2 thoughts:

- for the oil level to drop, the oil has to be burnt &/or leak. If the oil level drops that quickly, you'll either have a smoke screen following behind you or will have an oily engine bay, floorpan and parking space.

- does the oil light come on when you turn on the ignition, or has it blown/been removed?

I presume you are checking the oil level weekly now...

Hope it turns out not to be serious!

Does the oil pressure warning light come on with the ignition?
It sounds like it should of come on during the experiences you had, where the running of the car was adversely affected by oil shortage. The second time, it sounds as though it was starting to seize.

The first time you ran out of oil, I think it basically ruined the engine, and since then, it burns loads of oil..

Totally agree this has been caused by the operator and nothing else. Manufacturers spend a fortune on a handbook that to some people might as well be used as a wedge to stop a table wobbling (to coin a phrase). It is there to be read and it ALWAYS, in every handbook issued with every car tell you to check the oil weekly. Had the operator done this they would not be facing a huge bill. The people I feel sorry for are probably the ones buying it from an auction where its been traded in - thinking they've got a bargain. Sorry to say but the operator of this vehicle will likely get no sympathy here..... Robin the Technician

I drive 1200 miles per week, my wife 200 miles per week and my granny 8 miles per week. By using this measure how often should the oil be checked? If by grannys weekly mileage then I need to check my oil level 150 times per week. If by my weekly mileage then grannys needs checking every three years. Surely a weekly check is a very flawed measure. My Wife has a Mini Cooper S Clubman. I do check the oil weekly, and top it up each month. Cant wait for the finance to be paid to get shot of it. Never had a car before that uses oil in such a thirsty manner. Hardly a high performance engine, and it is not used like a track vehicle. For Mini to say an allowable amount of oil to use is 1L per 1000 miles is beyond what an old Triumph motorbike would have got through in the 70s. Own one for 10 years and £1000 in oil top ups for an average mileage car during that time. If I had made the Mini mistake then it would be £500 a year on oil.

You wonder how a car can pass its hydrocarbon emissions test when it's routinely getting through so much oil. Perhaps the test is very loose?

I checked my wifes Mini 1.4 oil regularly (at least monthly) and it was fine. 2 weeks after one check the oil light flickered on briefly and when I checked it had dropped to the Min mark so I topped it up and its never dropped since.

If you had done it weekly then you would probably have spotted it before hand.

Why should there be sympathy for someone not doing what you should do?

I'll be the first to admist that I don't check things as much as I should do but I'd not look for sympathy if I was caught out because I had failed to check.

Some very rightous people on here, i would use different words but they wouldnt stay on long.

The Mini engine is obviously a pile of rubbish, any engine so poorly engineered that requires huge amounts of oil should never be sold.

My neighbour use to have an Audi A4 fsi that used a quart of oil every month, but his car had a level indicator so he said.

In the real world most people never lift the bonnet between services, fact.

I do check mine weekly, but only because i know i get oil RISE.

Ok the owner should have been more proactive after the fisrt incident, but to come down on him for the original loss of oil is risable.

I've had cars that virtually used NO oil between services.

And i'm pretty sure my mamual says to check dailey, now who does that?

And i'm pretty sure my mamual says to check dailey, now who does that?

Waves.

Depends on miles covered, i check my lorry's engine oil and water levels without fail every morning along with the required usual daily checks, always have and always will.

Me too GB, Not having an allocated vehicle means I often find myself topping up oil, screenwash and changing bulbs. Best one yet was 12 blown bulbs and that was just on the unit itself, they included both brake lights.

I tend to be in the Madf school of thought, I don't want to be paying out for replacement engines (or the inconvenience of waiting on the side of the motorway for recovery). So for me a couple of minutes every 300miles or so is a good thing.

I always get a bit irritated by people who claim they don't have time to do it, they find the time to fill it with fuel though!

When I hear people say "my car let me down" I usually correct them by saying "You mean you let your car down".

Edited by Wackyracer on 30/08/2015 at 14:10

Late in on this one, but the gf bought an '09 Cooper S about 2.5 yrs ago with 36k mls. These really aren't suitable for the average woman driver. I'm fed up of telling her to check the oil level. The thing needs more maintenance than my 170bhp bikes!

Exactly the same issues as the op, to the point where I questioned whether the supplying dealer had done the oil change he promised, as it dropped oil level like a 2 stroke. I have to top it up every 2 weeks(300 mls a week) & it's gone through at least 8 ltrs of oil per service interval. I'm getting to the point of only changing the filter. The car drives great, though it would have died if I wasn't around.

Whilst I have little sympathy for owner negligence, I think BMW have a lot to answer to!! I'm an engineer by trade & build my own motorcycles and service my own vehicles. These total 7 in all & added together they use a teenth of the oil the mini does. Including the 185hp 998cc I have.

But then they are all Japanese...

An insensitive pressure switch coupled to no level detection?? Totally unacceptable.

Clearly they don't burn it. The turbo oil feed pipe is a stupid design with a sliding swaged union which contributes I bet.

Can't believe this thread's been running for nigh on 6 years. Talk about kicking a man when he is down! ;-)

That said, I too like to keep a beedy eye on my fluids and recently bought a second-hand BMW 3 series that doesn't have an engine oil dispstick, but a dashboard 'announcement' when you are directed to top-up with a litre.

Apart from the obvious reliance on electronic sensors doing their job, how does one know that the garage has actually completed an oil change, or that the condition of the oil hasn't been compromised by water ingress through a failed head gasket or similar? I guess the latter could be checked by opening the oil filler cap on the rocker cover, but that might also be down simply to relatively benign frequent cold-start condensation, which would not necessarily contaminate the sump.

I understand BMW has now seen the licht, and reintroduced the good 'old dipstick again. Better late than never I s'pose.

/wrings hands/