Could some kind soul please tell me exactly which grade Selenia oil to use to top up our 2010 1.2 500 please? The owner's manual is in my sleeping kid's bedroom so I can't find out what to buy before ordering some tomorrow.

Our 500 is on 2 year or 18k mile service intervals.

I'm assuming it's something like 5w30 synthetic? Selenia K?

www.shop4parts.co.uk sells 5litres for £50 delivered. Can anybody guess what a Fiat dealer will charge? Am I going to get my pants pulled down?

selenia kpe 5w40. dealer will charge more. Castrol edge is suitable and cheaper

306maxi said:

selenia kpe 5w40. dealer will charge more. Castrol edge is suitable and cheaper

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:yeahthat:

If you want a convenient solution, most branches of ASDA stock Castrol Edge 5W40 @ £35 for 4 litres, If you've a membership card, Costco often have it on sale cheaper (IIRC the last lot cost me about £23 each).

Thanks chaps.
Doesn't the oil need to be special in some way to maintain the long service intervals? Or does Castrol Edge have those special additives? I want to make sure the warranty conditions are satisfied beyond any doubt...

SiliconS said:

Could some kind soul please tell me exactly which grade Selenia oil to use to top up our 2010 1.2 500 please? The owner's manual is in my sleeping kid's bedroom so I can't find out what to buy before ordering some tomorrow.

Our 500 is on 2 year or 18k mile service intervals.

I'm assuming it's something like 5w30 synthetic? Selenia K?

www.shop4parts.co.uk sells 5litres for £50 delivered. Can anybody guess what a Fiat dealer will charge? Am I going to get my pants pulled down?

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If you opted to get another 1L of the Selenia (Click here) along with the 5L this would do 2 oil changes on the 500 1.2 since it takes IIRC 2.8L for one oil change. This might beat JR's 'cheap' option.

Another good reputable web site is the following (Click here) don't know what they charge on delivery. Key 'thing' you're looking for is 5w40 ACEA C3.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60457-castrol-edge-5w-40-a3b4-advanced-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx
Note the reference to... 'Meets Fiat 9.355535-S2' but it is not as cheap as JR's ASDA supplier.

Chris@souls is another choice (Click here). Unsure if he does oil in his service packs.

Given the amount of discounting that Halfords have been doing on their oils e.g. Mobile One, etc. I would imagine that it's only a question of time before they discount the Castrol range.

If I had a preference I would opt for the Selenia.

Is this your first oil change ?

SiliconS said:

Thanks chaps.
Doesn't the oil need to be special in some way to maintain the long service intervals? Or does Castrol Edge have those special additives? I want to make sure the warranty conditions are satisfied beyond any doubt...

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The only oil that I've see with 'long life' is the Mobile one Long life and it required a special filter. Mobile one don't do the 'right' oil for the 500.

Still the best 'solution' for long life is to change the oil more regularly.

SiliconS said:

Could some kind soul please tell me exactly which grade Selenia oil to use to top up our 2010 1.2 500 please? The owner's manual is in my sleeping kid's bedroom so I can't find out what to buy before ordering some tomorrow.

Our 500 is on 2 year or 18k mile service intervals.

I'm assuming it's something like 5w30 synthetic? Selenia K?

www.shop4parts.co.uk sells 5litres for £50 delivered. Can anybody guess what a Fiat dealer will charge? Am I going to get my pants pulled down?

Click to expand...

If it helps you any, I had the Wife's 1.2 POP (2011 model built November 2010) serviced last Monday (first service at just over 4000 miles). On the service sheet, the Fiat main dealer charged us £8.33 + VAT for each litre of Selenia oil used, (I was assured by the Service Manager they only use Selenia), so just under a tenner per litre pack. If you are just topping up between services, probably better to buy a litre pack from your local Fiat dealer so you don't start mixing different manufacturer oils.

frupi said:

If it helps you any, I had the Wife's 1.2 POP (2011 model built November 2010) serviced last Monday (first service at just over 4000 miles). On the service sheet, the Fiat main dealer charged us £8.33 + VAT for each litre of Selenia oil used, (I was assured by the Service Manager they only use Selenia), so just under a tenner per litre pack. If you are just topping up between services, probably better to buy a litre pack from your local Fiat dealer so you don't start mixing different manufacturer oils.

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Thats quite cheap! Funnily enough my Fiat dealer here uses Agip 5W-40 that is not C3. I guess they do not care about the C3 wording.

Tbh, I have a very local independent Fiat service centre nearby and he charges £12 (inc VAT) per litre pack of Selenia. I guess he's still making a couple of quid profit on each one. But yes, you are right, 10 quid per litre pack of Selenia from the Fiat dealer is imo very good. Especially when you consider that a very famous name supermarket flogs Castrol Edge at £16 odd per litre pack. With the miles the wife will do per year, a one litre top up pack will be adequate to last all year in our own situation, so not really worth going out and buying litres of the stuff. Not only that, we didn't need to top up at all since taking ownership last August, but to be fair, the wife up until last Monday, had only put 3300 miles on the car anyway.

I was typing on my tablet last night so didn't think to mention this, but I only need enough oil to top up the level between services. I'm not doing a full oil change.

5 litres will be way too much if the sump only holds 2.8 litres, so thanks for that nugget of info, Michael. I'll see if I can get a litre for a reasonable price at a local dealer.

frupi said:

If it helps you any, I had the Wife's 1.2 POP (2011 model built November 2010) serviced last Monday (first service at just over 4000 miles). On the service sheet, the Fiat main dealer charged us £8.33 + VAT for each litre of Selenia oil used, (I was assured by the Service Manager they only use Selenia), so just under a tenner per litre pack. If you are just topping up between services, probably better to buy a litre pack from your local Fiat dealer so you don't start mixing different manufacturer oils.

