 29/9/07, i picked the car up put it in the garage and went back to work over Ireland, got home yesterday afternoon and checked everything and there was below minimum coolant about 1cm left in the bottom of the tank ( not sure how bad that is) but i went back to the dealer to see if they topped it up and the answer was

We dont DO coolant........

EDIT: That was an inspection 1 at 27000 miles