Time for my first service on the car. What should be included, what should I look out for, what should I mention.

Also what should it cost and should I go back to the dealer or shop around. Original dealer was Glynn Hopkin in Chadwell Heath who seem pretty good so far. I bought my Seicento off them new and I do miss it

The consensus opinion is get it serviced by a fiat dealer until warrantee expires.
If you are happy with dealer you already used stick with them, you never know they may even treat you as valued customer.
Ask service manager for a print of what is done at first service.
Check your car carefully for any damage , knocks, dents, scratches before leaving car with them and before you take it away.
Take before pictures if you can easily.
When you drop car off ask them if there is anything they want know before you leave.
If you know of any faults tell them.

Thanks that is very helpful.

Only thing I have noticed is the DAB sucks and loses signal about 10 times on a 30 min journey home I assume due to bad reception although I don't live in an area of bad reception.

The gear change seems to over rev a little and the handbrake has a mind of its own but I think that's mostly me

I don't understand your comment on gear change over rev. Is it an automatic gearbox?
Please elaborate.

Certainly ask about handbrake and demonstrate to service manger, could be a problem or you could receive useful tips.

If you drive the 1.4 Multiair then I would opt for both an oil change and filter change even if the schedule/mileage warrants it.

The multiair engines in the past have proven to be fussy about oil quality and Fiat have changed the required oil specification requirements.

Also ensure that any servicing garage uses the Selenia Digitek Pure Energy SAE 0W-30 ACEA C2.

Most/Many Fiat garages carry a more generic wide usage oil in the oil delivery lines which they buy in bulk. This/these oils are not recommended for the MultiAir II engines and the recommend oil is only available in 2L cans (at expense!)

Regarding the over revving comment - if it's a 1.4MA, they are just a difficult car to drive smoothly. Exceptionally fussy things. I still can't 100% get on with mine either. Gear changes are unnecessarily aggressive too and the thing is 10x worse in sports mode! It's one of those cars that is just much less happy in town than it is on the open road.

Yes the MultiAir is a definitely "springy" on take offs and gears changes especially in Sports mode.

In general this is what is going on:

1) The clutch pedal not only has two position switches is also has a 0-100% positional travel metering

2) The engine ECU will automatically lift the engine rpm to 1100 (ish) rpm as soon as the clutch pedal begins to lift up. (Sort of an anti-stall)

3) Throttle pedal response is much more biased and compressed to the 1st travel region of the pedal.

The wayI've managed to tame/control and get used to my 500X MA is to stick it in Sport Mode and drive it in that mode for several weeks without being tempted to go to Auto Mode to check the difference. In addition in all but the steepest of hill starts (or aggressive power take offs on a drag strip) don't touch the accelerator pedal and just bring the clutch up gently. Once you are off the clutch then press the throttle pedal.

I tow a caravan and even on an incline I can get everything moving without initial throttle pedal operation.

Like a lot of things in the 500X it is all kind of counter intuitive to begin with.

Once you have mastered Sports Mode then flipping between Sport and Auto becomes dead easy. I very rarely use Auto Mode now except possibly in traffic jams around town. I just occasionally pop over to Auto Mode to keep familiar with its dead duck operational profile.

Somewhere on the Forum someone else was also unhappy with the 500X's pedal profile and has fitted a "throttle pedal modifier" control box and is very happy with the "changed" operation.

Only down side to a modifier is your insurance company might not believe you are using it to tone down the car's throttle/engine performance profile

Fiat need to add another knob/control to allow people to adjust the liveliness of both the Sports and Auto Modes. Sports mode is too lively for many and Auto Mode too flat for many as well. Two extremes and nothing in between.

Sorry should have said its an auto and all the comments are very helpful and informative thank you. I guess I will mention it and then adjust to drive it as it is. Sports mode in town seems a bit itchy to be off racing around and in traffic that just doesn't work. Found that if I use auto mode and switch to semi when I want to overtake this works pretty well, only issue is gear change is reverse of the Punto auto I had lol. I keep forgetting which mode I'm in from time to time, but this is now my main vehicle so I will see how I go.

