...guys we gotta do something about the oil burning issue that all R56 have, maybe make a petition, sign it and ask for BMW to take care of this issue. Its frustrating that BMW sais that its normal to fill in a quarter every now and then! What do you say?

 

Not all R56's burn a lot of oil. Some don't burn any.

 

You'll get absolutely nowhere, and not all R56's N14 engined gen 2 models, burn oil, it is down to how they were driven from new, and driven on a daily basis, my particular R55 (Clubman S) is a 2009, and was driven hard, by me, from the very start, and gets a work out every time I go out in it, and consumes NO oil at all, between oil changes.

All you'll ever see on forums, is mostly negative comments, and this is a very very small % of the total number of, in our case, MINI's on the road! If your particular vehicle is consuming more than 1 litre of engine oil, per 1000 miles driven, then this should be brought to the attention of your dealer, if on the other hand, your engines oil consumption, is under this maximum tolerance, as set and deemed acceptable, by BMW MINI, then just accept it, always carry some spare oil, and enjoy driving your MINI, in the spirit it likes, and that's being driven hard, don't ***** foot around in it, DRIVE IT.

 

I wouldn't say that mine was driven softly right from the start, unlike yours, but i don't believe this can be the reason. If you were correct, then BMW could easily fix this issue by either prerunning hard the engines before sale or by telling clients to work their engines hard at the start in order to prevent this issue, but i don't see any such guidance, just that its normal to fill in oil after specific km.
And if not all R56 have this issue then shouldn't we just find out why this happens? Or maybe at least pressure BMW to figure this out?

How can you say that, do you have numbers stating something like this? You could be wrong and keep in mind that not all mini drivers enter forums.

And also phrases like "You'll get absolutely nowhere" reminds me of prophets that predict the future, if none of us are willing to do nothing then you will be right, but if we do something then you cant say things like that with certainty.
Im not against what you, don't get me wrong but what is there to loose if we make a try and take some action?
Why take failure as granted right from the beginning? Come on guys!

 

There is nothing to loose, except your time, that said, there is nothing to be gained either!

 

Always a pessimist i should of known, guess ill count you out for this.

Regarding the combustion engines that have these issues tell me why the CorsaOPCs engine isn't suffering from a similar issue as the mini.

Also if its normal for all combustion engines with high pressure to act like this then why this issue doesn't stand for all?

 

11500 miles on my MCS before I traded it. Followed the MFGs procedure for break in. Never burnt a bit of oil , never.

 

I've been on this forum for just about every day for almost 4 years and I honestly didn't even know that the R56's had an oil burning issue. This is the first time I've heard of it.

 

11500 is a years mileage, not too much to be certain on whats gonna happen in the future! mine is over 45000 and has the issue

 

From what I've seen, the issues with MINIs burning oil is no different than other manufacturers. If you'll do a search, I think you'll find it is pretty common for owners of virtually any make of vehicle to be told that a quart per 1,000 miles is within an acceptable range.

As noted earlier, I suspect most MINIs do not burn oil at that rate and only consume a minor amount, if any, in between oil changes.

There is a reason owners (of all makes of vehicles) are told to check their oil on a regular basis, like every other fuel fill-up.

 

I was burning a lot, about a quart every 1000 miles and like everyone else says i dont believe you will get anywhere with MINI or BMW about this issue, try switching oil? I switched to 0-30 castrol and it seems to hold up better.

 

This isn't a MINI issue, it's a car issue. A lot of cars have break in periods.

 

Welcome to owning a German car. They burn oil. My BMW does the same thing and it is almost 20 years old.

 

My JCW was driven hard from the get go. I drive it hard. That is just the way I drive. Maybe hard is a bad choice of words...how about spirited.

I have never added any oil to the engine between oil changes. I change my oil every 5,000 miles to 7,500 or once very 6 months.

 

I don't agree.

1996 BMW 318ti manual - leased 4 years. Never added a drop of oil between oil changes.
2001 VW Jetta VR6 manual - leased 4 years. Never added a drop of oil between oil changes.
2006 BMW 330xi auto - leased 3 years. Added 1 quart between oil changes once.
2011 BMW X5 3.5 auto - 1 year into a 3 year lease. Added 1 quart 2 months ago. This was before the first scheduled oil change.

2009 MINI JCW - I have never added a drop of oil to this car ever. Even though the dip stick sucks... the oil level has always between in between the 2 bumps.

 

I added a quart last year, none this year. Maybe it just burned a little during the break-in period.

