Burning through oil due to turbocharger?

turbo does burn some oil. Check for obvious oil leaks. Also check around the crank seal. If oil is leaking from there it will burn off before dripping to the ground

No obvious leaks so far, but will definitely check around the crank seal for any leaks. Will that produce any other symptoms that might give it away?

Prince engines (those used in 2nd-gen MINIs) have a technical service bulletin out for a leaky turbo oil line. If your MINI is still within warranty, go to the dealer and complain of oil loss, and bring the TSB sheet in. They'll repair it, gratis.

When I bought the MINI it was out of warranty. It seems to keep doing this, I have to take it in to fix the aux water pump and will ask the techs about that.

ANY EXTERNAL OIL LEAK WILL MAKE A GREASY MESS EVENTUALLY ... cHECK the pcv hose and pcv valve .. as this creates an internal vacuum to the crank case thereby greatly reducing the likely hood of leaky seals or gaskets . SOOO we look to Mister turbo 's compressor side oil seal , This seal will operate under manifold vacuum until there is boost pressure present . and a leaky compressor seal will evenly divide consumed oil between all cylinders... so it may not ever smoke or knock period

check spark plugs for deposits (ENGINE COLD TO REMOVE PLUGS ) white , gray ,black flakey looking shit is what remains after carbon atom has left the chamber

These cars are nothing but junk... Poor assembled,poor crappie service,nobody can give a straight answer about the ton of problems they are loaded with...and at day's end, we have to check oil every thousand miles, if I were riding a horse I wouldn't be doing that, I had all these problems, from oil to chains to trunk not opening, to brake pads that have to be changed before I blink, to rattling sounds from dash board, roof and no one at the effin dealers have a clue... Never again...never

Mini Cooper of Long Beach said..."BMW says that loosing a liter of oil every 750 miles, is normal" Because of high" amount of pressure under valve cover, pushes oil down intake"..........Meaning they have no idea why.

Wow! So I'm not the only one. Crevier Mini told me that burning a quart of oil in 1000 miles was "normal" for my 2009 s!! We have owned a Porsche, Mercedes, GMC, Prius, And a Ford and not one mechanic has told me such crap! It is not normal! I brought the mini in after 3000 miles for an oil change and mini said that I didn't need to do that. Just wait for any indicator lights. So now the lights say "do not drive critical engine oil low"! Regardless of the engineering, while the loaner vehicle runs smoother and I was thinking of getting another (since my Denali has 177,777 miles and still going strong), why would I now do that? Have two minis that burn oil or have to check it all the time??? So disappointed and feel taken by a manufacturer who has not addressed the design problem.

Enter mental facility before buying a mini cooper, then run away feel freedom and buy a Toyota and never see a mechanic

Couldn't agree more. Had a Toyota for 12 years before this piece of junk that I have, and until I sold it at 197000 miles, I couldn't tell where the oil gauge was... Never imagined I would be under the hood adding oil every couple of weeks... Any potential Buyer beware

I have 2012 Countryman..... She has been great. YES, oil will burn (no smell, or noise) I have a turbo & its natural process. Check spark plugs (condensation) or PVC hose - agreed. Great on gas, lots of room, gas REALLY inexpensive, great ride .... funny, all the above narcissism were true, why so many on the road! Every vehicle has a setback... I dont care what you drive. I'm a 5 car/turck new owner over the years. This used one has been best choice. My huz's Benz is far bigger headache! Happy trails.

I too have a 2009 S and have been told the same story. Requiring oil every 1000 miles is acceptable. Nonsense....As soon as the oil starts getting low, the car makes such a rattling noise, I can be heard block away. We have had all makes of cars and, although I love the mini, I would never buy another.. Service stinks, and they are so condescending with their attitude. I'm going American next time...

