General First Service at 2 years

[jrkitching]

This is incorrect if you do 18000 mi a year you have a 1 year interval, if you do 9000 mi a year you get a 2 year interval due to low mileage it says in the hand book.

TEAM TWINAIR

FIAT warranties & service schedules are not the best translated documents in the world.

My interpretation of what's written is that you could probably get away with driving 9000 miles/yr & not servicing it until it's 2 yrs old without losing the warranty. That said, after 2 years there's precious little useful warranty left anyway. It's also not very likely that this interpretation will lead to any serious problems in the first 3 years (and that's all Fiat are concerned about).

Longer term, your engine needs and deserves better than this - many of us with real-world engineering qualifications would not run for more than 8000miles/12 months without an oil change, and would carry out the first change on a new car well before that.

If you wait until 2yrs are up to have your 500 serviced, don't expect anyone who knows what they are doing to be interested in buying it from you when the time comes to change it.

 

[ahmett]

First oil change I did was at just over 3500. Then the first dealer service at 4500 (software updates was the main reason I took it there). Then changed the oil again at 8500, and the last oil change I did around 800 miles ago (14k approx).

Oil is cheap - 18k intervals are there for one reason - marketing. Not engine life!

Yes lets see now how long my engine lasts! My first oil change was at 18k 2nd at 35k and after that every 9k. I now wait until my oil looks dirty and starts to burn quicker which happens after around 9k so I hope I haven't caused too much damage to engine by servicing it according to manufacturer in the first 2 years of the car. Will be interesting to see as the miles build up!

 

[306maxi]

This is incorrect if you do 18000 mi a year you have a 1 year interval, if you do 9000 mi a year you get a 2 year interval due to low mileage it says in the hand book.

TEAM TWINAIR

Team twinair? Really?

 

[306maxi]

FIAT warranties & service schedules are not the best translated documents in the world.

My interpretation of what's written is that you could probably get away with driving 9000 miles/yr & not servicing it until it's 2 yrs old without losing the warranty. That said, after 2 years there's precious little useful warranty left anyway. It's also not very likely that this interpretation will lead to any serious problems in the first 3 years (and that's all Fiat are concerned about).

Longer term, your engine needs and deserves better than this - many of us with real-world engineering qualifications would not run for more than 8000miles/12 months without an oil change, and would carry out the first change on a new car well before that.

If you wait until 2yrs are up to have your 500 serviced, don't expect anyone who knows what they are doing to be interested in buying it from you when the time comes to change it.

Amen to that

 

[bgunn]

This is incorrect if you do 18000 mi a year you have a 1 year interval, if you do 9000 mi a year you get a 2 year interval due to low mileage it says in the hand book.

TEAM TWINAIR

I think you'll find to satisfy the warranty, an annual inspection is required. As jrkitching says, the warranty is essentially worth diddly squat anyway, so I'd be more concerned about attempting to meet your longer term goals for the car - if you're planning on keeping it for any length of time, inspect and service the car more regularly as it'll pay back in the long run.

 

[306maxi]

I think you'll find to satisfy the warranty, an annual inspection is required. As jrkitching says, the warranty is essentially worth diddly squat anyway, so I'd be more concerned about attempting to meet your longer term goals for the car - if you're planning on keeping it for any length of time, inspect and service the car more regularly as it'll pay back in the long run.

Sadly most on here probably get rid after 3 or 4 years. Personally I don't see any reason why my 500 can't do another 10+ years of service

 

[bgunn]

Sadly most on here probably get rid after 3 or 4 years. Personally I don't see any reason why my 500 can't do another 10+ years of service

Me neither. Sure - consumables will need replacement, but the build quality of the bits you won't replace (the body!, the engine, etc) seems as good as anything.

 

[Super Uwe]

This is incorrect if you do 18000 mi a year you have a 1 year interval, if you do 9000 mi a year you get a 2 year interval due to low mileage it says in the hand book.

TEAM TWINAIR

Indeed, that's what it says in the book.

Only other thing is if your car does 6,000 miles or less, it should have an oil and filter change once a year.

However I debated the use of "should" in another thread; jrkitching is right when he says the info is ambiguous!

I'm not really sure where I sit with this debate though. I agree that it is probably better to have more frequent oil changes than every 18,000 miles or two years.

But on the other hand, the entire service schedule is based on 18k intervals right the way up to 90k and beyond (i.e. way past any valid warranty for most users anyway). If Fiat really felt that their cars wouldn't reasonably be able to last that long in between, then surely they would have shortened them?

 

[bgunn]

But on the other hand, the entire service schedule is based on 18k intervals right the way up to 90k and beyond (i.e. way past any valid warranty for most users anyway). If Fiat really felt that their cars wouldn't reasonably be able to last that long in between, then surely they would have shortened them?

Don't be so sure. By then, they know that a) they don't care and b) they can swindle the kind of owner who *does* take their car to the dealer religiously and keep lots of profit in the dealership network. Or use the fact the car is misbehaving because it's not been serviced as much as the engineers wanted to shift more metal.

Remember, car manufacturers are there to make money, not everlasting cars.

