I have 14k on my new mini cooper. I am leasing. They keep telling me that in order to have my oil changed I need to have a service light come on. Apparently it only pops up when I initially start the car? I have no idea what I am looking for.


Seems like it should have happened by now.

 

I am completely new to Mini's but from my understanding 10k-15k is not odd before changing oil.

 

Mini will only change the oil once every 15,000 miles or once a year since they are paying for it. So it's on them if they tell you that, but I'd get it in writing. I change mine every 5,000 miles. And I'm about to hit my 1000 mile break in period so I'll change it then too.

 

If you change oil only every 15k, your engine will not last longer than 45000 miles without having to be replaced. The free maintainence is only a sales trick. Do yourself a BIG favor and change the oil every 6000 mile and pay for it yourself.
This way you will have a happy car and avoid a tow truck.

 

Added note Only have the free oil changes done at the dealer, the other can be done by a good independant.

 

Changing oil on a MC is the biggest pain in the ***, I've encountered since replacing brake pad wear sensors on my M Coupe! I just did it recently and you really need to get a nice extension to get the filter out and there's very little movement. I wish they moved the oil filter to the bottom of the car or make it more accessible from the top!