Annual servicing (1 Viewer)

[landscaper]

Someone please settle an annual argument we have - is an annual service necessary if you are doing between 5 - 6 k a year or should we wait until the van has done 10k before servicing - we fall out every year about this!!! i.e. do we get the van serviced when we do the MOT - it is a 160 multijet diesel 3000 cc?

 

[elamessa]

I do and oil and filter change annually regardless of the mileage covered.

 

[Phill D]

if its still under warranty you need to comply with the manufacturers service schedule; after that its down to you what you want to do. there is no absolute right and wrong as it very much depends on the miles you do and the type of driving.

Diesel engine oil is black 10 minuters after its been changed in many cases so that is no guide.

it used to be good practice to change the oil and filter every 12 months or on service mileage, whichever the sooner. however, my view is that engines and oils have moved on significantly in the last 10 years.
Fiat UK, service & customer support dept in the UK have told me that service miles, or every 2 years is all that is required; if you have a Euro 5 emissions they add to that if the particulate filter light comes on.


you will i am sure get views of every year without fail.

but its your choice as is the quality of the oil you use.

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[DBK]

Yes, servicing should be done on time or distance, whichever comes first. The problem is modern vehicles have very long servicing intervals and after 12 months of MH use you may have only done a fraction of the distance recommended on distance for a service, but it still needs to be done.

A service should also check things from a safety point of view, e.g. for split tyre walls etc.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I do similar mileage and get it serviced every year mainly for peace of mind. I use an independent now the warranty is expired, mainly because I have no faith at all in Fiat Professional service.

1) The independent expressed some doubt that the Al-Ko chassis had been greased as per the requirements
2) Twice the fuel filter leaked which RAC put down to poor replacement..... it required a special bit of kit and also some pretty high torque - and a well known issue with X250 and X244 vans.

Broken Link Removed

 

[pappajohn]

mechanical service items, yes....annually/bi-annualy or to a mileage.

Oil service, no....change at recommended mileage.

If you have an old, high mileage, engine then more regular changes as the oil wil become heavily contaminated with combustion by-produces.

You wouldnt buy a pint of beer and throw it away half way down the glass so why throw perfectly good engine oil away.

Modern oils will far outlast any manufacturers recommended time interval

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[f6c]

Service at the same time as MOT

 

[GJH]

We have our van serviced annually at the same time as the MoT despite a low mileage. Had it done on Monday, MoT passed and just normal servicing. Last year our mechanic picked up that a wheel bearing needed replacing, something we had no idea of.

For the average of £2 or £3 a week it's well worth it for peace of mind if nothing else.

 

[Minxy]

Servicing, annually - yes. Actually doing a low mileage can be as bad, or worse, than doing a high mileage and you wouldn't question doing the servicing annual in that instance. Stuff deteriorates even when it's not used much - brake cylinders for example can seize or leak due to them partially sticking and releasing jerkily - I know that this can happen even after only a couple of months lay up - we used to have a Fiat based Rapido which had some fire damage (another story completely ... not OUR fault I hasten to add!) and whilst the dealer had it for repair they left it stood in the same spot and by the time we got it back the brake cylinders were totally stuffed! Fortunately they agreed it was their fault and paid for them to be repaired which was good as it wasn't cheap!

A MOT only checks so much, and whilst they would have spotted the brake problem we had, there could easily have been other things that were not obvious so IMV an annual service is very much a definite! :thumb:

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[dave newell]

I'd definitely reccomend an annual servie to include oil, oil filter, air filter (unless its obviously not required) fuel filter, road wheels removed to inspect brakes, check suspension jonits etc. Extended service intervals are fine for vehicles in regular use, for a motorhome that does low mileage (5000 is apparently the annual average) the oil needs changing more often not less. The reason is there are acidic compounds created by combustion that really don't ned to be left in the engine for extended periods.

D.

 

[daisy mae]

We have always had an oil and filter change every 3000 miles on every car/vehicle we have had, believe it pays to. Still do

 

[oldmanriver]

I have a 2007 transit with a 2.2tdci always serviced by ford main dealer, the engine management light kept coming on, ford said it was because filters hadn't been changed ! no where in the service schedule does it list filters it seems, this is done to keep fleet servicing costs down, I no longer use my local ford dealer

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[PhilandMena]

Phil D has nailed it! Assuming your's is a Fiat. The manufacturer knows best, so follow their guide not the 'experts' on this or any other Forum.
One recommendation I would add, get your free 35 point safety check being offered by Fiat if it's available in your area. I had mine done just before we set off and confirmed all is well.