General 1st year service, what should be done?

[Little Red Chinky]

My car went for its first service today (12 months as it has only 11 809km).
They only changed the oil. None of the filters or anything else.

Is this standard or should filters be changed regardless?

I read the manual and it seems filters should get replaced too.

Any thoughts?

 

[alexGS]

I had the same experience with my scheduled service at a FIAT service agent. I asked what was replaced and it seemed it was only the oil that was changed.

As my car had done only 3000km since the last service a year ago, I wasn't too concerned. Particularly about the air filter not being replaced, since I live in a damp climate (Hamilton, NZ) and it will probably last for years. I see you live in South Africa, which is rather different. If dirt/sand falls out of the air filter when you tap it on the ground, I would replace it. The service schedule usually states quite clearly that "arduous conditions" may require additional servicing to be performed.

As long as your service book is stamped/signed off, then I don't think you have anything to worry about. As soon as the warranty period is up, I'll be servicing the car myself so that I know what is done to it. And that's when I would suggest inspecting air and pollen filters and deciding to replace based on condition rather than distance travelled. Same goes for spark plugs.

-Alex

 

[RobW]

My car went for its first service today (12 months as it has only 11 809km).
They only changed the oil. None of the filters or anything else.

Is this standard or should filters be changed regardless?

I read the manual and it seems filters should get replaced too.

Any thoughts?

your service book (that gets stamped) will have the manufacturers recommended schedule in it, this depends on the engine that is fitted

see what that says

 

[306maxi]

your service book (that gets stamped) will have the manufacturers recommended schedule in it, this depends on the engine that is fitted

see what that says

What he said

 

[frupi]

My car went for its first service today (12 months as it has only 11 809km).
They only changed the oil. None of the filters or anything else.

Is this standard or should filters be changed regardless?

I read the manual and it seems filters should get replaced too.

Any thoughts?

Welcome to the Forum by the way

Not sure what the servicing schedules are for Fiat in South Africa. at 11809km,(7337 miles) you would be over (only just) the Fiat low mileage service plan for the UK for instance which is for vehicles covering up to 6000 miles per year. This is what we had our 500 serviced on for its first year service at 4300 miles and all that was done was oil filter and oil, and I changed the pollen filter myself because I bought three original Fiat pollen filters for the price of a normal priced one. The air filter was definitely not changed. To be fair though, the Fiat dealership did oil the door hinges etc and check the car over. At my request, the car was not connected to diagnostics. There can be a charge of up to £60 (just under R800 at todays market rate) to connect it up. Dealerships pay very expensive subcriptions for software for diagnostics and it's only fair to assume that they will wish to recover their costs somewhere. We've had no issues with our 500 and there are no critical software updates for us, so I gave it a miss and hence my first service only cost £82 (R1000). How does that compare to what you have just paid?

As a frequent visitor to South Africa, I've had my fair share of garage work done at dealerships and they all seem to follow the manufacturers plan. I suspect your 500 was given the proper once over. Just be aware though that next year you should be getting the brake fluid changed and possibly spark plugs (not sure which 500 you have?) consensus on here amongst those that know, is that plugs should be changed around the 12,000 mile (19,312 km) mark on a 1.2 engine.

As alexGS mentioned, keep an eye on the air filter. Not sure which State/region you live in in SA, but dust etc could be a problem, especially if have plans on taking gravel road shortcuts from Cradock to Bloemfontein! I wouldn't recommend that though, unless you really want to leave your suspension components littering the highway! It's bad enough doing it in a Nissan bakkie lol!

 

[Little Red Chinky]

Thanks for the reply's.

I have the 1.4 16V Lounge, 6 spd manual. The car I bought was a demo model with approx 8 000km so I'm not sure where it's been apart from that it was owned by Fiat.

I did consult the book and from that it seems it should be oil change and filters. I guess I would have felt more comfortable to have them replaced as my next service will only be in 12 months again as I don't do enough Kms.

