I did my first oil change yesterday at 1600 miles, wanted to do it at 1200 but didn't order the parts soon enough...

This is probably one of the easiest oil changes I have ever done on a car...

I did replace the oil pan plug with a magnetic plug, the new plug has a neodymium magnet. pretty strong magnet, made it a challenge to get the plug back into the pan :-)
There was a fair amount of metal in the oil which I expected during the break-in period...
A couple of things that made it easy... using a topsider oil vacuum to remove most of the oil, unbolting the coolant reservoir and tying it out of the way with string, and putting a rag under the oil filter (although no oil dripped from the filer housing). I also waited 30 minutes after driving to make sure the oil had settled to the bottom.
Also used 5W-30W Royal Purple oil...

If anyone has been contemplating doing an oil change themselves, this is an easy change to do with no mess at all.....

 

Where did you get your magnetic oil drain plug?

What's Royal Purple oil? Never heard of it.

And what brand of filter did you use?

I thought that these days you didn't need to change the oil as frequently, even for a new car. I've been told to wait and not change it early because they put additives in it for new engines. Who knows?

 

I got the plug from Outmotoring.com, it was $30..
Royal Purple is a synthetic oil, it's a Texas based company but is available nationwide.. I've always used it and never had any problems, a lot of performance cars use it...
I also got the filter from outmotoring, it's a factory MINI filter, actually says BMW Group on the box.

I really wanted to get the magnetic plug installed, you would be surprised how much fine metal is floating in the oil.
Usually mineral oil is used for break-in, I don't know if MINI does. I have always switched the oil out after the break-in with RP. This has always worked for me, most of my cars have had well over a 100,000 miles and never had any problems...

 

Royal Purple manufactures high performance lubricants for most automotive, industrial, marine, motorcycle and racing applications. It is considered the best synthetic oil by many end users and would not hesitate to use it in my MINI (when I get it)

 

So after the first oil change are you going to perform oil changes at the manufacturer recommended 15,000 mile oil change interval?

Which plug is it...the 18mm one? And the filter...doesn't list the R60.

 

Your effort impresses me. I've traditionally allowed dealers to handle all service related issues to prevent a warranty compromise. Having said this, your rationale of changing out the oil after the break in period makes sense. I also like the idea of the magnetic plug, especially since your experience of finding some metal fragments.

So, how did you actually do this? Do you have some stands that you perched the car upon, or what?

Can you, or anyone, comment about whether this would nulify any warranty provision(s)?

 

While the vehicle is under warranty, MINI can call the shots on maintenance especially since they are paying for it. Any additional maintenance is probably unnecessary. The days of 3-5k oil changes have been over for the past 5 years. The last two cars I had told me when to change the oil. I listened and never had a problem with using oil nor any mechanical problems, albeit the oil changes were at 7k intervals. If I used the Mobil 1 extended life oil I probably could have gone 12-15k I just would have had to reset the computer on both.

 

The plug is the M16x1.5, the oil filter didn't change for the CM, I used the R57 from the drop down menu... I also ordered the 27mm socket for removing the filter housing.
I change the oil every 7500 miles, I take it to the dealer for the regular service interval and let them reset the indicator.

 

The car actually sits high enough that you don't need stands, I remove most of the oil via the dipstick tube, I use a vacuum canister called a Topsider ($30). The remaining oil I drain from the pan which is only a few ounces.
I'm good friends with the service manager and some of the techs, they have no issue with the additional oil changes, they tell me that a lot of folks do the same. I use MINI parts and an approved oil, there should be no issues with warranty...

 

Just make sure that you keep records. Type of oil used, type of filter etc. otherwise there could be issues.

 

I have been changing the oil on my 03 Mini OneD every 7500. BMW taking care of every 2nd change and service. The engine has been bullet proof through 170,000 miles of drivers ed. Have just done my own oil/filter change on my 2011 CooperD Countryman All4 @ 7000 miles, it was very easy, the Filter is right in front of you, not under the coolant tank. and I have access to hydraulic lift. I bought the filter from the BMW/Mini dealership. They even wrote down how much oil I would need (5.3ltr). no problems with the warrantee. My only problem was stopping the oil from the filter, as i removed it, from running down the front on the engine. I wonder how BMW are going to do it to prevent that happening!