General Oil needs changing again in 1.3 multijet after 7000 miles!

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General Oil needs changing again in 1.3 multijet after 7000 miles!

kenken45

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Hello everyone.
I had my 1.3 multijet serviced last April and they changed the oil and filter as the display had just started flashing that it was necessary. This was at 21,000 miles. Now, at 27,800 miles the display tells me that the oil needs changing again. I noticed that the regular change interval on Doblo diesels with no DPF is every 12,500 miles, or 2 years. I have been using the car mainly locally and on A roads, and I drive quite slowly. Also, I check the oil regularly and never have to top it up as the level is always right. So why should my car need an oil change again so quickly after only 7,000 miles? I am concerned that the garage (a Fiat one) either didn’t change the oil or used the wrong oil. What can I do? If I go back to them and complain are they just going to tell me that it is my driving style or atmospheric conditions, or something? Maybe I am jumping the gun here and the icy weather coupled with my low mileage and slow driving have affected the oil, I don't know. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks. :confused:
 
It will be your drivin im affraid... 1.3 dpf engine's should really be sold to people who are performing longer journey's. When a regen begin's automatically it will create an over fuel situation to clean the particulate filter. if this process starts and then you key off as its a short journey, the process will start again on your next trip, and so on. Best thing to do is to get it fapping hot and go for a longer drive at high rev's every so often just to enable to the dpf regen to take place. By doing this you should find your oil interval increases
 
Stu, he says he hasn't got a dpf.
OP, it's all your short journeys. It might seem expensive changing the oil more frequently but probably worth it in the long run.
Although if you don't plan to keep the car more than a few more years it may be worth hanging on for the 12 months - but only you can weigh that one up.
 
Thanks for the replies EssexStu and Sledgeguts.
Sorry if I wasn't clear in my post. I have got DPF as it is a 2006 1.3 deisel multijet (with a high roof). Also, although I do mostly short journeys, I do long drives about once a month. Generally, either to London (200miles) or to Shropshire (70 miles). But I still drive economically almost all the time. I'm a bit obsessive about economy and generally try to get over 50mpg on long drives. I've noticed that I can't get anywhere near that on short drives for work or shopping. So overall I only get about 45 mpg. But I think this is still pretty good though.

Thanks for allaying my fears about the garage. I'm not used to using main dealers and only went to them for the guarantee and so that they could plug their machine into the car to check everything. This year I'm going back to the local chap down the road that I've know for years. I'm just wondering about how he will get the dashboard to stop telling me to change the oil. Do you think he'll be able to reset the thing or will it stop automatically when the oil is nice and new?

Cheers,
Ken. :)
 
Yep short journeys will cause this! I'd suggest changing the oil on a regular basis as these can end up with some pretty major problems if you dont!

Not many non Fiat diagnostic machines can reset the DPF service intervals. You need to check before you take it elsewhere really.
 
Thought must of had dpf as there is no oil indicator on the non dpf lol, ecu has no way or need to calculate oil degredation
 
Thanks for the replies. I've got a service due at the end of March so I'll get the oil changed at the same time.

I was interested in what essexstu said about the ecu not being able to tell when the oil needs changing. What triggers the message on the dashboard then? I assumed the DPF had a sensor on it attached to the one in the oil that checked its viscosity or soot content or something. Does it just depend how long it takes to clean the particulate filter after startup? I thought that the DPF got cleaned automatically by the engine running hot for a short while. On the other hand, I'm only guessing, because the light flashes on for a short while at startup. It's all a mystery to me.

I used to have a Morris Minor and do everything myself on it. It only had one light for the oil and everything could be checked manually. Mind you, I can't count how many times I had to do something to the brakes and I seemed to be forever either doing the tappets or adjusting the timing. Also, in this weather, I had to wear about three coats and a pair of gloves to keep warm when out driving!

cheers,
Ken.:)
 
Thanks for the replies. I've got a service due at the end of March so I'll get the oil changed at the same time.

I was interested in what essexstu said about the ecu not being able to tell when the oil needs changing. What triggers the message on the dashboard then? I assumed the DPF had a sensor on it attached to the one in the oil that checked its viscosity or soot content or something. Does it just depend how long it takes to clean the particulate filter after startup? I thought that the DPF got cleaned automatically by the engine running hot for a short while. On the other hand, I'm only guessing, because the light flashes on for a short while at startup. It's all a mystery to me.

I used to have a Morris Minor and do everything myself on it. It only had one light for the oil and everything could be checked manually. Mind you, I can't count how many times I had to do something to the brakes and I seemed to be forever either doing the tappets or adjusting the timing. Also, in this weather, I had to wear about three coats and a pair of gloves to keep warm when out driving!

cheers,
Ken.:)

Think ya miss-read my last line :) .... If it has a DPF the ecu calculates the amount of excess fuel used to regen, and the usage of the vehicle to calculate when the oil needs changing

non dpf model's dont have this feature, and just have the service light which will usually come on when the mileage is reached for the service interval
 
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