Technical Fiat Panda Pop 2012 oil problem

[mariop1]

Hi
I have a fiat panda pop year 2012. I changed the oil last october, at 29803 Miles. today 31 August. Miles 32146. i check the oil level with the dipstick and there is no oil. the warning light is not on. I chacked for leak but there are no leaks. there is no smoke coming out of the exhaust. Between oil changed The car did 2343 Miles. I used the 5/40 oil grade. the car drives perfectly well. so i can't understand how the car used almost all of the oil in 2343 miles. in my old fiat panda multijett and fiat punto multijett i never had to top up oil.
please any help
thanks

 

[timmycm850]

Can I ask. Is it a fully synthetic oil you have used. I've heard of it before with a relatively low mileage car using fully synthetic oil because the engine is unable to "run in" as the synthetic oil lubricates too well.

Did you check the oil at fill up point in October last year and was that before you started the car and filled the oil filtervwith oil hence reducing the level.

Tim

 

[chris3234]

What does the sump look like?

It can be a weak point on these engines they get a lot of road debris hitting them meaning then can rust through and start to leak

 

[timmycm850]

Or its so clean the oil you just can't see it.

Tim

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

mariop1
Let’s go back a step here:
Which engine do you have (I think from earlier posts, the 1.2?)
Did you change the oil yourself?
What did the oil that came out look like?
How much oil ( in litres) went back in? (if the 1.2, it takes 2.8 litres after a filter change -- that's 2.5 litres in the sump and 300ml in the filter)
Was it up to the ‘max’ mark after the change? And still there after a quick run round the block?

And, has it not been checked since last October until now? (Really best checked at least once a month, along with tyre pressure etc…)

The oil light won’t come on until there’s no oil pressure - so basically when all the oil has gone. If it does come on ( in any car) while driving, it’s too late! (* but, see below)

Fully synth oil is correct in all three Panda engines (although the grades are different). With that pretty small mileage since being changed it’s not likely to have darkened much…. So it is quite possible you can’t see it on the dipstick, especially if it’s the TwinAir engine. There’s a trick: take the dipstick out and wipe fully dry. Put back, take out again and hold it against a piece of absorbant paper (a brown envelope works really well here). This will reveal any oil that’s there, even if too light in colour to see on the dipstick itself.

(* The engine light coming on is A Very Bad Thing... unless its a diesel Panda. These don't have a fixed mileage interval between oil changes, and instead the oil has to be changed when the red 'oil can' warning light starts to flash, which will happen anywhere between 16,000 and 24,000 miles since the previous oil change -- or after two years if that comes up first)

 

[FiatMatt94]

If it is the 1242cc FIRE like mine I find that when I do an oil change the oil tends to drop quite quick after doing the change then after topping up it will stay at more or less the same level until the next oil change, my dads Punto with the 1242cc FIRE does exactly the same. The oil we use is Castrol Magnetec 5w40 ACEA C3 fully synthetic & is changed with genuine Fiat filter every 6,000 miles when the oil does start to drop. It probably is where the filter itself fills up after the oil change as you can't fill the filter before putting it on the car as the filter sits sideways on the 1242 FIRE instead of upright in the engine bay like you would see on some different cars

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

If it is the 1242cc FIRE like mine I find that when I do an oil change the oil tends to drop quite quick after doing the change then after topping up it will stay at more or less the same level until the next oil change, my dads Punto with the 1242cc FIRE does exactly the same. The oil we use is Castrol Magnetec 5w40 ACEA C3 fully synthetic & is changed with genuine Fiat filter every 6,000 miles when the oil does start to drop. It probably is where the filter itself fills up after the oil change as you can't fill the filter before putting it on the car as the filter sits sideways on the 1242 FIRE instead of upright in the engine bay like you would see on some different cars

Just edited my reply above - the 1.2 takes 2.8 litres of oil after a filter change -- 2.5 litres sump capacity plus 300ml in the filter... which I think tallies with your comment here)

 

[FiatMatt94]

Just edited my reply above - the 1.2 takes 2.8 litres of oil after a filter change -- 2.5 litres sump capacity plus 300ml in the filter... which I think tallies with your comment here)

I didn't notice that section of the comment before writing mine, silly me :doh:

 

[Goudrons]

Up until recently we've been running two 1.2's side by side and they do tend to use a bit of oil.
Both have been pretty much short tripped from day one, just local trips of a few miles in pretty heavy London traffic.

