Okay, so today I am changing the oil on my 06 MCS for the 3rd time and I'm thinking, this is one of the easiest cars I have ever changed oil on. I can reach the drain plug without jacking up the car (a plus), and when I unscrew the oil filter, oil does not pour all over the place like on my Miata. I know I was lucky that the factory did not over tighten the drain plug and filter, so that was an easy starting point, but at 55 and for many younger years working in a garage, I have changed many a car's oil and filter so I really think the oil changing of the MINI's has gotten a bad rap. Be careful screwing in the filter canister and the rest is a snap.

I understand the problems if the drain plug and filter have been over tightened, but try and see before you give in to a dealer's prices if you are out of their free service. It's not that hard if you're even remotely handy in the garage.

Just my humble opinion.

Gene

 

I never changed my oil for years because of all the horror stories. Last year I moved to Louisville and took the MINI to a foreign service shop with a good reputation and pow! they screwed it up. left out the spring and center piece that fits in filter. got it home and did not notice oil light for a couple of days, but it came on at idle. they had to buy me a new housing . I decided to change the oil myself after that. It was the easiest change I can remember doing. Since then I changed the spark plugs and it was soo easy.

 

^my light was coming on at idle last time I changed and it turned out the O-ring wasn't seated right.

I think the filter positioning is HORRIBLE! I hate trying to put that thing back on. Then again I may be spoiled from my old bmw where the oil filter was right on top of the engine. now that was a easy oil change.

 

Oh sheesh, y'all are whiners! The MCS oil change is one of the easiest I've ever done in 25+ years of changing oil, save for a slight reach to get at the filter housing, and the need for a lower-profile 36mm wrench (Craftsman 12 pt, $9). Oh - and the need to raise the car, I guess.

I will allow some good-natured beefing about the earlier design (with the spring and such), but the '06 is easy as pie. It's a "one paper towel" oil change!

The only real tips are:

- Unscrew the canister until the o-ring unseats (you'll feel it) and LEAVE IT BE for 5 minutes. Once it drains, you can pull the canister drip-free (but I put a paper towel under there just in case).

- "Be careful screwing in the filter canister and the rest is a snap.": Thread the canister on by hand, and lubricate the o-ring with a little oil (standard procedure). You'll feel the threads engage, then thread by hand as far as you can. Use the socket for final tightening.

- Don't overtighten the oil plug. If it's already overtightened, this is not a "Mini Cooper oil changes are hard" issue, but an issue that can plague any vehicle if a gorilla had their hands on the wrench before you did.

I'm right with you, emsjr...

 

ditto. not bad at all. rhino ramps work great....

 

The easiest to change for me was my S-10 with the 4.3. It had the oil filter behind the headlight.

 

I'm glad many agree with me, I thought for sure I was going to be flamed. With the price of oil going through the roof, I went to WalMart and bought a 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 for under $5.00 bucks a quart, and NAPA for one of their "Gold" filters for under $8.00, so for approx. $30.00 I'm ready to go for a good while.

That's about 1/2 of what MINI of Towson charges.

Try it, you'll find it easy.


Gene

 

A fumoto valve will make oil changes even easier. No need for any tools under the car--just put a pan there, flick the lever. Replace the filter--add oil and you're done.

 

You know, I had one screwed in and it worked great, but my only concern was that it hung down below the crankcase, so I was worried about it maybe getting ground on a speed bump. I put the drain plug back in, but I still have the valve, any grinding? If not, maybe I'll reinstall at the next change.

Gene

 

Rather than start a new thread ...

This weekend I changed the oil on my sister's 2006 MCSa. After unscrewing the filter housing, I could not lift it up through the top (!)

I stood there forever holding the darn thing and and convinced myself that it would not come through the space on the top. I eventually put it down on a suspension part and took it out from the bottom.

I have changed the oil on my 2004 MCS and this was not a problem.

Am I crazy?

(The other thing that was different was that the 2006 had a plastic "air scoop" covering the power steering fan that prevented access to the oil drain plug. Fortunately, it easily comes off with three 'quick release' screws.)

 

You are crazy or you have never changed the oil on an E46 BMW. Next to my 3 series and Z4 the MINI was "challenging".

 

noob

 

Yeah, I think personally the E46 3-Series takes the cake for easy oil changes. I did my MCS's oil for the first time a few weeks ago, and it was pretty easy save for the awkward filter placement.

 

Crap! I have free service from the dealer for 3 years! I won't worry about doing my own oil changes until then!

Dave

 

Unless you the skid plates like I did in my Sonoma, then you had to open a box to get to it.

Also the R53 is easy to change assuming that while the car is lifted up you don't decide to remove the STB and watch the strut go through the holes and then have to frantically call your friends to help you put it back together. I am just saying.
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Speaking from expierence did that about a month ago.

 

Just bend the heat shield out of the way a bit. When you are done bend it back, no harm done.

 

Yeah, oil change is relatively easy on an R53, but on the Jaguar XJR (X308) I had it was even easier, as the drain plug was facing the front of the car, and the oil filter was right next to it with plenty of space around it.

 

As long as you don't mind waiting the ~18,000 miles the maintenance reminder (depending upon driving conditions) says to wait for that "free" oil change. (See chain tensioner issues on the forum) But there's no way I was ever going to wait that long. I change the oil on my Mini every 5k miles.

It's been said here before, but yes, my Mini is one of the easiest oil changes I've ever had to do. I don't know why the dealer acts like it's impossible for a DYI to do it, and people on this forum have bought in to that. I think in general, fewer DYI types buy Minis, so that could be part of the reason why it's considered difficult by many.

 

thread revival of the day award!

last touched June 2010.

 

They'll change the oil annually without charge, regardless of the mileage.
As I only drive 5000 miles a year, it's worked out well for me.

Dave

 

As long as you drive such a limited amount you are golden. For anyone who drives their MINI a normal amount RobertJ has given very sound advice.

 

I have never had a hard oil change on any car

 

I bought my Mini used, so before I even left town, I picked up everything I would need for an oil change. It was a cake walk. I do believe by all the threads and comments in these forums however, most Mini owners drive their vehicles, not work on them. And it's all gooooood!!!

 

Just changed my oil for the first time and it was stunningly simple --- I expected possible problems due to reading around but now realize that most "problems" were associated with the earlier "cageless" filter design, but I was still somewhat worried I'd somehow manage to yuck up the bypass/drainback or something --- but no such worries, all is well it seems so far, light goes out and doesn't come back on, and I reset the interval warning from reading prior posts about the trip odo method --- still gonna inspect tomorrow just to make sure everything is hunky dory though...

...this was the first time I ever used a topsider excavator and man what a wonderful thing!
It made it all super super easy.
I chose a Mityvac 7400 and it worked the charm...


I used Royal Purple 5w-30 out of convenience because it was easily available, but in the future I'm leaning toward Amsoil.

I used an OE filter, but the previous owner used Mann.

The Mann, to my eye, actually looks like the better design: