How much oil does your MCS consume?

[teslar]

I have to say I'm a little concerned at the amount of oil my R56 MCS seems to eat. I think it's about 1 litre a month :(

I plan to start measuring and recoding it better to be sure but it's worrying me. The car seems to run well with no oil leaks at all. So where is it going????

[teslar]

The car is a 2007 R56 with 47k on the clock

[badwolf340]

How many miles in the month ? Off the top of my head BMW/MINI say 1000 miles to the litre is within limits ,

[Mon the fish]

Possible sign of a decoke needed. I've never understood the BMW tolerances - I'd be massively concerned if my car was drinking that much oil, as you're effectively doing an oil change every 7k miles just through top-ups.

Age and mileage would point towards a coked-up head

[badwolf340]

As Gordon has suggested ,found this posted on another site

I have had problems with my car for a while - misfiring and engine rattling on start up. I also seem to be going through a lot of oil.
BMW have ran a diagnostic check and have advised me that I need the engine decoked, that there is contamination in the engine and carbon build up.
This is a 4 year old Cooper S which has been serviced bi-annually with 47k miles. This seems quite drastic, if the carbon levels were that high would this not have been picked up on a service before or even when I complained about performance last year and they changed the timing chain tensioner (http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=chain+tensioner)!

DI engines nowadays are well documented in coking up ,long threads about Audi RS 4's( different engines but same principle)

[teslar]

How many miles in the month ? Off the top of my head BMW/MINI say 1000 miles to the litre is within limits ,

Crikey that sounds excessive. I guess I've averaged about 1k a month as I've not had the car long and I have another vehicle but been enjoying the MCS. I might go for a walnut decoke but I don't want to waste the money if it's another problem

[EcosseGP]

Think I'd be worried if mine was using that much oil per month. It certainly wouldn't do any harm seeking advice and possibly a de-coke. Like Brian and Gordon both state it's a well known issue and I'd like to think MINI might see their way to assisting with the issue.

[CiderFex]

A few of the points that Brian has posted seem very familiar to me at the mo apart from huge oil usage.
I have done a bit of research on t'internet and most people with the same issues have turbos not 'chargers so am not sure where to go next.
Maybe an "Italian Tune" is required before I spend money on a decoke.
Any advice would be appreciated.

...to Infinity and beyond !!!

[stoney]

Pete your car will not need a de coke its only the R56 really tbh

[Mon the fish]

If you have high oil usage on an R53 it's probably worn rings. Maybe try switching to 5W-40

[CiderFex]

Thanks Rob and Mon.

I need to do a bit more research methinks.

...to Infinity and beyond !!!

[Alex from NM]

Mine varies wildly but it's on stupid high miles now 128k. Probably goes through a litre every 800. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Quite obviously through I'm going to have quite a lot of wear and tear. A car on that low miles sounds like it has an issue. They do go through some amount though

[Mon the fish]

R53s can vary, mine doesn't drink a drop, others drink some with no real explanation.

R56s seem to drink a bit, but excessively is the sign of a coked-up head

[teslar]

So a question, if I go for a decoke surely that just deals with the residue of burning oil and it won't actually reduce any oil consumption. Or am I missing something here?

[Mon the fish]

I'm not fully up to speed on R56s, but I'm sure a proper de-coke will reduce your oil consumption. There's a load of threads on NAM, MT etc which might be worth checking out

[teslar]

Thanks for that. I'll have a look

[EcosseGP]

It's certainly an interesting read that's for sure .. I'd have to say that given the results I've seen after it's been done I think if I ever got any of the symptoms I wouldn't hesitate to get it done. If memory serves me correctly I think Rob has had it done on the JCW Clubby ...

[teslar]

So is a decoke the same as walnut blasting ? And does anyone in Scotland offer this at a reasonable price ?

[EcosseGP]

Yeah that's the very thing .. One and the same. I'm not too sure who offers it up here I would assume that MINI might be able to assist as a last resort.

[teslar]

They should do it for free :) I've never had a car consume so much oil not even a diesel. I've looked over on MT and some guys are burning a litre in under 700 miles

[EcosseGP]

Yeah I agree but MINI won't admit there's an issue with it .. When you see some of the before and after photos you wonder how some of the engines run at all the mess they're in !

[Mon the fish]

Mini won't do it for free, they generally wash their hands of any issue, PAS pumps, chain tensioners etc. I believe dealers do now have machines to do this, with £400 being a ballpark figure.

The joys of DI...

[EcosseGP]

I thought the full de-coke blasting can be done without an engine strip down with prices ranging from £200 upwards.

[Mon the fish]

You just need to get the head off, not a full strip down

[ianking]

My R56 JCW was going through 1 litre every 1k miles. Im sure it had about 35k on the clock at the time.
I complained to the dealer several times and they said it was within limits.
It was an 08 car.
I then changed it to an 11 plate with the new style engine. I ran that car from new up to 36k and it never used a drop in between services.

[Alex from NM]

Yeah I think most dealers now charge around £250. Shop around, they are all different prices