Man where do I start. I bought mine used with 57000 miles on it. From Rohrich Toyota here in Pittsburgh. Wow they really saw me coming.. I bought the car and thats my fault but this car has been in the shop almost 11 times for different reasons all within 1 year. I was driving around with no oil in the car when I bought it. Had to replace timing chain tensioner. Soon after the radio went dead. Had that replaced. Clutch had to be replaced after I drove it 11000 miles. Had some kind of axle leak that had to be replaced 2 times. Oil consumption test is pending right now. I have to drive the car for a thousand miles then take it back to mini. I have a freaking payment on this car and I am seriously considering driving it through Toyota window. I realize it is not there car but they sold me this piece of shit. I also have trouble even reading the damn dipstick so I have no clue if I am low on oil and how much. One time I thought I put to much in. I love driving a mini cooper but owning one is a different story.

I also bought a used mini s turbo..it had 75k miles on it just had an oil change 3 weeks ago. Only drove 1k miles size oil change and oil light is coming on and off in spurts. Got in car this morning and I hear a rattling noise sounded very strange,so decided to check oil low and behold NO OIL WAS DRY other than around the edges and when opened oil cap a little smoke was coming out. Hopefully when I put more oil in it the noise will be gone.IDK...THIS IS CRAZY ALL OIL GONE AFTER DRIVING 1k miles. No Leaks.IM PISSED THIS IS BULLCRAP.ANY SUGGESTIONS? ?other than ridding it.ughhhh

People buy MINI because they are fun and indeed they are. Looking for reliability in Toyota, but they are like appliance, when was last time you fell in love with your dishwasher? If you love the car, then you can tolerate their faults. :)

The problems started when those Germans got their hands on a British Icon. This is not a British car, it is Germany's vengeance upon us all. Hateful little car!!!!

we have had one for just a very short time and I wished I had never seen it I have worked in the same Grage for 35 years and have worked on just about everything made but this is a piece of crap parts are so overpriced it should be against the Law I would not trade a Ford Pinto with 300'000 miles on it for one piece of JUNK..

I have a Mini Countryman "S" 2012 ALL4. It started using 1Qt. of oil in 700 miles at about 70,000 miles, the dealer said it was normal. They have what they call a PIT Stop that will provide an oil top off for free when you need it. As the miles increased on the car the more oil was being used. 2Qts. at 85,000 and currently still about the same at 96,000. I send an email to Mini complaining and they told me to go to the dealer. I have been using the synthetic oil recommended and change it every 5000 miles even though the dealer says I can go 14,000 before a change. I now have the car at the dealer for them to evaluate the oil usage. They are saying I need valve seals to the tune of $4500 for the repair. They must be crazy! I also have had many cars during my life ( Porsche, BMW, VW, Chevy) and never even added oil between 5,000 miles oil changes. I like the car but I can't live with this oil issue. I will continue to push for Mini/BMW to provide a reasonable solution and repair. Brian VWdad97

Contact Corporate for Mini. They ended up paying 3/4 of the cost for a new engine. I believe if you look on-line, there are lawsuits. You may want to check and see if you can find settlements to bring up if they refuse to help. They will constantly tell you that its normal when it is obviously not.

I have owned two Mini's, an '02 R53 and a '12 R58, and have only had issues with the turbo. The R58 is a JCW and burns through oil like crazy. Mini has told me repeatedly that i need to check my oil every 1000 miles. Its ridiculous that i need to check it when Mini's recommended oil change interval is 5000-10000. I can barely go 3000 with out burning 2 quarts. Eventually ill run low and the timing chain tensioner is going to go and there will go $5000. Love the drive but its a pain to have to pop the hood every time i fill up.

This chain has been a great read. Smart and funny. Thanks to all of you. My 2011 Mini S started snorting oil at about 60k miles. Dealer gave me the same story you all heard. Any car that is using oil at the rate of a QT/1000 miles has a serious problem. I have never driven a car as fun as this one, but I take long trips and cannot risk a meltdown in rural North America where I can't get it fixed. May have to trade it in for a Silverado.

My daughter has a 2007 Minii S. Like religion, every Saturday morning at 6:00 AM I wake up and check oil and washer fluid. I add about 3/4 quart oil every Saturday, she drive about 300 miles a week. It burns oil as accurately and timely as a Swiss Watch. I hope I don't die soon because this car will blow up due to lack of oil. We have 113,000 miles on the car and have repaired everything on it. I do the work myself. We keep it because she likes driving the car and I must say is a fun drive. Please, for your own sanity, do not buy an R56 turbo era Mini.

