Hi everyone

My 500x Is due its first service soon. I’ve been quoted £170 by the dealer to get this done. Do I have to have it done with them or can I have it done elsewhere for cheaper but still keep the warranty valid? Any help would be appreciated. Cheers

Beware if it's a MultiAir or TwinAir engine, these require very special oil.
Other workshops than Fiat/Alfa dealers may not have this in stock, and fill in universal oil, that can and will damage the MultiAir units in time..

You can take it to any garage that is VAT registered, the first service is only mainly a check over, however I would be inclined to change the oil for piece of mind, Peter is right about the oil make sure it's what Fiat stipulate, although they charge more I might be inclined to use a dealer for the first couple of services, if there any issues they may highlight them as I presume they get paid by Fiat for any Warranty work

Having paid out thousands of pounds to buy your 500X it's got to be a better option to pay out £170 for a Fiat dealer to do the service, they will also do a software update if required.

The 2015-on Euro 6 MultiAir and TwinAir engines need synthetic 0W30 C2 oil, see handbook.
Not many brands make this type of oil, Selenia/Petronas does, supplied by.....Fiat dealers.

butcha said:

Hi everyone

My 500x Is due its first service soon. I’ve been quoted £170 by the dealer to get this done. Do I have to have it done with them or can I have it done elsewhere for cheaper but still keep the warranty valid? Any help would be appreciated. Cheers

Click to expand...

£170 for the first service! For my 1.4 petrol it was £50 at main dealer. It’s only checks with nothing replaced.

Peter Pick-Up said:

The 2015-on Euro 6 MultiAir and TwinAir engines need synthetic 0W30 C2 oil, see handbook.
Not many brands make this type of oil, Selenia/Petronas does, supplied by.....Fiat dealers.

Click to expand...

Indeed. I did a lot of research into this including contacting technical support for the major brands and most declined to recommend one of their oils.

What did come out of the research is that Castrol Edge Professional H C2 0W-30 (only available from Honda dealers) and PETRONAS Syntium 7000E 0W-30 C2 were the only other PURE C2 oil. By pure I mean that other makes, such as Shell Helix Utra ECT 0W-30 claim C2/C3.

Regarding PETRONAS Syntium 7000E then PETRONAS are adamant that the oil is a different formulation that their Digitek Pure Energy and only this oil has certified Fiat approval specification specifically formulated for MultiAir engines.

Petronas Syntium 7000E 0W30 C2, is EXACT the same oil as Selenia Pure Energy 0W30 C2.
Selenia as a brand doesn't excist anymore since some time, Petronas owns the name now.
Just for Alfa and Fiat Petronas keeps selling their oil in Selenia bottles/cans...

butcha said:

Hi everyone

My 500x Is due its first service soon. I’ve been quoted £170 by the dealer to get this done. Do I have to have it done with them or can I have it done elsewhere for cheaper but still keep the warranty valid? Any help would be appreciated. Cheers

Click to expand...

One point of note; yes any VAT registered garage can carry out the work and if using approved parts the manufacturer warranty is not void... however, your year 3 warranty is not a manufacturer warranty. It is an extension provided by FIAT UK. If you don't use the FIAT network they are not obliged to offer you more than 2 years. Some exceptions exist, usually for owners in rural areas like the Highlands where you can't reasonably get to a main dealer and local agreements for service and warranty work may be in place.

Hi everyone, I meant to join/post when I had my 500X serviced last month. I had read here that the first service was just checks with no oil change, but they must have changed the service schedule for 2017 cars - still every 9000 miles but the service checklist includes oil and filter change at EVERY service.

Even better, I paid £379 up front for three services and an MOT, so well pleased. Mine is a 1.6 petrol, by the way.

Cheers everyone. It does seem excessive to me to be charging that much for basically a bit of oil.
I think the fact that the 3rd year of warranty has certain stipulations attached means my hands are tied a bit, looks like they’re going to be robbing me blind then!! Haha

Is the service schedule mileage or time based......... Sorry not got my handbook - to hand (so to speak!)

Peter Pick-Up said:

Petronas Syntium 7000E 0W30 C2, is EXACT the same oil as Selenia Pure Energy 0W30 C2.
Selenia as a brand doesn't excist anymore since some time, Petronas owns the name now.
Just for Alfa and Fiat Petronas keeps selling their oil in Selenia bottles/cans...

Click to expand...

Well why would PETRONAS UK lie to me about 7000E and Pure Energy are not the same formulation. They may have the same API etc ratings but these are industry *minimum* requirements and with newer challenging engineering applications manufacturers employ the likes of the old Exxon Paramins and Shell Chemical Company to develop additives to tackle specific issues that new designs present.

I know this for FACT as my dad spent near on all his working life as internationally recognised industrial chemist working for Exxon's and Shell's additives divisions formulating brews for all the major car manufacturers (BMW, GM, Mercedes, Fiat, Volvo to name a few).

It would be highly unethical for PETRONAS UK to lie.

The Uni/MultiAir technology is a very new and no doubt challenging requirement for an engine oil to undertake in addition to more traditional lubrication functions. This is also probably why Fiat have changed Uni/MultiAir oil requirements in recent times.

Nello, the handbook for my 2015 1.4 MA states that the service intervals are 9000 miles or every 12 months. The intermediate service oil/filter change is "recommended", or mandatory if the car covers less than 10,000km annually.

Regarding the warranty, I have always had my cars serviced by a franchised dealer during the warranty period in case of any disputes. The extra cost is negligable compared to the cost of the car, or depreciation.

