Technical using oil

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Technical using oil

evostorm

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Hi everyone i'm new to this forum and owning a fiat, well in fact its my other half's car it's a 13 plate fiat 500 sport 1.2 petrol it done about 19,000 miles and we have only had it for two months now, but in that time it has used a lot of oil,my girlfriend does about 270 miles a week in it, and i am having to top the oil up each week, there are no leaks, breather hoses are clean, im wondering is this correct for these cars as i have only ever had Honda's and Mitsubishi's which have never used oil at all (even my evo never uses oil,lots of fuel but not oil :) ) no lights are coming on but when i check the lights and levels each week the oil on the dip stick has dropped from full to about just above half which to me is a lot of oil to have gone ? ? there are no signs of it smoking so has me a little confused anybody else come across this before ?? if so what was it ? how was it fixed ? or is this just how these engines are ? thank you in advance .
 
Hi everyone i'm new to this forum and owning a fiat, well in fact its my other half's car it's a 13 plate fiat 500 sport 1.2 petrol it done about 19,000 miles and we have only had it for two months now, but in that time it has used a lot of oil,my girlfriend does about 270 miles a week in it, and i am having to top the oil up each week, there are no leaks, breather hoses are clean, im wondering is this correct for these cars as i have only ever had Honda's and Mitsubishi's which have never used oil at all (even my evo never uses oil,lots of fuel but not oil :) ) no lights are coming on but when i check the lights and levels each week the oil on the dip stick has dropped from full to about just above half which to me is a lot of oil to have gone ? ? there are no signs of it smoking so has me a little confused anybody else come across this before ?? if so what was it ? how was it fixed ? or is this just how these engines are ? thank you in advance .


You are in warranty. Go get it checked out

Fiats manual says 0.4 l/ 1000 km maximum oil consumption full dipstick is 1l
 
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I was using a bit of oil recently in my 1.4l DL. Needed 2l but they didn't say there was a leak or anything for mine. One year warranty left and will monitor it now...
 
It would be interesting to know the history of this vehicle. With only 19k miles on the clock, it shouldn't be using the amount of oil you say you are having to put in. Where did you buy the vehicle from? How many previous owners? Of course, 13 plate, depending on which month it was registered, will dictate how much of the initial two year Fiat warranty is remaining. You may find you are covered under the 3rd year 'dealer' warranty, but only if your girlfriend has transferred that 3rd year warranty into her name.

We owned our old 1.2 POP for just under 2.5 years before we PX'd it for a new TA and it had just 17k on the clock when we parted with it. We put 16k miles of those miles on it and we had it serviced twice. There are reports of people waiting a full 18k before putting their vehicle in for a service, which to be honest, isn't wise or great, therefore perfectly possible on a car that is just two years old, never to have been serviced.

As per previous advice, if the car is still within warranty, get it to a franchised Fiat dealer and have it checked out for peace of mind, and if it hasn't been serviced, then get that done too.
 
It would be interesting to know the history of this vehicle. With only 19k miles on the clock, it shouldn't be using the amount of oil you say you are having to put in. Where did you buy the vehicle from? How many previous owners? Of course, 13 plate, depending on which month it was registered, will dictate how much of the initial two year Fiat warranty is remaining. You may find you are covered under the 3rd year 'dealer' warranty, but only if your girlfriend has transferred that 3rd year warranty into her name.

We owned our old 1.2 POP for just under 2.5 years before we PX'd it for a new TA and it had just 17k on the clock when we parted with it. We put 16k miles of those miles on it and we had it serviced twice. There are reports of people waiting a full 18k before putting their vehicle in for a service, which to be honest, isn't wise or great, therefore perfectly possible on a car that is just two years old, never to have been serviced.

As per previous advice, if the car is still within warranty, get it to a franchised Fiat dealer and have it checked out for peace of mind, and if it hasn't been serviced, then get that done too.
yes if the oil has never been changed its normal for it to use a lot of oil.
 
yes if the oil has never been changed its normal for it to use a lot of oil.

Agreed, and this is why on both our old POP and our current TA, the first oil change was done at 4,160 and 4,912 miles respectively on a 12 month service schedule, with the second one on the old POP at 11k miles. The TA is in for its second service next month, it'll have 13k on it. I can't express enough the importance of regular oil changes. Yes, the synthetic oils are good, but I still don't accept that it does an engine any good running oil until it's done 18k or in some cases 20k miles.

