Oil consumption

My daughter bought a 2007 MINI One in May 2015. It goes well, doesn’t appear to have any oil leaks and doesn’t burn oil. The mileage is approximately 86,000.

I have read on websites that the oil consumption can be quite high, but after careful monitoring I am finding that the vehicle is only achieving around 450 miles to one litre of oil. Do you think I should inform the warranty company of this situation before the warranty expires? Are you aware of any BMW response to the problem of high oil consumption in the MINI?

Eddie Gracia

The first thing I would check is the PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve; this is located at the top of the cam cover on the left as you look at the car from the front. This valve does wear, causing excessive crankcase pressure, which can lead to oil use. There have also been reports of oil

loss from the sump gaskets on the MINI One, but as the gasket sits above the oil level, the loss only occurs when the vehicle is on the move.

One litre of oil every 450 miles is excessive and the allowed limit according to BMW is one litre every 1000 miles. With this in mind, I would definitely bring it to the attention of the warranty company in the first instance, although if this is an aftermarket and not a BMW warranty they may not cover this problem. If this is the case and your daughter’s MINI has a full service history, I would bring it to the attention of your local BMW dealer, although as the vehicle is now out of the manufacturer’s warranty it is unlikely they will be able to carry out any repair under warranty if the vehicle was not purchased through them.