 

[Little Red Chinky]

frupi Thanks for the welcome! Lol, no off roads with my city sleeker!! I drive in and around Santon and only do about 93 miles (150 km) per week. On weekends we take the hubby's car.
Car service was for free but I think I'm supposed to pay for consumables used during service.

I'll take some pics of my car the weekend and upload. I've just installed The chrome bonnet / hood spear, "a bar" and flag badges.

The dealership was supposed to install the "a bar" as I did the rest on the weekend but when I collected today I was told they can't do it and I need to take to panel beater for 2 days as the bumper must be removed?!?!

I have been a lurker for a month or so and knew some people installed with double sided tape so we did it tonight. Took about 15 min including prepping and cleaning surfaces.
I took to dealership as I would have preferred epoxy.

Needless to say, after their response on the "a bar", as they clearly did not even read the installation guide that comes with it, I'm not sure they read the service manual and know what should be done on the first service.

Overall car goes great and no messages are displayed so I assume all is well. Perhaps I'm just suffering from paranoia!!

 

[frupi]

No probs MrsRed. I'll leave you to the delights of Sandton and I'll stick to hotbed of action otherwise known as Uitenhage!

 

[hippycinq]

.. all that was done was oil filter and oil...

... my first service only cost £82 (R1000).

£82 for an oil and filter change
You can see I'm not used to paying dealerships to have my car worked on.. I am not looking forward to that when I get my car..!!!!

 

[frupi]

£82 for an oil and filter change
You can see I'm not used to paying dealerships to have my car worked on.. I am not looking forward to that when I get my car..!!!!

Ok, with the utmost of respect, I think you are totally missing the point. £82 for a main dealer service is cheap, trust me, cheap! My other car is a Cadillac and you should see what I pay for Cadillac authorised services - it would make your eyes water!

I've mentioned this in previous threads, but I phoned every Fiat dealer in a 50 mile radius of where I live, and almost all quoted around the £150 mark. I told them I only wanted a low mileage plan service, but most insisted that £149.99 was the best they could do and this included a needless diagnostic hook up.

Our car is under warranty and I decided I wanted Fiat dealership stamps for the first two years. After that, I'll be servicing it myself. Generally, dealerships do have a remit to give the car a decent check over. The car will have been up on the post lift and basic underside checks will have been carried out as well as an overall health check. Yes, independent garages can do the work under block exemption rules, but even some of the quotes I got from local garages couldn't match the Fiat dealership that did our car.

 

[loveshandbags]

My car went for its first service today (12 months as it has only 11 809km).
They only changed the oil. None of the filters or anything else.

Is this standard or should filters be changed regardless?

I read the manual and it seems filters should get replaced too.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the reply's.

I have the 1.4 16V Lounge, 6 spd manual. The car I bought was a demo model with approx 8 000km so I'm not sure where it's been apart from that it was owned by Fiat.

I did consult the book and from that it seems it should be oil change and filters. I guess I would have felt more comfortable to have them replaced as my next service will only be in 12 months again as I don't do enough Kms.

Given the cheap price of an oil filter I'm surprised it was not done at the same time as the oil change.
I've never changed an oil filter 'in situ' with oil in the engine. Hopefully someone will advice how much oil would be lost if this was done. I suppose if the engine was cold it might be the best time to do it and top up with the EXACT same oil used by the garage.
Since it's demo model I would error on the safe side.
Also if a car isn't getting much 'travel' it needs an oil change every 12 months if less than 6K miles are covered.
Quite a few differences on opinions on whether a oil filter change can be skipped with the PRO camp and the 50/50.

 

[alexGS]

I've never changed an oil filter 'in situ' with oil in the engine. Hopefully someone will advice how much oil would be lost if this was done.

About 300mL, the same amount as when removing an oil filter after draining the engine - the oil you drain is from the sump.

I wouldn't bother though. Barring a major problem in the engine, I can't see the oil filter getting blocked in that short distance. I would change it at the next oil change.

-Alex

 

[Little Red Chinky]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

From what I can gather, it should have been done while they were at it, considering the low cost of the item.

However it seems that my baby won't blow up as a result so will ensure it gets done at next one