Technical Oil change warning light

[elation]

I'm not going to profess to knowing lots about the subject, but I have heard that turning the engine off mid regen can cause diesel to be dragged down into the oil, which causes the oil level to rise, which can bring on the oil light too.

Or that may be something i've either made up or misunderstood

 

[padgman]

Anyone wish to define "short journey"?! For example: if engine temp gets up to normal, does this mean that engine is at correct operating temp or just the coolant? another example: Is 6 miles at (mostly) 50+ mph enough to get DPF up to temp, or 2 miles at 10mph?? Seeing a puff of smoke when it regens was bit alarming first time around but I was in my driving school car which did 40k a year....and got to 20k before oil warning light came on! My own Cinqui got to 12500 in just under a year on mixed driving (no journey less than 5, regular journeys of 100 miles plus).

 

[D4nny8oy]

I'm not going to profess to knowing lots about the subject, but I have heard that turning the engine off mid regen can cause diesel to be dragged down into the oil, which causes the oil level to rise, which can bring on the oil light too.

Or that may be something i've either made up or misunderstood

Not so much, but cutting it off mid-regen means it'll try again the next time it can- and after 6 'attempts' it gives-up and will ask you to go to the Dealer for a forced regeneration to clear it out. It lasts no more than 10 mins, and will even continue if you get stuck in traffic and are stationary with the engine idling.

The oil level will always increase slightly over time as there will be a small amount of fuel that will get into the sump during regeneration. Oil warning light will not come on to signify high oil level- only low pressure (on constantly), or oil degraded (flashing).

 

[gordysmit]

I got a 500 mjet in jan 2010 it had 11500 miles on clock. It has been serviced in nov 2009 "this is a 58 plate" with 10756. Now its done 12500 miles asking for a oil change I have only done 1000 miles in month. What do? Get just oil change or just change oil my self and light go out? I ask the garage where I got car from they say just ask fiat turn out light.
P.S it was a fiat garage that serviced the car just. I had to travel 450 mile round trip to get the car I wanted. I got a good price for my car too

 

[D4nny8oy]

I got a 500 mjet in jan 2010 it had 11500 miles on clock. It has been serviced in nov 2009 "this is a 58 plate" with 10756. Now its done 12500 miles asking for a oil change I have only done 1000 miles in month. What do? Get just oil change or just change oil my self and light go out? I ask the garage where I got car from they say just ask fiat turn out light.
P.S it was a fiat garage that serviced the car just. I had to travel 450 mile round trip to get the car I wanted. I got a good price for my car too

Question is, was the oil changed on the service in Nov 09?

If it was, did the garage reset the oil change light?

If the oil wasn't changed, you now need to get it changed and have the oil degradation reset by a dealer/competent garage with suitable software.

If the garage changed the oil but forgot to reset the light, get them to do it FOC (should've been done on service).

 

[gordysmit]

Question is, was the oil changed on the service in Nov 09?

If it was, did the garage reset the oil change light?

If the oil wasn't changed, you now need to get it changed and have the oil degradation reset by a dealer/competent garage with suitable software.

If the garage changed the oil but forgot to reset the light, get them to do it FOC (should've been done on service).

I was thinking they just serviced the car and not the oil change but if they sold a car with out the change? I should get them to change the oil free F.O.C anyway? but where I got the car from was colchester I live in rochdale Its going to be £50 in fuel alone plus my time where do I stand in this? Spoke to colchester and they said ask yout fiat garage in rochdale just turn light off. But if oil is not of that "good" needs changing will light just keep coming on again? I dont trust any garages serviceing any car thats why I used to do my own cars after 3 years old its like:bang:

 

[D4nny8oy]

Just to clarify- who sold the car, who serviced it, and who arranged/paid for the service? You're not making things very clear?

Check the invoice or ring them up to find out if the oil was changed. During the service they should've checked the oil degradation to determine whether it'll last 'til next service (we always print-out the page showing the data for the customer's own reference with an estimate of when it'll be due- if it's not going to last we give the customer the option of an early change). If they didn't inform you it's nearly due then you could argue the case for a free oil change under goodwill because of the hassle involved, but only if they didn't mention it would be due soon.

The oil quality is not 'sensed'- resetting the light without changing the oil will result in engine damage.

 

[gordysmit]

Just to clarify- who sold the car, who serviced it, and who arranged/paid for the service? You're not making things very clear?

Check the invoice or ring them up to find out if the oil was changed. During the service they should've checked the oil degradation to determine whether it'll last 'til next service (we always print-out the page showing the data for the customer's own reference with an estimate of when it'll be due- if it's not going to last we give the customer the option of an early change). If they didn't inform you it's nearly due then you could argue the case for a free oil change under goodwill because of the hassle involved, but only if they didn't mention it would be due soon.

The oil quality is not 'sensed'- resetting the light without changing the oil will result in engine damage.

I got the car from d salmon fiat dealer in colchester I did not want to name the garage where I got the car from.
I have phoned them they said just reset the light I should not be reseting any light or oil change after 28 days of buying the care off them as well as the car has 16500 miles to next service it says .

