Ducato Series 8 Oil Level ( difficulties and nightmares )

[yorkie boy]

Haven’t seen a dipstick in my 2024 Series 9.

Their is no dipstick in my 24 plate either can only get level from computer on dash

 

[jerryz]

Clearly FIAT engineers are ''Dipsticks!!!!!''

 

[TrudeandDall]

Their is no dipstick in my 24 plate either can only get level from computer on dash

After two years of moaning about not having a dipstick - I have adapted to how the dash gauge works and now find it okay.
As a pro driver I checked the engine oil (and other important fluids) on my trucks and then company cars every day - its what you did. I still do the same with my Ducato, only now it's just a press of a button on the steering wheel a few minutes after starting up - no bonnet to lift and dipstick to pull out.
I have worked out that although there are 8 segments on the gauge, mine moves in blocks of 2 or 25% of the "dipstick". it doesn't matter if you are filling up or it's going down naturally through use - it's 25%.
It's 5000 miles since my service in August, after 3000 miles mine dropped from between 75/100% to between 50/75% and remains there every time I check. When it eventually drops below 50% it will still be in the safe zone, but it's time to top up with 250ml.
I check my cold tyre pressures every day just after moving off, just after checking the oil. This is much more convenient than going around each wheel with a pressure gauge. Later on the journey, it's interesting to see just how much the pressure increases once the tyres warm up, especially on a hot day in Europe...
Same for the Adblue gauge - it moves in increments of 25% or approximately 5lts. I check every 1000 miles and when it gets to 50% its time to add 5 or 10 litres - I never wait until I get a low level warning.
I just got to understand my new fangled digital gauges and have accepted that they are the way of life now.........

 

[1090alex]

We were fortunate to have a new Motorhome at the end of June 2022. Routinely checking the oil level in August and before a long trip I was surprised to see only 2 bars from 8 registering. Following the handbook procedure I added 250ml of oil but the display did not alter, a further 250 ml was added but no change to the display and I made a note to keep a careful eye on the display. The next week we drove to Folkestone and had an overnight stay before catching Le Shuttle. 250 miles after topping the oil up and now in France the display jumps to 8 bars and a red warning to stop. We were recovered and had two nights in a Calais hotel. The French mechanic explained they had made sure the oil level was correct but the display was a complete work of fiction, ok to continue our trip but book in when back in the UK. Ok so booked in and the gauge was recalibrated, no need to replace we were told. Jump to March this year and another warning light, oil pressure/level sensor not responding. Back at the Fiat Professional Dealership and the sensor is replaced under warranty. Recently checked display and guess what, 2 bars showing level is low and needs top up, 250 ml added no change in display, spoken to dealer who says do not add any further vehicle needs to go in for diagnostics and from what I can make out the only way they can be certain of the oil content is to drain and refill. Anyone still reading this may be wondering if I still feel much like a Funster, the answer unfortunately is no especially as I have now been told that any work is chargeable as my warranty has expired .
If you have a Series 8 Ducato please keep an eye on the oil level. I despair that no resolution seems available for this problem.

I also have a series 8. After covering arund 40 miles from it's first service the oil level warning message came on.
Called the dealer who could confirm exactly the correct amount of oil had been fitted. He also mentioned this fault is really common on a series 8. He told me not to worry,ignore the light and they'd look at it on my return.
They subsequently drained around a litre of oil from the sump and all has been fine.

 

[Sleeveless]

The Service Agent who I suspect has some knowledge of this particular problem is telling me that any warranty work is only guaranteed until the base vehicle warranty expires even if the last sensor change was a few months ago however if I had paid for the repair it would carry a 24 month warranty.

This is absolutely correct if you haven't made a financial contribution , however the manufacturer should assist on a goodwill basis , but that's their decision.

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[Clive Beeza]

We were fortunate to have a new Motorhome at the end of June 2022. Routinely checking the oil level in August and before a long trip I was surprised to see only 2 bars from 8 registering. Following the handbook procedure I added 250ml of oil but the display did not alter, a further 250 ml was added but no change to the display and I made a note to keep a careful eye on the display. The next week we drove to Folkestone and had an overnight stay before catching Le Shuttle. 250 miles after topping the oil up and now in France the display jumps to 8 bars and a red warning to stop. We were recovered and had two nights in a Calais hotel. The French mechanic explained they had made sure the oil level was correct but the display was a complete work of fiction, ok to continue our trip but book in when back in the UK. Ok so booked in and the gauge was recalibrated, no need to replace we were told. Jump to March this year and another warning light, oil pressure/level sensor not responding. Back at the Fiat Professional Dealership and the sensor is replaced under warranty. Recently checked display and guess what, 2 bars showing level is low and needs top up, 250 ml added no change in display, spoken to dealer who says do not add any further vehicle needs to go in for diagnostics and from what I can make out the only way they can be certain of the oil content is to drain and refill. Anyone still reading this may be wondering if I still feel much like a Funster, the answer unfortunately is no especially as I have now been told that any work is chargeable as my warranty has expired .
If you have a Series 8 Ducato please keep an eye on the oil level. I despair that no resolution seems available for this problem.