Service booked for just over £120 and seems to include oil changes, test drive, health checks etc

Had the service done by Glynn Hopkin in Chadwell Heath, was mostly checks to see if everything was OK and I think an update on the radio. Only done 5700 miles so didn't include oil changes etc. Was emailed and handed sheets to show all the checks and even had a little video from the service manager saying everything is OK with my car in the vid. All in all a good experience and not too expensive. £15 for a curtesy car saved me walking and getting a bus.

So over £120, but no oil & filter change? Sheesh.

Yep, assume it a labour charge for a few hours driving it and getting in and under it. Cant wait for the second service cost lol

Numptey said:

Yep, assume it a labour charge for a few hours driving it and getting in and under it. Cant wait for the second service cost lol

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A few minutes, more like. They probably spent most of the time you were charged for producing that little video, playing at being Spielberg. Typical Fiat rip off. Sharks.

Did the video have music?

Duh duh,
Duh duh,
Duh duh Duh duh,
Duh duh Duh duh,
Duh duh,
Duh duh

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Workshop

You are categorically NOT allowed into the workshop!
Cue music duh duh ........

Just had car serviced, but not by supplying dealer under EU Block Exemption rules. If you do this ,get everything in writing ,using recommended lubricants, showing receipts for all used manufacturers spares ( filters etc.) . Can be done by any garage as long as rules followed. I used my favourite garage, used for past 35 years so I know they do a good job. Saved £30 too over supplying dealer.

DavyP said:

Just had car serviced, but not by supplying dealer under EU Block Exemption rules. If you do this ,get everything in writing ,using recommended lubricants, showing receipts for all used manufacturers spares ( filters etc.) . Can be done by any garage as long as rules followed. I used my favourite garage, used for past 35 years so I know they do a good job. Saved £30 too over supplying dealer.

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Would add that in the UK the garage has to be VAT registered which most are. This is to rule out smaller/backstreet/questionable garages.

And yes there are excellent reputable independent mechanics/technicians out there who are not VAT registered but Fiat UK warranty criteria requires VAT registration and ONLY original Fiat branded parts to be used during the warranty business. Their warranty cover, their right to stipulate conditions, subject to EU Block Exemption Rules which do not prevent stipulations of VAT registered and use of manufacturer branded parts.

Numpty, apologies if I missed it, but I assume yours is a diesel? The handbook states that the 1.4 Multiair needs an oil and filter change annually if you cover less than 10,000km.
If it is a diesel, and your low mileage consists of a lot of short runs, it's wise to keep a close eye on the oil level. Lack of longer faster journeys can cause the DPF cleaning process to put fuel in the sump oil, which is a very bad thing!

s130 said:

Fiat UK warranty criteria requires VAT registration and ONLY original Fiat branded parts to be used during the warranty business. Their warranty cover, their right to stipulate conditions, subject to EU Block Exemption Rules which do not prevent stipulations of VAT registered and use of manufacturer branded parts.

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OK I am correcting myself after further research. I did not get it quite right regarding parts usage.

VAT registration is required, and the parts used must be original manufacturer's branded OR the equivalent quality and specification OEM parts. To avoid arguments and warranty disputes most independent VAT registered garages doing the servicing during the original manufacturer's warranty period will/should use original parts thus avoiding any potential disputes.

Hope this clarifies the situation. Sorry for any confusion.

My garage is not VAT registered but is Fiat Trained and did 14 years with main dealer before setting up on his own . I told the warranty dept this and they said it was ok but i must use the recommended oils and any service parts. My mechanic will only service with fiat parts if the car is under warranty , for his own peace of mind.
I never had to claim on my last car so its academic really. However I have just got a 500x and I expect him to do the service next time.
(Provided he doesnt retire in the next year)