28,000 miles between oil changes!

daveclare

daveclare

Joined
Jun 26, 2018
Posts
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Location
North West
Funster No
54,605
MH
Florium Wincester
Exp
Europe & USA since April '21
We bought our 2020 van with 800 miles on the clock and it's now done over 31k miles. The oil is changed after every trip. This is usually about every 5k miles. It has the 160hp 2.3 engine. It has always had the recommended 0-30w C2, fully synthetic oil. Not cheap.

Fiat say the oil service interval is 28k. The photo below shows the oil after our last circa 5k trip. New oil on the left, old 5k on the right. I'd never wait until 28k.

IMG_20230802_190626146.jpg

IMG_20230802_190609771.jpg
 
:giggle: not the previous 5 that I've had. All did around 16k a year and had new oil much less. Mind you they were all cars/ mpvs.
 
Being a diesel the oil will blacken quickly it’s the nature of the engine.

But I agree with you I’d never leave an oil change that long.

As a family we have a few VAG vehicles and use long life oil.
But it still gets changed every 12 months.

I think you could leave your oil a bit longer than 6k unless that’s your annual mileage then it’s your choice 👍

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Personally I think changing oil after every trip is not necessary and modern oils are quite different from what was available several years ago.
It is also as important to flush the system properly as it is to change the oil.
However,
It’s your motorhome and your money .
So it’s whatever helps you sleep at night and you feel comfortable with .
 
I had an Omega with the 6 pot BMW engine, I phoned up the garage I had it serviced at complaining they I didn't think they had changed the oil. The oil was black I'd only driven it 2 miles home.

28k with modern synthetic oils is nothing also with the amount of oil Ducato's burn it's will have had quite a bit of fresh oil in that time.
 
Whist flushing was the done thing years ago. I've never had an engine flushed at a garage in the last 30 years.

Has anyone ever had that done at a dealers?
 
Funny you mention burning oil Lenny. Last trip to Spain in winter was about 1000 less miles but it used over a litre of oil. This trip only used about 250 ml.
 
daveclare said:
:giggle: not the previous 5 that I've had. All did around 16k a year and had new oil much less. Mind you they were all cars/ mpvs.
Click to expand...
I had an Audi TDI. Got home after it's first service and checked the oil on the dipstick and it was tar black. Phoned up to rant at the service people. They swore blind it had been done. Then I checked the filter and it was obviously new. Phoned back up to apologise. 😬

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daveclare said:
Funny you mention burning oil Lenny. Last trip to Spain in winter was about 1000 less miles but it used over a litre of oil. This trip only used about 250 ml.
Click to expand...
Don't reset the " service clock " until it request being done. You'll use up all the resets quickly otherwise, and you only get nine reset " coupons " as there known from when the van is new, which seems woefully inadequate. Use them all up and get the "service coupons expired " flash across the dashboard every time you turn the ignition on.
Mike.
 
Thanks for the advice. Always waited until the warning came up before resetting. This one came up bang on 28k. Followed the YouTube advice to reset and worked perfectly.
 
BouncyBoatFolk said:
Don't reset the " service clock " until it request being done. You'll use up all the resets quickly otherwise, and you only get nine reset " coupons " as there known from when the van is new, which seems woefully inadequate. Use them all up and get the "service coupons expired " flash across the dashboard every time you turn the ignition on.
Mike.
Click to expand...
Even if that is the case just add new resets, easy with muliecuscan.
 
Phill D said:
Personally I think changing oil after every trip is not necessary and modern oils are quite different from what was available several years ago.
It is also as important to flush the system properly as it is to change the oil.
However,
It’s your motorhome and your money .
So it’s whatever helps you sleep at night and you feel comfortable with .
Click to expand...
Only because you have mentioned engine oil flushing so i asume you have experience. (i have nome except i have 3 bottles of engine flush in my garage as i bought them on different occations but bottled out on useing them) no pun intended.
Because logically after flushing and having run your engine with liquid and draining, after refilling with the oil thats there to protect your enginge there are seconds you run without that said oil in places of your engine .
Surely thats not better than just changing oil . I do tend to over think things though
 
Phill D said:
Personally I think changing oil after every trip is not necessary and modern oils are quite different from what was available several years ago.
It is also as important to flush the system properly as it is to change the oil.
However,
It’s your motorhome and your money .
So it’s whatever helps you sleep at night and you feel comfortable with .
Click to expand...

daveclare said:
Whist flushing was the done thing years ago. I've never had an engine flushed at a garage in the last 30 years.

Has anyone ever had that done at a dealers?
Click to expand...

PeterCarole29 said:
Only because you have mentioned engine oil flushing so i asume you have experience. (i have nome except i have 3 bottles of engine flush in my garage as i bought them on different occations but bottled out on useing them) no pun intended.
Because logically after flushing and having run your engine with liquid and draining, after refilling with the oil thats there to protect your enginge there are seconds you run without that said oil in places of your engine .
Surely thats not better than just changing oil . I do tend to over think things though
Click to expand...
I am informed you should NOT use engine flush on Ford transit engines !
 
I bought a petrol mower 4stroke from Screwfix and despite the Mountfield badge it was obviously some cheap Chinese engine.
Ran it for around five minutes and decided the auto rev limiting system was awful and after buying new I wasn't going to correct their faults.
To return it I had to empty oil out and after five minutes run time the oil was jet black and lots of sparkles (bits of metal!)