Surely if this fault was present whilst the vehicle was under warranty, and remains unresolved ,
contact Fiat customer care with the details, and they should authorise the dealer to carry out repairs
under a " goodwill gesture"

 

[Lenny HB]

Haven’t seen a dipstick in my 2024 Series 9.

Not on mine either.

 

[deemac]

My '21 Boxer's gauge always reads 2 dots down. My friendly garage said it’s easy for us, we just drain it and pour in the correct amount. I find the dipstick amazingly hard to read. They said only check it when it’s cold which does help. Not much help to you, though, just agreeing that the gauges seem to be as useful as my fresh water tank gauge …

We were fortunate to have a new Motorhome at the end of June 2022. Routinely checking the oil level in August and before a long trip I was surprised to see only 2 bars from 8 registering. Following the handbook procedure I added 250ml of oil but the display did not alter, a further 250 ml was added but no change to the display and I made a note to keep a careful eye on the display. The next week we drove to Folkestone and had an overnight stay before catching Le Shuttle. 250 miles after topping the oil up and now in France the display jumps to 8 bars and a red warning to stop. We were recovered and had two nights in a Calais hotel. The French mechanic explained they had made sure the oil level was correct but the display was a complete work of fiction, ok to continue our trip but book in when back in the UK. Ok so booked in and the gauge was recalibrated, no need to replace we were told. Jump to March this year and another warning light, oil pressure/level sensor not responding. Back at the Fiat Professional Dealership and the sensor is replaced under warranty. Recently checked display and guess what, 2 bars showing level is low and needs top up, 250 ml added no change in display, spoken to dealer who says do not add any further vehicle needs to go in for diagnostics and from what I can make out the only way they can be certain of the oil content is to drain and refill. Anyone still reading this may be wondering if I still feel much like a Funster, the answer unfortunately is no especially as I have now been told that any work is chargeable as my warranty has expired .
If you have a Series 8 Ducato please keep an eye on the oil level. I despair that no resolution seems available for this problem.

I have a 2017 Fiat motorhome and the oil level sensor has been a problem from day 1. Most common problem is a warning light indicating that the sensor is not working. The bars shown seem to be OK, but you can't rely on it. Fortunately this version also has a dipstick, so I can physically check the oil level. The problem was intermittent, but got worse when out of warranty. The Fiat Professional dealer recommended that I change the sensor and quoted £1200 to do this. I declined as it wasn't an MOT failure. After that I had levellers fitted and miraculously found that this solved the issue. What I found was that if you turned the ignition on, then paused (as I had to to allow the levellers to retract) the oil sensor worked properly. If you turn the ignition on and start the engine in one action, the oil sensor goes haywire. Maybe not much help to you, but worth a try.

 

[seasideBill]

It’s amazing that such a simple operation can be made so complex and unreliable! I understand the dip stick is back on the new version - alleluia, but too late for some!

 

[gus-lopez]

If you turn the ignition on and start the engine in one action,

You are not meant to do that on any vehicle. You are meant to wait until all the lights go out before cranking . Quite a few vehicles it doesn't bother them but many , including Ducato being one of the worst, it completely scrambles the ecu & why you get so many problems with them.
It is a problem when you inadvertently stall it & they have to wait whilst you wait for lights to go out .

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[Geistguy]

Surely if this fault was present whilst the vehicle was under warranty, and remains unresolved ,
contact Fiat customer care with the details, and they should authorise the dealer to carry out repairs
under a " goodwill gesture"

NO warranty can take away your consumer rights unless you have been negligent. If the problem occured during warranty and is ongoing it has to be dealt with.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

When topping up oil on the series 8 with level indicator on the dash board you have to wait at least 15 minutes for the sensors to register the level and show on the dashboard display so it’s very easy to over fill - I assume that’s why so many have done this
I only found out by chatting to the Fiat Professional dealer so I haven’t overfilled it yet but it would be quite easy to do so

 

[ROCHESB]

Not on mine either.

I was told by a FIAT Professional service agent that he had seen a Series 10 Peugeot with a dipstick & expected the FIATs to be the same.

 

[MichaelT]

Not on mine either.

There's on in ours between the steering wheel and drivers seat have you tried looking there

 

[TrudeandDall]

I also have a series 8. After covering arund 40 miles from it's first service the oil level warning message came on.
Called the dealer who could confirm exactly the correct amount of oil had been fitted. He also mentioned this fault is really common on a series 8. He told me not to worry,ignore the light and they'd look at it on my return.
They subsequently drained around a litre of oil from the sump and all has been fine.

