Sort of broken down in France

When we got our van, it had 2 years remaining warranty. To keep it, I serviced it at main dealer, plus couple of recalls, that was quite a bit of work.
The service stated 2 years or 18k miles, but, I did myself a service in between that schedule. After warranty expired, I service it twice per year now, spring and autumn. The winter oil with failed regens due to low temps and short drives, the oil stinks of diesel. So is two oils per year for me.
 
My air con belt(2016 Ducator) snapped while crossing the Spanish border into France the summer before last. Temp was hitting high 30s. After the initial fright and pants change we found a Fiat garage and told them in pigeon French what the problem was. Booked in 24hrs later and job done in 40mins. €180 which was steep but money well spent. I reckon €405
 
1090alex said:
Unlike vans motorhomes tend to sit idle for weeks on end. This can have a negative effect on engine oil.
It definitely depends on how you use your van
Ask a diesel mechanic.
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Why would leaving a van idle have a negative effect on engine oil, is it significantly different to having oil in a container?

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The Wino said:
It could be a more complicated thing than just mileage like number of starts frequency of use length of journey etc
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Correct. My oil countdown starts at 27000 km but I've seen it jump suddenly further, so I guess there's an algorithm based on something similar of what you're pointing out.
 
Neilh said:
Why would leaving a van idle have a negative effect on engine oil, is it significantly different to having oil in a container?
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Idling the van too much is no good for the oil nor modern diesel engines in general because diesel could not burn correctly and end mixing with the oil and this could also lead to problems with the DPF. Not good.
 
Just us on Tour said:
Hey Funsters . I would be very interested to know your experiences with Fiat Professional. I think older technology is maybe a bit more reliable as they don’t rely on all this tech !
I appreciate you only get to hear generally of bad experiences but Fiat do not seem to have a very good reputation.
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So this may not be true for the EU but this is our experience in Morocco. Wheel bearing became very noisy, popped into the Fiat Professional in Agadir. Correct diagnosis but they tell me there are no new bearings available in Morocco. Subsequently went to an independent garage who said we can get you a new bearing in 30 mins!
I hadn’t thought before but obviously Fiat Professional can only fit Fiat original parts!!
 
Neilh said:
Why would leaving a van idle have a negative effect on engine oil, is it significantly different to having oil in a container?
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Oil in the sump is exposed to oxygen when idle. Over a period of time this can cause the oil to oxidise. Due to this the lubricant can thicken. The viscosity of any lubricant is paramount.
There is also moisture in the sump from the atmosphere and unburnt fuel etc.
Again this can result in oil loosing performance .
As a result its deemed better to change oil annually if doing infrequent or short journeys.
Oil in a sealed container is not exposed to oxygen or moisture in the same way.
 
Lenny HB said:
That's concerning, perhaps it's based on previous use.

As you know mine is June 2024, Fiat chassis was built end of Nov. 2023.
I thought when I picked mine up next service was just over 28,000 and oil life around 24000.
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Oil life is 15000 now.
 
scousebird said:
€285
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Spot on, not complaining but probably going rate.

1000001043.webp
 
Neilh said:
Why would leaving a van idle have a negative effect on engine oil, is it significantly different to having oil in a container?
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Yes, a closed container is not a problem. Every time you start an engine it heats up, when you switch off it cools down, this temperature change produces condensation - the arch enemy for oil. The longer you leave the engine the higher the condensation accumulated.
 
I would have assumed that if you leave an engine idle there’s a given limit to the amount of condensation accumulated? Therefore if a vehicle is left for instance 2 months then driven every day for 3 months it would be better than driving every other day and leaving the oil to cool.
 
Neilh said:
I would have assumed that if you leave an engine idle there’s a given limit to the amount of condensation accumulated? Therefore if a vehicle is left for instance 2 months then driven every day for 3 months it would be better than driving every other day and leaving the oil to cool.
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That's called 'rizar el rizo' in Spanish, basically curling the curls. You could imagine any scenario you want, but at the end of the day an engine sat without use will create condensation which will dilute the oil.
 
Raul said:
The winter oil with failed regens due to low temps and short drives, the oil stinks of diesel. So is two oils per year for me.
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Takes me back to the 60's & 70's,
Service & oil change at 10k on a petrol & 5k on a diesel.
 
Lenny HB said:
Doesn't add up does it when service interval is 45,000km or 28,000 miles.
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No that's why I didn't bother too much when I first got the information message to change engine oil, obviously once the orange light came on I was worried it might go into limp mode or something plus didn't want to damage engine or invalidate 5 year warranty.
 
manners said:
I thought that if the oil degradation wasn't reset even if the oil was changed it would have limited mileage before going into limp mode.
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I believe this to be correct too. Had the same issue with my previous 2023 (non dipstick) series 8 PVC. Bloody Fiat over engineering for the sake of it....
 
Lenny HB said:
Doesn't add up does it when service interval is 45,000km or 28,000 miles.
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I always used to change the oil on my company’s vans at 10,000 miles without fail.

I have always thought the manufacturers quote the longer service intervals so the engines only last 100,000 miles ,and are either badly worn or go bang.
 
MichaelT said:
No that's why I didn't bother too much when I first got the information message to change engine oil, obviously once the orange light came on I was worried it might go into limp mode or something plus didn't want to damage engine or invalidate 5 year warranty.
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I can understand the oil life can reduce depending on use but you would expect with fresh oil for it to start at least at 28,000 miles.
 
Jo662 said:
I always used to change the oil on my company’s vans at 10,000 miles without fail.

I have always thought the manufacturers quote the longer service intervals so the engines only last 100,000 miles ,and are either badly worn or go bang.
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But modern synthetic oils are vastly different from the Duckems 20/50 we all used to use.
 
Whilst not a direct comparison, much older van, and not at a Fiat Professional garage I recently had the same done in Morocco for €56, I supplied the oil filter. Oil €48, labour €8. I’m seriously thinking of getting all my routine maintenance done in Maroc!!
 

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