 

[Super Uwe]

Don't be so sure. By then, they know that a) they don't care and b) they can swindle the kind of owner who *does* take their car to the dealer religiously and keep lots of profit in the dealership network. Or use the fact the car is misbehaving because it's not been serviced as much as the engineers wanted to shift more metal.

Remember, car manufacturers are there to make money, not everlasting cars.

Well...maybe you're right, but I'm not 100% sure myself.

As for getting swindled, I think if you've followed the schedule and then suffer problems, then they couldn't come up with an excuse about the car not being serviced enough. If the schedule is insufficient then that is their fault, not the customer's.

I agree with you it isn't in their interests to have everyone keeping hold of their car for 10-15 years and not thinking of trading in. But would that make them come up with a service schedule that is designed to fail? I can't honestly believe that personally.

 

[306maxi]

Super Uwe, you're missing the point, the servicing schedule is there to ensure that cars get through the warranty period ok and to ensure a good stream of ignorant people willing to pay far more than they need to dealers for servicing.

The difference between a car that has seen the minimum of servicing and something that's been taken care of will only be seen later in the cars life

 

[Super Uwe]

I don't think I've missed the point; I understand the points you and bgunn are making.

What I was trying to get across was that Fiat have come up with these schedules which I feel you have to take at face value. If they were really so harmful to the car, then surely Fiat would make them shorter? It just doesn't add up.

Commercially speaking, it would be in their interest to have customers bringing their cars in more regularly anyway - they'd make more money over a shorter period of time as people would have to get their cars serviced more frequently. And because of the increased contact, no doubt they'd have more opportunities to find faults that aren't covered by the warranty, generating more money etc...you see where I'm going here?

Anyway, FWIW I've always had our cars serviced once a year. The Panda actually gets two oil/filter changes a year as I've managed to coincide it with getting the local garage to fit/remove my winter tyres (works out a treat to be honest). So it gets a dealer service once a year and then the oil/filter change sometime in November (or whenever it starts getting cold!).

So I don't disagree with the idea of getting it done more frequently than the manual suggests; I just think it's not as bad a schedule as some are making out here...just my opinion.

 

[bgunn]

I just think it's not as bad a schedule as some are making out here...just my opinion.

I don't deny that the service schedules are intrinsically 'bad' - of course not - but they're just not very good if you really care about your car lasting for a very long time. That is the point I am trying to make.

So if you care about your car; want to keep it for many, many years and it be trouble free, the manufacturers service schedules aren't good at all. Nothing new there - and not a problem limited to FIAT.

 

[twinairturbo]

Indeed, that's what it says in the book.

Only other thing is if your car does 6,000 miles or less, it should have an oil and filter change once a year.

However I debated the use of "should" in another thread; jrkitching is right when he says the info is ambiguous!

I'm not really sure where I sit with this debate though. I agree that it is probably better to have more frequent oil changes than every 18,000 miles or two years.

But on the other hand, the entire service schedule is based on 18k intervals right the way up to 90k and beyond (i.e. way past any valid warranty for most users anyway). If Fiat really felt that their cars wouldn't reasonably be able to last that long in between, then surely they would have shortened them?

I am speaking from working in a former fiat dealership at the dealer the technician gets a choice of service sheets (the service check sheet) the 1 year every 18000mi or the 2 year 18000mi

 

[MN500]

Sadly most on here probably get rid after 3 or 4 years. Personally I don't see any reason why my 500 can't do another 10+ years of service

People on 3yr PCP contracts can and probably will get away with just the one service before handing their cars back, making for fairly cheap motoring. Those who plan on keeping their cars a little longer will look after them better I would imagine. It is your choice so do what you're happy with.

With the 500 being the type of car it is most will be of average mileage, or less, so I see that the 2yr schedule isn't the worst thing with the advancement in fully synthetic oils for these low mileage cars. Would it put me off buying a low mileage car that had been serviced every 2yrs? Probably not. We don't do high mileage anyway so the rest of the car will begin to fail with age before the engine gives up.

I do differentiate between a service and an oil change though, service every 2yrs, oil change annually is okay by me, plan to keep the car 10yrs.

 

[PsFiat]

My understanding is that in Australia the service intervals are 15,000 kms or 12 months- whichever comes first.

 

[varesecrazy]

My understanding is that in Australia the service intervals are 15,000 kms or 12 months- whichever comes first.

probably due to potentially a " harsher service environment",

standard disclaimer..!!

charlie

 

[PsFiat]

probably due to potentially a " harsher service environment",

standard disclaimer..!!

charlie

Yes all those Fiat 500 owners thrashing through the Outback...?

 

[44sunsets]

I reckon going for 2 years before servicing a low mileage car is pretty insane.

I don't drive much and mostly do short trips of around 10-15 mins duration so that would be pretty rough on the engine I would imagine. I bet most low mileage owners would be in a similar situation. A yearly service would be the way to go IMO.

 

[Alsatian1]

The dealer who I ordered my new panda with told me about this 'eco servicing' (or so he called it) and I just went "yeah I won't be doing that".