 

[NumanR]

ok I think there may be a bit of confusion regarding the warning messages/lights, so lets clarify it for you all.

Every time the car comes in for a service the service counter is reset, this is what you find in the dash menu, and when the service is due, the message is displayed in the cluster.

Every time the engine oil is changed the oil degradation counter is reset, this is a parameter in the engine ecu and can only be read by examiner or possibly some after market diag equipment, when this is due, the oil light comes on and a warning message is displayed in the cluster.

Engine oil is not automatically changed in the service, the tech reads the degradation counter and dependant on this figure advises the customer if its required. (Generally techs advise to have an early oil change done if the degradation counter is below 25%).

The service counter can be reset and have no consequential problems, however the oil degradation counter being reset will cause problems.

 

[Zakt]

...however the oil degradation counter being reset will cause problems.

Why should this be?

 

[NumanR]

Why should this be?

The degradation counter effectively signals when the engine oil is contaminated with diesel, to reset the counter without changing the oil, all that you do is zero the counter, the oil contamination is still there and the oil will continue to degrade way beyond what is safe and engine damage can occur, (we have a car in our workshop having a new engine because of this).

 

[gordysmit]

All I am asking is I only had the car 28 days why should I have to pay for a oil change ? I should not have to do any thing to the car untill at least nov10 for next service I think I may be going to fiat direct about this one "OR COURT". I will not be paying for a oil change after only 28day of paying for this car

 

[306maxi]

All I am asking is I only had the car 28 days why should I have to pay for a oil change ? I should not have to do any thing to the car untill at least nov10 for next service I think I may be going to fiat direct about this one "OR COURT". I will not be paying for a oil change after only 28day of paying for this car

Huh? If they sold it as having had an oil change then yes you've got grounds for a complaint. Otherwise.....

 

[gordysmit]

"THEY SAID ITS BEEN SERVICED" :bang: They said just have light reset now I am beginning to not trust anyone

 

[306maxi]

"THEY SAID ITS BEEN SERVICED" :bang: They said just have light reset now I am beginning to not trust anyone

Yes but "it's been serviced" doesn't mean "It's had an oil change"

 

[gordysmit]

Yes but "it's been serviced" doesn't mean "It's had an oil change"

Well I dont know But I should not be paying more money out on a approved used fiat 500 after less than a month thats all I am saying what would you do in my shoes

 

[Zakt]

Well I dont know But I should not be paying more money out on a approved used fiat 500 after less than a month thats all I am saying what would you do in my shoes

I think you're absolutely right.
And whats sort of service doesn't include an oil change?? That's just absurd!

 

[D4nny8oy]

I think you're absolutely right.
And whats sort of service doesn't include an oil change?? That's just absurd!

DPF-equipped engines can go for 2 years/36,000miles before requiring an oil change if driven right. Why change the oil if not needed? People would sooner moan at unnecessary oil changes and higher servicing costs.

Gordysmit- you're still not making it clear as who did what (and where the blame lies)-

It was bought from a Fiat Dealer, but serviced at another Dealer?
They arranged the service (and sold it as having been serviced), or did you arrange the service?

At the end of the day- find out what was done on the service.

If the oil was changed and you were charged for it, but they simply forgot to reset the counter, then all you need to do is have them reset it for free!

 

[grimwau]

I think you're absolutely right.
And whats sort of service doesn't include an oil change?? That's just absurd!

Hang on a minute, nothing has yet been proved that the dealer who carried out the service hasn't changed the oil and filter so until that has been established or otherwise then it is just speculation.

Gordy, I can understand why you are so frustrated as I have had similar problems in the past but you need to get the correct info before people can give you the correct advice.

I would suggest that in the event of you not having a service book stamped with the fact that the oil was changed or if you cannot get this info from the dealership that sold you the car then you bite the bullet and take the car to your nearest Fiat dealer.

Get him to change the oil and filter and reset the oil degradation indicator and worry about sorting whether you can get the money back/compensation afterwards. The main thing is not to carry on driving the car whilst disputing who is responsible for paying as you might cause premature damage to the engine.

If you get categorical proof that the oil and filter have been changed then show it to your local dealer and ask them to reset the degradation level indicator.

Both NumanR and D4nny8oy are well known on the forum for providing expert help so heed any advice that they offer, it is quite possible that a proper service has been carried out (inc. oil and filter) and although the service counter has been reset sometimes it is possible that resetting the oil degradation counter has been overlooked as the warning light/message would not have been showing. This is not meant to be an excuse as a skilled/experienced fitter will always carry out both jobs but I have heard that this has been expressed as a likely reason as to why some people have had the warning within a short time of them having had a service.

Good luck with getting this sorted and let us know the final outcome.

 

[Zakt]

DPF-equipped engines can go for 2 years/36,000miles before requiring an oil change if driven right. Why change the oil if not needed? People would sooner moan at unnecessary oil changes and higher servicing costs.

But oil changes are shown as being included in the low and high mileage services. There's nothing I can see about this being dependent on certain factors.
While you're right in saying that synthetic oils needn't be changed so often I'd suggest that the majority of customers would expect a service to include an oil change at the very minimum.
I'll certainly be ensuring that it happens in my case