Fiat Ducato Oil issue

[trayci]

I’m after some help and advice please. We’re new to motorhomes and since picking up our new Autosleeper Corinium it’s been using excessive amounts of oil. It’s been in the to fiat around 3 times and has on our last trip alone gone from 7 bars to 2 after 760 miles. On top of this we is also added 600ml we had to put in to ensure we got home.

Fiat have said no issues with the oil and upon draining the amount shown is accurate. And are now saying no issues with turbo. Looking at rejecting the van as not fit for purpose.

Is this amount of oil consumption correct?
Any ideas what else may be causing the issue?

Any help or advice welcome.

 

[berni109]

I see you have had all your free posts so I expect you won't be getting much interaction on this thread.
Your oil consumption is as you know excessive. After service with full oil I don't need to top up during the course of a year although I check the dip stick regularly.

 

[Pilote270]

good morning Traci,
As your van is new, the consumption may settle a little. However Fiat advise the following :
Fiat Ducato engines can consume a noticeable amount of oil, which is often considered normal by the manufacturer. According to official Fiat owner handbooks, the maximum acceptable engine oil consumption is up to 400 grams per 1,000 km (roughly 400 ml per 630 miles) this topic has been discussed extensively- as our trips are usually 5k miles + ; I now carry 3 + oil containers. My answer is therefore carry more oil.

Travel well and travel safely .

 

[gus-lopez]

I really can't see how this can be A) progress , B) good for the environment or C) emissions? How can using oil be beneficial ?

 

[pappajohn]

I really can't see how this can be A) progress , B) good for the environment or C) emissions? How can using oil be beneficial ?

It cant..... But if fiat say its acceptable it must be ok.
Will fiat sort it after it fails the first MOT when smoke is visible, never mind the emmisions readings.

 

[manners]

It cant..... But if fiat say its acceptable it must be ok.
Will fiat sort it after it fails the first MOT when smoke is visible, never mind the emmisions readings.

Ours has been using around half a litre every 1000 miles for the past 9 years with no emissions or smoke no clogging of the dpf. It really annoys the mot tester as he has bend down under the van to get the probe in that registers nothing every year.

 

[Badknee]

My 2017 2.3 150 doesn’t use any oil between services.

 

[quentinsf]

Mmm. Our Ducato may be a different engine: it's two years old, 8-speed automatic, with the manual gearbox. We've done about 7000 miles since new and haven't yet had to top up the oil.

 

[royandsharont]

My first one, a 2012 2.3 130bhp manual and now a 2022 2.2 140bhp automatic have never needed any oil adding between services. The hard bit now is getting the oil level right at service with the electronic oil level gauge.

 

[Mad dog]

Our previous 2.3, 150bhp (2019) consumed quite a lot of oil, but not that much. On a 2-3k trip, I might have to put 1-1.5l of oil in her. A pain in the ass! I changed her over to 5/30 oil rather than the 0/30 that Fiat suggests, she definitely used less.

I think if you drive over 65 - 70mph on the motorway, that's when she drinks it.

 

[yorkiebar]

7 bars to 2 bars in 760 miles is definitely not normal! I'd also be hovering over the "reject" button if Fiat can't resolve it. It's been in 3 times, I think I'd give them one more pop.

 

[manners]

I think if you drive over 65 - 70mph on the motorway, that's when she drinks it.

That's probably why mine uses a bit more than it should, I normally sit at 70 if traffic allows.

 

[1090alex]

Mmm. Our Ducato may be a different engine: it's two years old, 8-speed automatic, with the manual gearbox. We've done about 7000 miles since new and haven't yet had to top up the oil.

8 speed automatic with manual gearbox?

 

[Soarhead]

That seems excessive to me. Our 2024 180hp Ducato engine has not required any top ups over 6000+ miles. Nor did our previous 2021 Ducato.

 

[sfrain145]

8 speed automatic with manual gearbox?

We have the same one

 

[sfrain145]

7 bars to 2 bars in 760 miles is definitely not normal! I'd also be hovering over the "reject" button if Fiat can't resolve it. It's been in 3 times, I think I'd give them one more pop.

If you can reject it I would as this topic is all over the internet. And if it carries on you will be stranded and that’s not what you need looming over you. The newer one with a dip stick is much better in terms of keeping an eye on things.

 

[Peavy]

Bear in mind the display only shows a little segment of the amount of oil.
For instance, this would be considered in between normal limits, it's not low oil:

Also, if your van is new, you have a dipstick to be sure about the oil reading. Anyway, you need to understand how this sensor displays it's value.

 

[1090alex]

We have the same one

Which is it manual or automatic..???

 

[B+W vanman]

Which is it manual or automatic..???

It’s an automatic……….which , of course, can be used as a manual by pushing the “gear stick” into “M” mode……….(if you’re determined enough to be a Luddite……..

 

[RossiJ]

We’ve now done 3800 miles in our 2025 140bhp, 8 speed automatic and haven’t used a drop of oil ( and i first parade the vehicle religiously)

 

[chrometeeth]

We did over 70,000 miles in our fiat based autotrail from new in 2015 and regularly put in half a litre every 1000 to 1500 miles on big trips away.But never caused any problems and always flew through mot.

 

[Barn1e]

I had a similar issue with my 2022 built Warwick on Generation 8 Fiat Ducato. Whilst I don’t have a dipstick, as you will see from the root cause of oil consumption it was nothing to do with an unreliable measurement of oil level. Instead it was a missing and in some cases a dislodged valve in the oil separator. This leads to excessive oil burn.
See https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fiat-ducato-oil-sensor-readings-my-findings.329560/

Fiat Professional garages should be aware and know how to check for the issue.

Having said all that, my screen display will flip flop between 5 and 3 bars! It’s worth understanding how the level sensor captures levels after the ignition is turned of and then displayed when next turned on.

Barn1e

 

[Normskiis]

My Automatic 2018 2.3 150 doesn’t use any oil between services thus far in my 2yrs of ownership.

 

[Apacheman]

We have a 2020 2.3 140 bhp. When turning the ignition on when it’s cold there are 5 lights come on the dashboard to show the oil level. It doesn’t take much of a downward slope for these to reduce to two and a ‘check oil level’ message to display. Happens on my driveway which at first glance looks fairly flat.
It fortunately also has a dipstick which when level and checked it shows full. I prefer to trust the dipstick.
We use about 500ml between services (9000 miles).

 

[Conniedriving]

Mine is a fiat decato 3lt tagaxel 2007
Had 6 years and never put any oil in it.
It is serviced every year