Hi all, just turned up at work as usual and as I pulled up I was greeted with this display !

I'll be the first to admit I'm no engine buff and have no real Idea what it means apart from turn off the engine.

I will admit, I travel 5 days a week about 5 miles to work along a dual carraige way and generally nail it all the way there....am thinkin this may not help....but hopefully someone here can...Pleeeeeze !!

I have some oil, just wanna know If I should be checking for any leakage or if I need to top upt he oil, don't really wanna move the car....

Thanks In Advance

Have you checked how much oil you have in the car (using the dipstick) It should be done daily.

IF you have just turned the car off, let it sit for about an hour to allow the oil to drain back into the sump, and then check it. If its low, add some.

I would say add it to the weekly check list. Daily is a bit wierd.

Cheers

PD

Thanks mate...will do.

Just a little worried seeing as the cars just over 6 months old

Daily is a little extreme lol

Pheonix 500 said:

Thanks mate...will do.

Just a little worried seeing as the cars just over 6 months old

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My 1.4 has used 2 litres over 7 months/10k miles. Thats about half the consumption of my BMW. I certainly would not be worried if there are no leaks.
(I had one BMW which used 1 litre/1000 miles of Mobil 1 from new and racked up 145k miles with no engine related issues at all)

As already said get the oil level checked. If it's low then it will simply be a case of topping it up and you'll be on your way. Then keep an eye on it. I would suggest daily for a little while just incase it is a leak.

Pheonix 500 said:

Thanks mate...will do.

Just a little worried seeing as the cars just over 6 months old

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How often have you been checking the oil?

Cheers

PD

Chris@souls said:

Daily is a little extreme lol

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If you have seen my engine block its pretty much needed, it seems to sweat oil, coming out of the block in random places.

I do oil, water and tyre pressures the first time I drive the car for the day. That way I can have complete confidence in it.

Cheers for all of your comments

Just popped into Fiat and it turns out I was running very low, no warning though, just 'turn off engine'...grrrrreat ! Glad I was only going to work.

I have been a bit crap though, bought on March 1st, haven't checked until today

All good now though and I will be keeping an eye on the situation just incase it is a leak.

bludvl_x19 said:

If you have seen my engine block its pretty much needed, it seems to sweat oil, coming out of the block in random places.

I do oil, water and tyre pressures the first time I drive the car for the day. That way I can have complete confidence in it.

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That sounds familiar!

I personally have taken to checking coolant and oil before anything first thing (and rechecking after 50 miles-ish) and wiping what I can to see where the the leaks are coming from; sorting the leaks one by one though

5abr3 said:

That sounds familiar!

I personally have taken to checking coolant and oil before anything first thing (and rechecking after 50 miles-ish) and wiping what I can to see where the the leaks are coming from; sorting the leaks one by one though

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Older Fiats FTMFW!!!!!!1!1!one!!!!

Pheonix 500 said:

Cheers for all of your comments

Just popped into Fiat and it turns out I was running very low, no warning though, just 'turn off engine'...grrrrreat ! Glad I was only going to work.

I have been a bit crap though, bought on March 1st, haven't checked until today

All good now though and I will be keeping an eye on the situation just incase it is a leak.

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You have been a lot 'crap' I'm afraid. You are lucky to get that warning, most cars would have chucked a rod through the block as the hint.

Shame you popped into Fiat, they will now have logged that the car has been run low, so any warranty on the engine that could be laid at the door of low oil will be void.

After 7 months it will just be normal usage, any leak would have destroyed the engine by now.

Cheers

PD

rallycinq said:

You have been a lot 'crap' I'm afraid. You are lucky to get that warning, most cars would have chucked a rod through the block as the hint.

Shame you popped into Fiat, they will now have logged that the car has been run low, so any warranty on the engine that could be laid at the door of low oil will be void.

After 7 months it will just be normal usage, any leak would have destroyed the engine by now.

Cheers

PD

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Appreciate your concern but I’m pretty sure this minor incident hasn’t been logged as I didn’t give any details or sign any documentation. Also, when I turned up I went straight to the service garage bypassing the customer service desk and asked if one of the mechanics could spare me two minutes, the guy was a top bloke. Turns out he’s a friend of a friend.No money was exchanged.

He came out, had a quick look, went back to get some oil, I gave him mine, we had some friendly idle chit chat and he advised me to either get a service either after 18, 000 miles or after a year of owning the car, which ever comes first.

So the moral of my reply is…..put that in yu pipe and smoke it buddy…na seriously, cheers for all of your replies.

I have learnt a valuable lesson today

OK. Now I'm gonna ask a really stupid question: how the 'low level oil' looks on the dipstick in the 500? I have checked and I can't tell. There is no upper and lower line on the stick, just a flattened part of it. I know it is really daft but my other cars had acutal lines marked 'high' and 'low'. And what colour should it be? On my 500 it is slightly muddy...

Thanks guys!

The flat part is marked with cross hatching. The oil should be showing on the cross hatched area, ideally above half way up it I just keep mine topped up near the top of that area. Its been the same on Fiats for ages.

I have to admit I've NEVER checked the oil (nor tyre pressure nor water thingy level (coolant?)) on ANY car i've owned! I usually get it checked on the service once a year. Is that really really bad?

However, I shall instruct hubbie to check the oil bi-monthly from now on hearing about your oil problem. Thanks for the advice.

It is recommended that you add the oil check to your standard weekly checks.

Cheers

PD

rallycinq said:

It is recommended that you add the oil check to your standard weekly checks.

Cheers

PD

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"standard weekly checks"????? What on earth are they?!?!? At the moment all I do is check to see if my leather seats have marks on

Heidi said:

"standard weekly checks"????? What on earth are they?!?!? At the moment all I do is check to see if my leather seats have marks on

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I would have thought there would be a weekly check between hubbies head and the back of your hand to do such checks Heidi !!