I hope you guys look at this because I truly need help. I'm torn because I just paid my mini off. She's a sweet ride when she works but when she dies she leaves me stranded. I had a 3 hour tow once. I bought it because I was tired of repairing my old truck. Does anyone know about the law suit? I think I'm screwed because I wasn't a part of it. I can't afford a new mini and not sure I want one. It's a shame because I love my car when it works. This blog makes me sad that there are so many of us that where shammed by this. Just fix the issue and I would continue to love my car. Ive paid, (am paying, loans,) over $10,000 in all that work that was done on my car. *heartbroken* Also, I've read that BMW/MINI fixed the issues dating after 2010 which is why "Yathink" is probably happy with her Mini.

Hello Fellas, I have a 2010 mini cooper 2 turbo and it definitely burn a lot of oil more then a Liter per 1k miles. my mechanic at Mini Shop suggest me to replace the turbo but it will cost 2.5K $ , Did anyone replace the turbo with an aftermarket ? I found it for 500$ but i m not sure if i can trust it. Gianni

I have a 2013 Mini Cooper S. I use it for mostly local short distance driving. I use no oil except when I go for extended highway driving. Then it uses pretty much a half a quart per 1000 miles. I've had the car for almost 2 years now, after having bought is CPO from a dealer. So far I am happy with it. I think this type of engine does burn oil under regular conditions, but I do want to see why it only does so on extended highway drives. Not sure if they have gotten better from previous years, but I am pretty satisfied with the performance and reliability of mine. Every car type has it's detractors and haters. The only thing negative I can say so far is the dealership prices on maintenance is pretty high. I do a lot of the work myself, so it's not a big issue.

Unfortunately, aside from gas, you will consume oil as well. The good sign you need to add oil is when the engine is noisy or rough. You can still drive when you see that oil light but not so far or so fast but avoid that oil lamp by regularly checking the dip stick. It will become a habit eventually.

same problem. burns through oil. got too low once. light came on. added oil. Now has starting problem when cold. Tore engine apart, replaced plugs, coils, fuel injectors, purge valve. Still has issue of cold start dying. Tired of working on this car. So many things made of plastic are failing. I got so many trim pieces and mirrors superglued in place. Good thing I'm my own mechanic and have special tools, but the engineering is absurd. Going to sell and drive my older hyundai that has no issues.

@emadelneel If you were riding a horse... you'd be feeding it multiple times a day, re-shoeing it every month, paying for medical fees, have no enclosure from the elements. be limited to 25-30 mph, maintain your saddle, train it, break it in, bond with it and keep it happy.... seems like a a much larger hassle to me.

I have a 2010 mini S with turboengine. My husband recommend me to check the oil around the first and the 15th of the month since the mini uses oil and the dipstick is very difficult to read.....I ask my husband also to read the dipstick....two heads better than one. I love to drive the mini, but uses oil alot.....I have 55,300 miles on the mini currently. I don't know if I would buy another mini cooper again....Melinda .

I exchanged my much loved golf for 2010 mini coopers. Cant read the dipstick. As brought with loan. I do high mileage. Oil has to replaced every 800 miles half litre. Garage has one chap who is checking it weekly when fill up with petrol. Oil light came on last week. Back to garage onto machine. 2 faults. All down to vagus unit. Anyone know about that. Not sure i even spelt it right No two people can read dipstick. Thats why one chap does it. If i could swop the car back. I would. Any ideas

With Mini it all depends on which year and model you have - the turbo models up until about 2012 seem to have a lot of weird issues. The non turbos seem to be very issue-free - my dad has a non- turbo 2010 and has never had a single issue with his car outside of regular maintenance. I have the new body style turbo - 2014 model - and I have had some safety recalls that I immediately had fixed but have had zero issues with the car. I have 50k miles and have only spent money on routine service - it seems that the BMW turbo engines are much much more reliable than the previous French turbo engines. I have a good friend with an 2009 turbo and it’s an absolute nightmare - so many problems she wants to leave the car in a dark parking lot and walk away forever.

