Oil Consumption In Gerard (2007 Mini Cooper S Turbo)

[Ian442]

As some may know a little the missus drives a 2007 Mini Cooper S Turbo. Fine piece of machinery squeezed into a tiny space, but the thing is...it drinks a LOT of oil. I find myself adding up to a half quart of full synthetic oil at every time I fill up for gas which is about 400 miles per tank roughly.

This being my first turbocharged motor, is this kind of oil consumption normal ?

I have had the car about 6 months and I am ready to trade it in for something not so thirsty for oil. The problem is I am not always around to check and fill that oil and its 5K for a new motor should it run dry and seize up because someone forgot to add oil.

Of course she loves the car because of the "hot mom sport car effect" but as the chief mechanic who turns the wrenches in this house, I am soundly not convinced.

Any advice and suggestions greatly appreciated

 

[W. WIllie]

Definately not normal. Does it smoke a lot.?
Does it have an intercooler, if so. remove the intake to the intercooler and see if any oil is inside.
How many miles on the engine?

 

[Maurtis]

1 quart every 1,000 miles is the upper end of normal for the R56 MINI Cooper S, so sounds like you are within that range. My 2008 was pretty oil thirsty too. Are you a member of the North American Motoring forums? Tons of good info there.

A couple weeks ago I was Googling about "pops and burbles" in car exhausts and saw a post on NAM pop up that had some really good points. LOL, it was one of my posts from 5 years ago!

BTW, I sold my poor MINI right when the warranty was up since she spent so much time in the shop. A couple times for the timing chain tensioner fix while it was still under warranty. Not the most reliable of motors, but quite fun to drive!

 

[Coss]

As some may know a little the missus drives a 2007 Mini Cooper S Turbo. Fine piece of machinery squeezed into a tiny space, but the thing is...it drinks a LOT of oil. I find myself adding up to a half quart of full synthetic oil at every time I fill up for gas which is about 400 miles per tank roughly.

This being my first turbocharged motor, is this kind of oil consumption normal ?

I have had the car about 6 months and I am ready to trade it in for something not so thirsty for oil. The problem is I am not always around to check and fill that oil and its 5K for a new motor should it run dry and seize up because someone forgot to add oil.

Of course she loves the car because of the "hot mom sport car effect" but as the chief mechanic who turns the wrenches in this house, I am soundly not convinced.

Any advice and suggestions greatly appreciated

400 miles per quart is high.

If it does have the intercooler do check it as W. Willie says.

But I would have the seals in the turbo replaced, that it a weak point in all turbos. and if they go, good bye motor.
That's the problem that early turbos ran into; they were notorious for blowing seals.

They have a lot higher quality seals now. But that would be one of the first areas I would look at.

The next thing I would check is do a full compression check and see if your rings are up to snuff.
When a turbo kicks in, it's shooting a lot of pressure down into the cylinders.

But #1 over all, have you spread newspaper under the car when you park at the end of the day?
And does it have the typical EU and UK undercarriage rust proofing? (aka Coated in oil)?