Oh, and whilst we're on the subject of oil changes, I would also strongly advise every single time, to use genuine manufacturer oil filters, especially on the TA engine. Even on my Saab, I use genuine boxed Fiat filters or MANN boxed filters, as MANN actually make the filters on behalf of Fiat, certainly for my own Fiat engine anyway.
 
Agreed, and this is why on both our old POP and our current TA, the first oil change was done at 4,160 and 4,912 miles respectively on a 12 month service schedule, with the second one on the old POP at 11k miles. The TA is in for its second service next month, it'll have 13k on it. I can't express enough the importance of regular oil changes. Yes, the synthetic oils are good, but I still don't accept that it does an engine any good running oil until it's done 18k or in some cases 20k miles.

Oh, and whilst we're on the subject of oil changes, I would also strongly advise every single time, to use genuine manufacturer oil filters, especially on the TA engine. Even on my Saab, I use genuine boxed Fiat filters or MANN boxed filters, as MANN actually make the filters on behalf of Fiat, certainly for my own Fiat engine anyway.


I went to 18 k on my first oil change and noticed after 12k the oil consumption increased as the oil got dirty. Now I stick with 10-12k oil changes. I use Bosch filters, looks the same as the fiat one to me !
 
Hi thanks for all the advice, its a one owner car and has full dealer history, i have taken it to our local dealer who says they cant find anything wrong with, i myself have worked in the motor trade for almost 25 years, and have never really come across a engine using so much oil without smoking or some kind of signs of other problems, (and i have worked with almost every brand of car ! ) i just cant see that it is meant to use so much oil, i am using mobile oil so not cheap rubbish as i have seen what cheap oil can do to engines first hand ! any more advice ???
 
My 1.2l pop hardly ever used oil. Maybe because I ran the car in hard when new.
 
Hi thanks for all the advice, its a one owner car and has full dealer history, i have taken it to our local dealer who says they cant find anything wrong with, i myself have worked in the motor trade for almost 25 years, and have never really come across a engine using so much oil without smoking or some kind of signs of other problems, (and i have worked with almost every brand of car ! ) i just cant see that it is meant to use so much oil, i am using mobile oil so not cheap rubbish as i have seen what cheap oil can do to engines first hand ! any more advice ???

I promise I'm not being pedantic here, but what sort of full dealer history? When I say that, the car is only two years old, exactly what history has it got? When did it have it's first oil change? When exactly was it last serviced? I say this, because the first 1.2 500, an ex Fiat fleet vehicle, I bought from an authorised Fiat reseller for about £2.5k less than what Fiat were charging on their forecourt prices. Our car only had 824 miles on the clock when we bought it. I can tell you now, the car was NOT serviced prior to handover, other than washed and valeted after coming off the car transporter, the reason given, 'It's four months old, next to no mileage on it and 20 months warranty left on it. Bring it back when its first service is due'. That car never gave us any mechanical problems other than a apparently 'faulty' electric steering motor, which on reflection, I just think was utter crap as we never had any issues with it. Anyway from experience, I'm not convinced that all cars sold second hand, are serviced before they go out.

You say you're using Mobil oil (I'm assuming that is what you meant). The car is still under warranty and to be honest, you could argue that you ought to be putting in Selenia oil to comply with Fiat's warranty terms unless of course you're not bothered. Ok, as long as it meets the correct spec, a much discussed topic on here, but there are still folk putting the wrong grade oil in.

Where's your next franchised Fiat dealership? You could consider taking it to another dealership for another opinion. Bottom line, from your description, the vehicle appears to be using far too much oil and you know that. My advice, take it back to the dealership you bought it from and demand a proper assessment and if they won't help you, chase it up through Fiat CS. You've paid good money, don't see yourself off.
 
A few years ago my son had a Toyota Celica that got through a litre of oil every 1000 miles. Apparently a common problem with the 1.8vvt engine of that time, due to gumming of one of the piston rings. No smoking, or other evidence of anything wrong. Not heard of anything similar on a 500 though.
 
I promise I'm not being pedantic here, but what sort of full dealer history? When I say that, the car is only two years old, exactly what history has it got? When did it have it's first oil change? When exactly was it last serviced? I say this, because the first 1.2 500, an ex Fiat fleet vehicle, I bought from an authorised Fiat reseller for about £2.5k less than what Fiat were charging on their forecourt prices. Our car only had 824 miles on the clock when we bought it. I can tell you now, the car was NOT serviced prior to handover, other than washed and valeted after coming off the car transporter, the reason given, 'It's four months old, next to no mileage on it and 20 months warranty left on it. Bring it back when its first service is due'. That car never gave us any mechanical problems other than a apparently 'faulty' electric steering motor, which on reflection, I just think was utter crap as we never had any issues with it. Anyway from experience, I'm not convinced that all cars sold second hand, are serviced before they go out.