Dave

 

Now lets have a little look, at the two engines, your trying to compare, the OPC (Z16LEH/R) and the BMW MINI (N14B16A)

Engine blocks:

OPC: Cast iron fitted with grey cast iron cylinder liners.
BMW MINI: Aluminum fitted with grey cast in iron liners.

Cylinder bores:

OPC: Grey cast iron, laser etched finish.
BMW MINI: Grey cast iron, machine honed cross hatch finish.

CR Ratio:

OPC: 8.8:1 - 9.5:1
BMW MINI: 10.0:1 - 10.5:1

Piston ring expansion gap:

OPC: 0.05 - 0.06mm
BMW MINi: 0.04mm

Cylinder heads:

OPC: Aluminum, cast
BMW MINI: Aluminum, cast lost foam process.

And with those few basic engine details, I can supply you with a very comprehensive list, if you so wish, you should be able to understand the very basic fundamental construction material thermal differences, combustion pressures, (heat) and why you can't and shouldn't be comparing the two very different engines, for oil consumption!

 

People with BMW's have been fighting this battle with BMW for more than 20 years just take a look at some BMW forums. So the statement that "You'll get absolutely nowhere" is absolutely the truth. For more than 20 years BMW has done NOTHING so what makes you think that BMW, MINI's owner will do anything for the MINI.

As others have stated this is a car or engine problem that is NOT related to any one manufacturer. For instance my 1988 Nissan Pathfinder and my 1988 Nissan Maxima both had the exact same engine in them and the Pathfinder burned oil at a rate of a quart every 1500-1800 miles the other burned less than 1/2 a quart in 3000 miles. The Pathfinder had over 400,000 miles on it before I sold it and it NEVER had any engine work. on the other hand the Maxima (which burned much less oil) lasted only 215,000 before the engine died. I changed the oil every 3k in both of these cars from new and they were just different. And then on to my 1999 Dodge 1500 Pickup from new it burned thru a quart every 1200-1300 miles. when I sold it it had over 170,000 miles on it and never had any engine work done. My 2003 BMW burns a quart every 2000 miles or so. And yes I have had cars that have not burned any oil, one of them was a 1948 Chevrolet Fleet Master, that car could go 5000 mile and not use a drop of oil.

My 2008 MINI Clubman burns a quart every 1000-1200 miles. Do I think it is burning more than it should NO. Definitely not a problem. I make sure I check my oil at least every second fuel fill up if not every time. That is what you should be doing anyway.

 

....we must do something....

My Mini with highway driving burns a tank a gas every 500 miles......WTF!!!


Life is to short, if engine oil bother people that much, sell the car and get something that runs on batteries or wind.

-Kevin

 

well if we do nothing then we certainly will have no results, if we do something we may have one chance yes just one chance of achieving something.
Mark Twain said "Twenty years from now you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did" so what would you pick?

Really is it such a big issue to start a petition?

 

guys guys guys... so if you are right then every turbocharged engine should or does burn oil? and if so that should be considered to be normal?

and on the other hand why are there minis that do not burn oil as some say and others that do? thats normal too?

 

My 2¢ on this it that it's an artifact of how the engines are constructed; with loose tolerances to maximize fuel economy. My 2003 MC has used a quart of oil per each 7K miles from the day it was new. Now with 102K on it, it still uses a quart per each 7K miles. So I'm at least happy it has not gotten worse over time. I hope this gives any of you with newer MINIs some relief over oil consumption concerns. As long as there is not visible smoke blowing out the exhaust I can live with it. Of course we have a 2002 Honda Odyssey and it does not consume any oil... Maybe MINI will go to them for the next generation of engine? I'd hope that at least the oil filter would be easier to change if they do. :P

 

My 2009 R56 after over 34k miles--never burned a drop.

My 2011 R56 after 4900--no notice of burning oil here, either.

 

Genik,
In all honesty, I do appreciate your desire to fight the good fight and I agree in theory with fighting for what you believe is right.

Without being negative, I have doubts that such an effort would produce much of a result. In reality, most people don't have much issue with their MINI burning too much oil, plus it's something that's easy to keep on top of.

If we took a poll on NAM about which issues people would most likely be interested in starting a petition over, unfortunately this oil burning issue would probably rank below 20 other items. Just sayin'....

Should you proceed with a petition, I wish you the best of luck for trying to speak up for what you think is right!

Cheers
Jon

 

Jon thanx for stating your view on this with quality . I was thinking why not make a pol on this issue and see what the community has to say on this matter. Frankly i dont understand why most people in here so far are so negative on this. There are times that i feel that im talking to BMW employees rather than passionate MiniCopperS owners! Is that it? Have we lost our passion about our mini and not really interested to try this out?