Could someone familiar with reading a Mini Cooper dipstick help me?

There are a couple of videos on YouTube that will help. I googled “Mini Cooper dipstick” and found lots of help, this seems to be a common complaint.

Good luck!

@zenvelo thanks! I’ve watched a lot of them and have read information from mini’s site and on forums on the web… can’t find anything that explains whether the oil in the oper. range should be an even coating, or what stripes/spottiness means.

Ah. Maybe found one! Sort of. It kind of says both… (But waiting for @SecondhandStoke’s help/response! :)

Are you wiping the stick first the re dipping for a reading?

Do the stripes of oil wipe off? If not, it can be evidence of a once overheated engine.

Does the manual instruct you to check the level with a cold or warm engine?

It is normal for some BMW engines to burn oil, especially if you frequently seek the redline. Checking frequently is recommended.

BMW recommends full synthetic oil. It degrades less and keeps it’s lubricating properties better through the service interval.

Okay!

Yes, always wiping the stick first.

Yes, I can get the stick totally matte/clean when I wipe it down. But good to know about a sign of a once-overheated engine.

The manual says warm engine. I’ve done both just to see and can’t find much of a difference in the reading, which surprised me (I thought seeing the engine cooler when the level should be lower might help me interpret the reading)—still getting the “stripes” on the oper. range.

I’ve got (extended performance) synthetic 5W-30 ready to add as needed. The oil was changed within the past couple of months and has synthetic 5W-30.

(Side question: is there a significant difference between high performance/extended performance synthetic oil and just “normal” synthetic oil?)

I’ve heard about BMWs going through oil quicker, which is why I’m worried

“Normal” full synthetic is plenty.

Okay, thanks, I’ll just do that in the future!

Dipsticks can drive you crazy, but the next time you change the oil and filter and refill to the recommended capacity, why not check the stick. In fact photograph the operating range so you’ll have a reference point for when things are “right”.

I have a used mini-cooper too. Is it necessary to check the oil more frequently than other cars? I was told to use premium gas in it.

Thank you all! The errands I ran to get the car warm enough to check hadn’t warmed the car up enough for an accurate oil reading. Took it out again just to get the engine warm, and then it was much clearer. The “stripes” were just residue getting picked up, which is what I had been thinking, but since I had heard of people having such a hard time I thought it must be more complicated than that… Turns out it wasn’t!

Once I had the engine warm enough, I could see the oil level on the low end of the operating range. Gave the engine a quart and took the car out again. Checked it when I got back and now it’s good (and now I have a reference!).

And I won’t worry about the “high performance” oil, I’ll just get full synthetic 5W-30.

Thank you all! My knowledge of cars is limited to the things I need to do and see for my particular type of car, and now I’m learning a new car, so I’ve been having some silly/basic questions about it…

I haven’t been using premium, just regular, although I know the manual “highly recommends” premium—should I be using premium?

The car will run on lower octane gasoline.

However, if premium is suggested you will not get maximum output with anything less.

It’s complicated (I can go into detail if you wish) but if engines designed to operate on high octane gasoline are not run on it they cannot operate at maximum efficiency.

Okay, that makes sense.

Ooh, could you go into detail? That would be interesting!