# Mini Cooper S oil burning **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** mini, cooper\ **Created:** [July 16, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930 "2010-07-16T17:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cocopup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d9b06d/32.png) [@cocopup](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cocopup)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/1 "2010-07-16T17:49:24Z")
Hi, I have a 2009 Cooper S. The service guy told me that the S burns fuel really fast and requires a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. It uses a synthetic oil, which he also said is thinner, and as a result, burns quickly, too. Does this sound correct? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@andrew\_j](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrew_j)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/2 "2010-07-16T17:56:21Z")
The service guy work a quick lube and barely graduate high school? Or an old school mechanic? Ignore the “advice” and drive on. Just make sure to check your engine oil every 3-4 fillups and your car will last a long time. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/3 "2010-07-16T19:21:43Z")
Who is this “service guy?” He needs to enlighten himself a bit. The Cooper S is a high performance car. Isn’t that why you bought it? Of course it’s going to burn more fuel than some other cars. As for oil consumption, monitor it and decide for yourself how much oil, if any, it uses. You MUST use synthetic oil in this engine, but the synthetic won’t burn any faster than conventional oil, so don’t worry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/4 "2010-07-16T20:46:48Z")
Forget what the “service guy” said, how much oil does it actually burn?? ---
**Author:** ![Goldwing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Goldwing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Goldwing)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/5 "2010-07-16T21:06:24Z")
Don’t rely on your “service guy” for advice. Check ALL your own fluids on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![cocopup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d9b06d/32.png) [@cocopup](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cocopup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/6 "2010-07-17T11:33:59Z")
Thanks for your responses! The service guy I mentioned works at the dealership itself. I really can’t tell how much oil the car is burning, because the dipstick is very difficult to read. I kept checking and thought the oil was fine, but when I brought it in, they had to add three quarts of oil to the car. The technician also felt that the dipsticks are hard to read, which is really frustrating if the car is supposed to burn oil as fast as I was told. I will keep monitoring the levels as best as I can. Thanks for your help! ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@andrew\_j](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrew_j)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/7 "2010-07-17T11:42:08Z")
3 qts is very low. Keep a close eye on it. You neglected to mention that in your first post. You will turn that engine into junk quite fast. You need to learn how to better read the dipstick and top it off. It may have started low at the last oil change however you really should monitor this. Otherwise except a large repair bill running into the $4000+ range. ---
**Author:** ![cocopup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d9b06d/32.png) [@cocopup](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cocopup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mini-cooper-s-oil-burning/51930/8 "2010-07-17T11:48:01Z")
Yes, the 3 quarts scared me a lot, and also angered me, as I was checking the oil constantly and asking others to look at it, too. I think I figured out the trick to reading it now. Thanks again for helping.