I thought I was doing something wrong all these years. My car tends to burn oil fast also, so I need to check often. So annoyed with the design.

 

Sorry for rearing this old thread. I just bought my '13 JCW a few weeks ago. With it, came a craven dipstick that I've not seen before. Its most similar to the craven gen 2 stick, but not exactly. See below.

In addition, I've checked numerous times, but the oil level is about 1/5" above the collar into the spring tubing. My first inclination is that this is too high. Am I reading this correctly? Is this high? What is the length of the standard "high" mark for the dipstick? The length of this craven dipstick is 21.75 inches below the handle stop. The high mark is at 1" up from that at 20.75 inches.

I'm basically deciding if this is a 1) a dangerous oil height 2) If so, what to do? 3) if the markers and length are correct (21.75") 4) is it worth buying the current craven oil dip stick or other?


Note the red line. This is where the oil goes up to.

 

Maybe 1/2 quart overfilled. Not an issue. I love my Cravenspeed dipstick, but was also able to read the stock one pretty well. Just Check oil level at every or at least every other fuel fill-up. I have found that my 2011 MCS N18 uses less than 1 quart between 5k oil changes. YMMV, of course. Easy way to check? Let it sit overnight, dipstick out, and trust the first plunge. Use a white paper towel to gauge the level, if you need to, especially if the oil is new. It's really not that hard. Oil level became an issue initially because of MINI's optimistic idea of 15k oil changes, or having folks rely upon "waiting" until their MINI tells them it's time for an oil change. DO NOT wait for your MINI to tell you it's time for an oil/filter change! Keep an eye on the level, and change every 5k to keep your MINI Motoring ON.

 

The OEM dipstick is the worst ever. I actually order one today that sure be here today from WMW. I have overfilled the oil before because it was so hard to read. I do like the idea of painting the dots on the bulbs white though.