I've never had this problem before with any FIRE, but we've never really short tripped them before but I seem to think there's a tendency for these to throw oil vapour and a bit of oil out of the crank breather into the air intake as both tended to oil up the throttle body and intake manifold quite regularly.

I don't know if this is a trait of this version of the FIRE, the type of oil it uses or the short tripping??

It looks like the trap in the breather is just a bit of wire gauze that looks like a bottle brush and fits in the cam cover/pipe, it obviously doesn't do a great job as each year I've had to clean out the TB, manifold and MAP sensor with some carb cleaner as there's always some oil pooling in there.

As already mentioned, the sump pan can rust and weep. It's always worth wiping it over with an oil rag everytime you change the oil. Cheap, simple and seems to have worked for me.

 

[mariop1]

thanks for all your replies. yestarday i add 1.3lt of oil. checked this afternoon and the oil level on the dipstick is the same full to the top. i drive the car for about 17 miles each day mostly om the A4 so no much local traffic. i will check the oil level every week. never add this problem before with fiat cars. and as i said: no leaks. no blue smoke. the oil i used is: TRIPLE QX Fully Syn 5W-40 A3/B4. always used this oil never add problems. somebody suggested to use 10/40 grade if i still have the problems. is anything else i should check.
thanks

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

thanks for all your replies. yestarday i add 1.3lt of oil. checked this afternoon and the oil level on the dipstick is the same full to the top. i drive the car for about 17 miles each day mostly om the A4 so no much local traffic. i will check the oil level every week. never add this problem before with fiat cars. and as i said: no leaks. no blue smoke. the oil i used is: TRIPLE QX Fully Syn 5W-40 A3/B4. always used this oil never add problems. somebody suggested to use 10/40 grade if i still have the problems. is anything else i should check.
thanks

To me, that sounds like it was under-filled after the filter replacement in October? How much was put in then? (should have been 2.8 litres...)

I would not think any car could 'use' 1.3 litres of oil in just 2500 miles or so. (But beware, as blue smoke is hidden in newer cars because the catalytic convertor will remove it... and in turn, oil in the exhaust will wreck the convertor)

 

[jrkitching]

the oil i used is: TRIPLE QX Fully Syn 5W-40 A3/B4

ECP's own brand, and generally regarded by those in the know as rubbish, it's also the wrong spec for the car (it should be a 5W40 C2).

I'm pretty certain Triple QX is a hydrocracked oil - google the difference between hydrocracked and PAO oil base stocks.

That said, the 1.2 FIRE isn't demanding regarding oil and it'll probably work just fine, providing it's changed regularly.

 

[varesecrazy]

Maybe the totally different filtration used on a FIRE.. also 'swallowed'an unexpected amount of oil

Or just forgot to refill after its 30 second initial run.... who knows
(Although many of us would have noticed within a month..)

 

[murphyv310]

ECP's own brand, and generally regarded by those in the know as rubbish, it's also the wrong spec for the car (it should be a 5W40 C2).

I'm pretty certain Triple QX is a hydrocracked oil - google the difference between hydrocracked and PAO oil base stocks.

That said, the 1.2 FIRE isn't demanding regarding oil and it'll probably work just fine, providing it's changed regularly.

It's a C3 spec oil for the 1.2 fire engine not C2

 

[jrkitching]

It's a C3 spec oil for the 1.2 fire engine not C2

Oops! - slip of the keyboard.

 

[chris3234]

It's a C3 spec oil for the 1.2 fire engine not C2

True but c3/c2 is going to make very little difference so either will work just fine

 

[KPat]

ECP's own brand, and generally regarded by those in the know as rubbish, it's also the wrong spec for the car (it should be a 5W40 C2).

I'm pretty certain Triple QX is a hydrocracked oil - google the difference between hydrocracked and PAO oil base stocks.

That said, the 1.2 FIRE isn't demanding regarding oil and it'll probably work just fine, providing it's changed regularly.

Most ordinary synthetic oils use around 50% group 3 severely hydrocracked base stock. And it is legal to call it synthetic. And whatever else is added is usually shrouded in secrecy. It could be PAO plus other chemical additives.


Only racing oils have large amounts of PAO.