I just studied my warranty book, which states that the first 24 months are covered by Fiat UK, a trading name of Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd. Under the "Additional Fiat Warranty" it states that Fiat will warrant the vehicle for an additional 12 months. It also states "The Additional Fiat Warranty carries the same terms and conditions as those quoted in this booklet for years one and two". I think I would need a solicitor to explain to me why the third year is different!

Finally, by chance I was reading an Honest John long term report on a Renault Kadjar, and he paid £199 for an oil/filter + pollen filter change at a franchised dealer. This included a "health check" and clean. £170 would seem to be in the normal range for franchised dealer attention.

s130 said:

Well why would PETRONAS UK lie to me about 7000E and Pure Energy are not the same formulation. They may have the same API etc ratings but these are industry *minimum* requirements and with newer challenging engineering applications manufacturers employ the likes of the old Exxon Paramins and Shell Chemical Company to develop additives to tackle specific issues that new designs present.

I know this for FACT as my dad spent near on all his working life as internationally recognised industrial chemist working for Exxon's and Shell's additives divisions formulating brews for all the major car manufacturers (BMW, GM, Mercedes, Fiat, Volvo to name a few).

It would be highly unethical for PETRONAS UK to lie.

The Uni/MultiAir technology is a very new and no doubt challenging requirement for an engine oil to undertake in addition to more traditional lubrication functions. This is also probably why Fiat have changed Uni/MultiAir oil requirements in recent times.

Click to expand...

I don't know why Petronas UK is lying to you, I even don't know what they told you, or what you did ask in the first place...

I've got a written statement from Petronas that Petronas Syntium 7000E 0W30 C2 and Selenia Pure Energy 0W30 C2 is comming from the same plant, it's by they're own words "exactely the same oil", they told me a lot more about this, but the bottom line is this ,no question.
So when an MultiAir, or TwinAir or UniAir calls for Selenia 0W30 C2 it's perfectly all right to use Petronas 0W30 C2!
And Petronas 0W30 C2 is what I'm using in my brandnew Alfa Giulietta 1,4 Turbo MultiAir 170HP, despite the handbook calls for Selenia...

Hear what you say Peter.

This does pose a "difference" and yes I could possibly understand a sales PETRONAS national rep who is selling Selenia Pure Energy to Fiat UK might want to boost his sales but I asked PETRONAS UK technical an exact question and now appear to have a different answer to what you got.

No worry for the time being as I have some stock of Pure Energy to get through but I think I'll rattle some cages to find out what the hell is going on.

Selenia as an Italian oil company doesn't excist anymore.
Petronas bought the name, and only a tiny amount of their oil is branded as "Selenia".
Do you really think Petronas is producing two different 0w30 C2 oils...??

I've had a look at the oil situation myself. My handbook states the oil specification as 9.55535-GS1, with a note that using an oil with a different specification may cause damage to the engine that is not covered by the warranty. I believe this is a Fiat oil specification.

The technical data for the oil badged as Petronus Selenia Digitek Pure Energy 0W-30 includes this specification.

The technical data for the oil badged as Petronus Syntium 7000E 0W-30 does not include this specification.

I therefore conclude that it is wise to stick to the "Selenia" oil, at least for the warranty period. The two may well be filled from the same tank, but it doesn't seem to be written down anywhere.

TrevC said:

I've had a look at the oil situation myself. My handbook states the oil specification as 9.55535-GS1, with a note that using an oil with a different specification may cause damage to the engine that is not covered by the warranty. I believe this is a Fiat oil specification.

The technical data for the oil badged as Petronus Selenia Digitek Pure Energy 0W-30 includes this specification.

The technical data for the oil badged as Petronus Syntium 7000E 0W-30 does not include this specification.

I therefore conclude that it is wise to stick to the "Selenia" oil, at least for the warranty period. The two may well be filled from the same tank, but it doesn't seem to be written down anywhere.

Click to expand...

And I conclude the same despite the additional cost for the reasons I mentioned in my post covering the additives business services that all the major vehicle manufacturers use on their new technology and more challenging requirements. Also the Digitek technical data does say "Specific Formulation".

What will and does happen over time is that you will find that other oils catch up and move their formulations to cover these new requirements.

Why are specifications important? (quote from oil industry and not me)
-------------------------------------
Choosing a motor oil for our car is not as simple now as it used to be. As the emission limits get severer and severer and car manufacturers are designing more and more complex engines the demands a lubricant is facing are getting rather high.

Oil companies are doing their best to comply with the new demands and to make the best possible products for your car. But if everyone claims to have the best oil how can you choose?

This is where specifications get into the picture. Several independent organizations - like API and ACEA among others - are working on creating a classification system for the oils that creates order from chaos. Their aim is to maintain a set of specifications that help the manufacturers and the consumers to compare the different products and to choose whatever is right for their vehicle.

But some vehicle manufacturers did not find these standards good enough for their lubrication needs. So they created their own standards (OEM standards) and they require an oil to meet their specifications before allowing it to be used in their vehicles.

Indeed. Although the multi-air system isn't that new now. It had been around for a while when I bought my 500 twinair early in 2011. Once that was out of warranty, I used a trusted local mechanic, but provided him with the appropriate variant of Petronus Syntium oil to use, which did list the Fiat spec. from the handbook, as did Castrol Edge. That was 5W-40 C3 oil, we can only guess at why it's had to change.