You at right! Apparently, the 2009 has a Puegot engine and while mine was in the shop I drove a loner that felt so smooth to drive. The service rep told me that they newer models now have a BMW engine. Makes sense why the older models have issues!

Yep my 2014 S is all bmw - zero issues. I know the mini purists hate the latest mini models but I’ll comoromise a little of the mini heritage and go cart handling for a lot more sound car overall and a lot more comfortable interior. It’s definitely a trade off but cost of ownership is a factor here when you’re talking about a car that’s only worth 30k to begin with. But I love all mini’s and can appreciate the the early years and the later ones as well.

Love my car and just maintain your car before the oil lamp comes up my car is 2009 mini S Very happy and more fun with it drove it to Seattle Washington to Las Vegas no problem and after a month just add 1 quart of oil god blessed us all

I do love my 2009 Mini Cooper S, but have to say after 82,000 + miles, she’s becoming a bit of an attention queen. Had one timing chain replaced under warranty early on, then needed another timing chain replacement after 75,000 miles. Has been burning oil more lately, also. I just make a point to check the (aftermarket) dipstick around every time I need to fill the gas tank. Seems that every month and a half, I need to add a quart of oil. That is consistent with the 1000 mile, add oil average reported here. I used to take it on long road trips, but now it’s just an around town, daily commute kind of car. My Mini dealer in Dallas recommends to replace the engine, which I think is nuts! For $8000+ ? I’ll use that as a down payment on a new, maybe electric car. But for now, content to keep the most fun car I have ever owned and still dearly love, running just a while longer. Hoping for at least 100,000 miles.

make sure you are using fully synthetic 5w 40 and not 5w 30..it is thicker

I have a 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman. I bought it in 2010 as the tester car with 200 miles on it; and now it has about 127,000 miles on it. I love my MINI Cooper but she is high maintenance! I have the fake wood interior and I love the feel of my cream leather seats, I feel like she is classy on the inside. I keep 5W 30 oil in the trunk at ALL TIMES. I have to add 2 qt every 2 weeks and it's getting worse. Any long distance travel I have to add more or I will end up in the shop. I am a single mom and it is all on me, but I have this b!@*'s ticket - I know the drill and what she needs and how often and I'm on it but it does get tiring. I put up with it because I love this car; it's like driving a go cart, classy style.

Before you buy any vehicle, do your research and find out what problems come along with it. I purchased a 08 mini cooper S for my wife as she wanted something small, fun to drive, and good on gas for the occasional bit of driving she does. The vehicle is not a daily driver, as we have a truck for that, but it does make short trips into town a couple of times a week and I enjoy taking it for a spin on weekends. The car has 120000 kilometers on it, about 70000 miles and will go through a liter of oil about every 2 tanks of gas, we have had the car for about a year, and other than replacing the upstream air fuel sensor, it has been trouble free, I check the oil regularly and top it up when necessary. We both really love the car , its a ton of fun to drive, but if it was going to be a daily driver would have picked a Honda or Toyota.

the bottom line here is folk's when people are looking to buy a new or used mini cooper you must be thoroughly with your research between a turbo or non turbocharger engine. because any turbocharger engine will burn off more because the turbo has one oil usage weakness. the hot end of the turbocharger tends to 'cook' the exhaust side oil seal. this because the heat from the combustion in the exhaust witch can exceed 2.000 degrees... that's why burning lot's of oil driving less mileage is normal when it comes to having to add more engine oil to the motor. and people need to respect all cars made in this world and show love to your cars.

Before you buy a used Mini find out and contact the prior owner. May take some research by you but it will pay dividends. You may be buying a lemon or a diamond in the rough. The prior owner has nothing to hide or loose.

7 years later and we're still topping up the oil for our 2010 R56 turbo. The single oil control ring is to blame and anyone with a rebuild or new engine will end up with the same issue... Just enjoy the car people and keep a jug in the rear.