In light of this I would have thought new cars need a change of oil after say 3,000 miles from new and then modern oils can last a long time for a normal change after that?
 
Perhaps modern machinery methods don't create swarf in engines that gets released in that initial running?
I would find that hard to believe entirely so would still continue with the tried and trusted regime of ditching the running in oil after a 1000m, and changing the filter, soundly believing prevention is better than curing, but it's each to their own.
Mike.
 
Thought it was 28k or 2 years, not many will rack up 28k in that time period. Reckon mine will do @16k over 2 years.

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daveclare said:
Funny you mention burning oil Lenny. Last trip to Spain in winter was about 1000 less miles but it used over a litre of oil. This trip only used about 250 ml.
Click to expand...
Thats a lot of oil. Our two cars and the MH never need topping up between annual services I've almost stopped checking the oil level. Same with our previous cars.
 
The Wino said:
Thats a lot of oil. Our two cars and the MH never need topping up between annual services I've almost stopped checking the oil level. Same with our previous cars.
Click to expand...
Now vehicles don't come fitted with a visually comforting oil pressure gauge I tend to check mine more frequently now.
Mike.
 
the1andonly said:
Even if that is the case just add new resets, easy with muliecuscan.
Click to expand...
But, these days to learn something new I have to forget something of old. After completing a Paddle sports instructor course recently I couldn't remember my way home !!!, some poetic licence there, but you get the point, age may bring wisdom, but in my case, not new brain cells.
Mike.
 
Most garages here change the oil every 15,000kms. I change it far more often.
Most oils these days go black far quicker due to the emissions tat that is on them.
I've just come back from the Uk & will be changing oil asap ,so 8k kms since last time.

Guigsy said:
Oil in a diesel engine looks like that after about 3 miles. 😅
Click to expand...

My mate bought a new van in 1992 & changed the oil & filterimmediately. He then religiously changed both monthly* & the oil that came out looked the same as the oil that went in , golden syrup.
* Oil was foc , as was mine
 
.
PeterCarole29 said:
Only because you have mentioned engine oil flushing so i asume you have experience. (i have nome except i have 3 bottles of engine flush in my garage as i bought them on different occations but bottled out on useing them) no pun intended.
Because logically after flushing and having run your engine with liquid and draining, after refilling with the oil thats there to protect your enginge there are seconds you run without that said oil in places of your engine .
Surely thats not better than just changing oil . I do tend to over think things though
Click to expand...
When you fully drain your system of warm engine oil and replace the filter then there is always a second or two before your oil pump refills the filter and reached all parts of the engine.

the manufacturer and oil company advise an oil and filter change at 28k or 2 years on our Ducato.
I would not flush if I was changing the oil and filter every few thousand miles that’s for certain.

this is an often brought up topic with many different views.
I mentioned previously, you do what you think is best for you and what makes you comfortable with your decision.

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Jev88 said:
I bought a petrol mower 4stroke from Screwfix and despite the Mountfield badge it was obviously some cheap Chinese engine.
Ran it for around five minutes and decided the auto rev limiting system was awful and after buying new I wasn't going to correct their faults.
To return it I had to empty oil out and after five minutes run time the oil was jet black and lots of sparkles (bits of metal!)

In light of this I would have thought new cars need a change of oil after say 3,000 miles from new and then modern oils can last a long time for a normal change after that?
Click to expand...
Could you help me with a immobiliser fault please
 
The Wino said:
Thats a lot of oil. Our two cars and the MH never need topping up between annual services I've almost stopped checking the oil level. Same with our previous cars.
Click to expand...
Mine never need topping up between services but Last month I had a service done at a new (for me) garage as the usual one had stopped trading. The guy said he had put in as much oil as he could and he still had some left (he had had to buy it in for mine) he offered me the remaining oil, which I declined as I never use it.

400 miles into my current trip round Europe I noticed that the engine was showing only one dot for engine oil. The dipstick showed the oil to be just over the minimum. It hasn't got any lower over the next 1000 miles until I parked on a slight slope and it said to check engine oil.

I've rung the garage that serviced it to find out which oil he used as I am going to have to top it up and I'm waiting for a call beck on that. (obviously he hadn't put enough oil in)

Anyone know how to get the oil in an A Class where there id no headroom to tip a bottle?
 
Folkranger said:
Mine never need topping up between services but Last month I had a service done at a new (for me) garage as the usual one had stopped trading. The guy said he had put in as much oil as he could and he still had some left (he had had to buy it in for mine) he offered me the remaining oil, which I declined as I never use it.

400 miles into my current trip round Europe I noticed that the engine was showing only one dot for engine oil. The dipstick showed the oil to be just over the minimum. It hasn't got any lower over the next 1000 miles until I parked on a slight slope and it said to check engine oil.

I've rung the garage that serviced it to find out which oil he used as I am going to have to top it up and I'm waiting for a call beck on that. (obviously he hadn't put enough oil in)

Anyone know how to get the oil in an A Class where there id no headroom to tip a bottle?
Click to expand...
Funnel with the right size hose on the end as long as needed to pour easily.
 

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