Technical Fiat 500 tan sludge on oil cap (2021 plate)

[Chris5000]

Hi all,
I've got a fiat 500 2021 which is just comming up for a year old this year. It's due its first service, but last month when doing my normal oil checks (weekly) there was this tan sludge on the filler cap?

Now my driving habbits are short drive no more than 10 mins to work and back a day... It was fine through the summer months and now it's winter I'm wondering if it's condensation?

I've spoke to a mechanic about this issue and I've been informed it's usually down to short trips when the car is cold and condensation builds up which cause the tan sludge?

The oil it's self on the dipstick is clear and all of the levels of the car are at normal levels. No leaks in the street either such as oil spots ect... All the levels in the car are normal?

The car is only on 5000 mile, so I'm not concerned it's the head gasket or anything like that.

But is it common with these cars on short trips as suggested? I do leave very early morning around 4am so it's still very cold.

Pictures are attached below

Any help or advice would be great!

Thanks!
Chris

 

[vexorg]

Take it for a good long drive then check it

 

[Chris5000]

Take it for a good long drive then check it

Yeah funny enough I was told that, but because it's a new car I'd be surprised if it's anything super sinister?

 

[lunchbeers]

Absolutely condensation.

 

[Chris5000]

Absolutely condensation.

I hope it bloody is... But I've phoned the garage and have got it booked in for the service next week. So, they can have a look then. You know what it's like... Old school days of if it's milky run . Thank you for the reply mind!

 

[mj2k]

Agree with everybody else, most likely condensation... (well, assuming the coolant level isn't dropping)

I get condensation if I have to get up at 4AM in the winter too

Is it a twinair? Pretty sure I've read somewhere they do suffer a bit from condensation but it's nothing to worry about.

 

[Chris5000]

Cheers for the response! Haha I tell you what I don't start very well at 4am either ... Uuuhh no it's a 999cc lounge hybrid . I guess it's condensation... But you never bloody know! Never tempt fate as my dad used to say

 

[lunchbeers]

If it's showing on the dipstick, then that's the time to worry!

 

[Chris5000]

If it's showing on the dipstick, then that's the time to worry!

Phew! I'm not super mechanically minded... But so far the responses all agree which bloody good to hear! Thank you for responding

 

[marcusgillies]

Hi, I'm guessing you have the 1L mild hybrid the same as us. We, me and my partner both have one and both have the same milky white residue in the filler dipstick cap. Ours have both had their first service one at 4,500 and one at 2.600.miles on mentioning it prior to servicing we were assured it is just condensation and to be fair its never been a problem no evidence of water in the oil, no coolant loss etc.

 

[Chris5000]

That's mad! Mines the very same! Funny enough ours is due its first service and yes it sure 1l hybrid lounge. I took it for a good spin the weekend and it disappears so it would appear it's nothing sinister . But thank you so much for the reply!

 

[Troubles with 500c]

Seen this on other makes of car. Sometimes it appears on the dipstick. Purely down to condensation.

As an ex-Stag owner you know you’ve got problems when the coolant level drops and you can’t see any leaks. Normally you’ll see white smoke if very bad and the temperature gauge will normally read higher than normal.

I’ve seen other posts on here concerning overheating and my advice is don’t try to drive to a garage, or back home because you’ll only be making it worse. If the temperature is climbing above normal; stop and check the coolant level. The loss of coolant could be down to a lose clip or split hose.

A call to a Recovery Firm will save you money because if you continue to drive on an overheating engine will cause damage, possibly causing a head gasket failure, or worse.

 

[mj2k]

Seen this on other makes of car. Sometimes it appears on the dipstick. Purely down to condensation.

As an ex-Stag owner you know you’ve got problems when the coolant level drops and you can’t see any leaks. Normally you’ll see white smoke if very bad and the temperature gauge will normally read higher than normal.

I’ve seen other posts on here concerning overheating and my advice is don’t try to drive to a garage, or back home because you’ll only be making it worse. If the temperature is climbing above normal; stop and check the coolant level. The loss of coolant could be down to a lose clip or split hose.

A call to a Recovery Firm will save you money because if you continue to drive on an overheating engine will cause damage, possibly causing a head gasket failure, or worse.

It always surprises me just how many Stags around nowadays have the original V8, if you saw a running one for sale in the 70s or 80s it always had the Ford v6 under the bonnet

As for the condensation, I bet it's extremely common on all hybrids whatever the make - since the engine's not doing all the work of powering the car I bet they often don't get warm enough to get rid of the condensation.

 

[Troubles with 500c]

Yes, there are quite a few survivors and guess what, nearly all have a low mileages. Always makes me chuckle when you see a seller advertising his car as a low mileage example.

Owning a Stag does give you a really good understanding of what makes an engine overheat and what the consequences are.

It also teaches you the importance of checking fluids regularly.

 

[mj2k]

Yes, there are quite a few survivors and guess what, nearly all have a low mileages. Always makes me chuckle when you see a seller advertising his car as a low mileage example.

Owning a Stag does give you a really good understanding of what makes an engine overheat and what the consequences are.

It also teaches you the importance of checking fluids regularly.

Not surprising they're very low mileage bearing in mind how long they must have sat in people's gardens rusting under a tarpaulin. I believe those low mileage ones return remarkable mpg figures too since they'd have needed to be pushed/towed everywhere

From what I understand there's a well-known fix for the Stag overheating issue now (same on the Scimitar which was similar but not so terminal), I'm just very glad modern cars don't suffer from such engineering oversights. Stags were darned pretty though, despite their mechanical issues

Thinking about it, I wonder if there would be any benefit to fitting an aftermarket pcv catch can to the 500 mild hybrids if it turns out condensation's a very common issue? It's not their primary use, but I've noticed they do a pretty good job of catching the water vapor in blowby gases as well as oil vapor, so might be a suitable fix.

 

[vexorg]

I have often thought about how these hybrids, particularly the plug in ones, look after the engine. Engines need to be run to stay healthy, long term low use causes issues for them.

 

[RichardH13]

What you need to do is take it on a run and get it properly warm, that will evaporate most of the water out of the oil