You say you're using Mobil oil (I'm assuming that is what you meant). The car is still under warranty and to be honest, you could argue that you ought to be putting in Selenia oil to comply with Fiat's warranty terms unless of course you're not bothered. Ok, as long as it meets the correct spec, a much discussed topic on here, but there are still folk putting the wrong grade oil in.

Where's your next franchised Fiat dealership? You could consider taking it to another dealership for another opinion. Bottom line, from your description, the vehicle appears to be using far too much oil and you know that. My advice, take it back to the dealership you bought it from and demand a proper assessment and if they won't help you, chase it up through Fiat CS. You've paid good money, don't see yourself off.
Its first service was last December at 15,000 miles or just over that a little and was just a tad over a year old its a one owner car from new, plus i got the garage to do an oil change when we brought it and i did check it was done before signing on the dotted line ( as i work in a dealership and know how some work) NOT ALL ARE BAD ! it just has me puzzled im thinking headgasket but can,t see any of the tell tail signs, think im going to do a sniff test if nothing then fiat can have it back till they sort out !
 
Our last two 1.2s used oil for the first 3,000 miles by just over a half litre, but very little after that and after the first service, none at all needed in 9-12000 miles between services, We have stuck to Shell oils from the 1950s old Shell 591 to the present Helix plus.
 
Its first service was last December at 15,000 miles or just over that a little and was just a tad over a year old its a one owner car from new, plus i got the garage to do an oil change when we brought it and i did check it was done before signing on the dotted line ( as i work in a dealership and know how some work) NOT ALL ARE BAD ! it just has me puzzled im thinking headgasket but can,t see any of the tell tail signs, think im going to do a sniff test if nothing then fiat can have it back till they sort out !

Amen to that! You are absolutely correct, not all are bad, a point I have made many times on this forum. You will however come across some of our members who think they're going to get right royally ripped off or who think that having a dealership service is a total waste of money.

Be careful what you do with the car, don't leave any traces of 'tinkering'. If the car isn't right, then do the right thing and let the dealership sort it out. The last thing you want is them refusing any warranty claims. Have you transferred the 3rd year warranty by the way? If you haven't, I highly recommend you do so. (y)
 
Our last two 1.2s used oil for the first 3,000 miles by just over a half litre, but very little after that and after the first service, none at all needed in 9-12000 miles between services, We have stuck to Shell oils from the 1950s old Shell 591 to the present Helix plus.
this is what has me stumped i expect a car to use some oil on being run, but very little with modern engines and oils etc i myself have a mistsubishi evo running 450bhp and that doesn't use a drop of oil, nor does my honda civic or my 1997 mini cooper, we only brought this fiat as her scooby was starting to cost so much on fuel as her job needs her to do a lot of mileage now, i mean its returning well over 55mpg on her daily drive to work which into birmingham city centre is no fun with all the road works so it seems to be running fine, which is why im so baffled by this using so much oil.
 
Fire engines absolutely hate Mobil - I remember having Mobil 1 in my Panda fire 1000 (when two years old with 20k on the clock) which disappeared off he bottom of the dipstick within 750 miles. It never used a drop of Olio Fiat or Morris' Multivis up to when I sold it at 85k.
 
Amen to that! You are absolutely correct, not all are bad, a point I have made many times on this forum. You will however come across some of our members who think they're going to get right royally ripped off or who think that having a dealership service is a total waste of money.

Be careful what you do with the car, don't leave any traces of 'tinkering'. If the car isn't right, then do the right thing and let the dealership sort it out. The last thing you want is them refusing any warranty claims. Have you transferred the 3rd year warranty by the way? If you haven't, I highly recommend you do so. (y)
it only 18 months old so i have a few months on that one, i'm by no means a fan of fiats having worked on many a old one (sorry guys for me it has to be jap) i know i'm in for some stick now lol but i do have to say i think they have come along way and in a good place right now, im so so puzzled by this.
 
Fire engines absolutely hate Mobil - I remember having Mobil 1 in my Panda fire 1000 (when two years old with 20k on the clock) which disappeared off he bottom of the dipstick within 750 miles. It never used a drop of Olio Fiat or Morris' Multivis up to when I sold it at 85k.
you cant beat morris oil :) castrol a close second,
 
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