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I paid €13.60 excluding VAT per litre for the Selenia at my last service on the 500. Just noticed that I was charged 4.2L which is kinda odd since I was told that they had to buy 4 x 1L container of which I got 1 for a 'handy pack' (the 1.4 takes 2.9L of oil). Unless the service invoice (Click here) specifically states Selenia oil the sceptic that I am I wouldn't believe them.
Also I get the impression that the 1.2 engine does not normally need topping up between services (unlike the 1.4 or T-jet). So if one got a 5L plus 1L of Selenia oil it should do 2 oil services with 0.4L of 'spare' oil in the unlikely event of having to top up. Oil doesn't appear to 'go off' like brake fluid but still I wouldn't leave it too long in a damp garage - if one is changing your oil on a yearly basis it wouldn't be an issue.
My apologies if I've burst your bubble a little but at least I didn't do it on my first reply to you.

loveshandbags said:

Also I get the impression that the 1.2 engine does not normally need topping up between services (unlike the 1.4 or T-jet).

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Ours does.

Local dealer quoted £12 inc VAT for a litre. That's good enough for me.

SiliconS said:

Ours does.

Local dealer quoted £12 inc VAT for a litre. That's good enough for me.

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How many miles have you done on the same oil ?

I did notice on our service sheet that we had been charged for three full litres of oil, which I pretty much expected. They definitely have not over filled the engine by the way! I'm not going to get cut up about being charged for a few mls of oil they haven't used or given to me. Considering some of the prices people have stated they've paid for pretty much the same service as I've just had, it really isn't worth my bother saying anything.

I must be getting soft in my advancing years ahem! Or maybe I'm still on a high from the winter holiday I've just returned from lol!

SiliconS said:

Ours does.

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So far I've not had to top up either of my 1.2 cars, but then again I change the oil every 8000 miles. I'd be surprised if any engine could run 18000 miles on the initial fill.

There's frighteningly little oil in total, so it pays not to be complacent & check it every time you refuel*.

*there are several advantages to doing this at the filling station; the car will almost certainly be on level ground, there's usually a handy canopy to keep off the worst of the weather, free plastic gloves, paper towels to wipe the dipstick & a bin to put them in when you're finished . Plus 400 miles or so is a reasonable interval to run between checks.

I check our oil level weekly anyway along with tyre pressures, washer fluid etc. And no, before anyone wonders, I don't wipe the dipstick every time I do it, if I did, it would probably be me responsible for using up most of the oil!

I learned a long time ago that 10 minutes a week checking the basics, can save a small fortune later down the line.

Ah! update. Seems I should read the service sheet properly. My original quote was reduced by £1.00 (yes a quid!) due to the fact that three whole litres of oil were not used! I'm even more impressed!

loveshandbags said:

How many miles have you done on the same oil ?

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I think it's done about 14k miles.

frupi said:

I check our oil level weekly... before anyone wonders, I don't wipe the dipstick every time I do it, if I did, it would probably be me responsible for using up most of the oil!

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I checked my oil today and when I lifted the dipstick out (it had been sitting for about 2-3 minutes) it was showing full. Wiped it clean and it then showed that it was half full.

http://autorepair.about.com/od/regularmaintenance/a/checkoil.htm
Note that some of the US Multi-air owners are having a bit of trouble checking theirs (Click here).

SiliconS said:

I think it's done about 14k miles.

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I checked Mobile 1 oil guarantee (Click here) and it is only covered for 10K miles and for 12 months of use. I really can't see Selenia's oil being of a higher standard than Mobil One.

Checking the latest Fiat 500 manual (Click here) it states that if you are doing a lot of city driving the oil should be changed every 12 months - see Note 2 (Note 1 refers to Timing belt & 3 refers to the MJ).

Would you consider going for an early service to include all that is required at 30K km (18K miles) ?

jrkitching said:

So far I've not had to top up either of my 1.2 cars, but then again I change the oil every 8000 miles. I'd be surprised if any engine could run 18000 miles on the initial fill.

There's frighteningly little oil in total, so it pays not to be complacent & check it every time you refuel*.

*there are several advantages to doing this at the filling station; the car will almost certainly be on level ground, there's usually a handy canopy to keep off the worst of the weather, free plastic gloves, paper towels to wipe the dipstick & a bin to put them in when you're finished . Plus 400 miles or so is a reasonable interval to run between checks.

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400 miles? you mean km? = )
Well since i do 18 k per oil change i definately check it now and then esp. with the oil hungry 1.4 engine! Fiat says every 1800 miles, check the dipstick or if driven hard or long journey, before and after that.

I used Halfords or Tesco 5w40 fully synthetic and changed every 8,000 miles with a new filter. I often just picked up whichever was being flogged off cheap at the time. 117,000 miles later the car was still going strong when I sold it with no problems whatsoever. IMHO there's no need to stick with a particular brand. I must have saved hundreds of ££s over the lifetime of the car and it made absolutely no difference to reliability or resale value by the time you're up to that kind of mileage.

jrkitching said:

So far I've not had to top up either of my 1.2 cars, but then again I change the oil every 8000 miles. I'd be surprised if any engine could run 18000 miles on the initial fill.

There's frighteningly little oil in total, so it pays not to be complacent & check it every time you refuel*.

*there are several advantages to doing this at the filling station; the car will almost certainly be on level ground, there's usually a handy canopy to keep off the worst of the weather, free plastic gloves, paper towels to wipe the dipstick & a bin to put them in when you're finished . Plus 400 miles or so is a reasonable interval to run between checks.

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Slightly off topic, we’ve still got our 500, but I’ve had a 3 series for 4 and a half years. It’s now done 220k+ miles with oil changes every 16-18k miles.