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[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by lhoboy

The oil change interval on the MINI is determined by the onboard computer based on driving conditions and can range from 12,000 miles to $18,000 miles. The only engine failures that the MINI is experiencing is caused by people not checking the oil every 2500 miles. Lot's of engines have been fried because people are not checking the oil level between changes.

yep, even with synthetic and the scheduled oil changes, I still pop for a dealer oil change at 7,500 miles; 15,000 miles is just too long!

[kurt013]

I agree Smartcard. Basically the auto manufacturer guarantees that if you change your oil every 15,000 miles that your car will last 50,000 miles. If you want it to last longer than that you might want to change the oil more often, I use synthetic and change every 5,000 miles. In this months Roundel (BMW club mag) a writer asks " should I be worried about buying a used car that had the oil changed every 15k miles? " and the editor said "yes".

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by MicroNut

The page on smart USA's website for the pure does list the tire pressure monitors as standard equipment:

Wheels / tires
Steel wheels with front tires: 155/60 R15; rear tires 175/55 R15
Tire pressure control system

I see a good market for these plain steel wheels to be used for mounting the snow tires in areas of the country needing snow tires. Hopefully, a reasonable aftermarket company will begin to make them specially for the Smart.

[SmartBob]

I'm sure a mfgrs will get wheels out there for us. They are available already in CA and Europe, yes?

[MicroNut]

Originally Posted by kurt013

If you want it to last longer than that you might want to change the oil more often, I use synthetic and change every 5,000 miles.

This makes a lot of sense to me. In the total scheme of things, the addtional cost of those additional oil changes is very small.

The big plus of the manufacturer specifying a 15,000 mile schedule is you don't have to visit the dealership for the 5,000 mile oil change. For me this is the difference between a 30 mile round trip to Walmart and a bill for $30, versus a 500 mile round trip to the dealer and bill for $100.