This happened to mine after its first service! 1 litre of oil was subsequently drained out and the overfill warning light went out and stayed out.

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[Tony50]

It can't be hard technology. Surely it's pretty similar to a fuel gauge, just with a shorter range?

Theoretically it could give more accurate readings than a dipstick because it could be ideally situated, rather than in a location that's possible to do the stick path, which might put it in a position that's sensitive to slope.

I would still trust a dipstick more than a gauge.
If the engine is cold, vehicle on level ground, pull out dipstick and there's your level no need to wipe it,and recheck,what could be more simple than that, but there again I'm an old fashion mechanic.

 

[Silver-Fox]

After two years of moaning about not having a dipstick - I have adapted to how the dash gauge works and now find it okay.
As a pro driver I checked the engine oil (and other important fluids) on my trucks and then company cars every day - its what you did. I still do the same with my Ducato, only now it's just a press of a button on the steering wheel a few minutes after starting up - no bonnet to lift and dipstick to pull out.
I have worked out that although there are 8 segments on the gauge, mine moves in blocks of 2 or 25% of the "dipstick". it doesn't matter if you are filling up or it's going down naturally through use - it's 25%.
It's 5000 miles since my service in August, after 3000 miles mine dropped from between 75/100% to between 50/75% and remains there every time I check. When it eventually drops below 50% it will still be in the safe zone, but it's time to top up with 250ml.
I check my cold tyre pressures every day just after moving off, just after checking the oil. This is much more convenient than going around each wheel with a pressure gauge. Later on the journey, it's interesting to see just how much the pressure increases once the tyres warm up, especially on a hot day in Europe...
Same for the Adblue gauge - it moves in increments of 25% or approximately 5lts. I check every 1000 miles and when it gets to 50% its time to add 5 or 10 litres - I never wait until I get a low level warning.
I just got to understand my new fangled digital gauges and have accepted that they are the way of life now.........

As an engineer I’m amazed an engine loses or uses oils given the engineering tolerances the manufacturer can work to

 

[Mark1965]

I also have the series 8 Ducato PVC 2022 model with no dipstick...
From the information i got from the Fiat Professional main Dealer (Adam Morey) after its recent first 2 year Service.
The blocks on the Oil Guage are 200ml each one.
The engine needs to be run for approximatley 7 miles and then switched off and then left for approximatley 5 minutes.
This process will then give the correct reading after you have added your top up oil.

I also had the overfilled meassage as i like to change the oil and filter once a year. However i was told by Fiat that this is not necessary to do so i wont do it again! I had to drain some from the oil filter after unscrewing it gently. After the oil had been reduced i then did what i have written about how to get the correct level. This worked and i had a full oil guage and no Overfill Warning Light!
However...i could not reset the Oil Degredation counter that is part of the info on the dashboard menu.

If anyone knows how to reset the Degredation Countdown without the use of a FIAT Workshop Computer please let me know!
This is for the FIAT DUCATO without a phsical dipstick! I know how to reset the previous generation models and there are plenty of videos online showing how to do this model(s) already.

 

[Peavy]

If anyone knows how to reset the Degredation Countdown without the use of a FIAT Workshop Computer please let me know!

Here:
Post in thread 'Series 8 Ducato' https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/series-8-ducato.300831/post-6083260
It was you who asked for that and I answered you back in April.

 

[Lenny HB]

My Series 9 started off with oil life 17,000 miles and after about 4000 miles it went up to 24,000 miles.

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[Silver-Fox]

I also have the series 8 Ducato PVC 2022 model with no dipstick...
From the information i got from the Fiat Professional main Dealer (Adam Morey) after its recent first 2 year Service.
The blocks on the Oil Guage are 200ml each one.
The engine needs to be run for approximatley 7 miles and then switched off and then left for approximatley 5 minutes.
This process will then give the correct reading after you have added your top up oil.

I also had the overfilled meassage as i like to change the oil and filter once a year. However i was told by Fiat that this is not necessary to do so i wont do it again! I had to drain some from the oil filter after unscrewing it gently. After the oil had been reduced i then did what i have written about how to get the correct level. This worked and i had a full oil guage and no Overfill Warning Light!
However...i could not reset the Oil Degredation counter that is part of the info on the dashboard menu.

If anyone knows how to reset the Degredation Countdown without the use of a FIAT Workshop Computer please let me know!
This is for the FIAT DUCATO without a phsical dipstick! I know how to reset the previous generation models and there are plenty of videos online showing how to do this model(s) already.

I’m struggling why you can’t change the oil yearly.
Back in the day engines had to Bed In and you did just stick to o service schedule usually with mineral oil.

I put long life oil in VAG vehicles but still change once a year.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

I change my oil in a series 8 every year

 

[Peavy]

My Series 9 started off with oil life 17,000 miles and after about 4000 miles it went up to 24,000 miles.

The oil in your van must be like the good wine. Gets better with time

 

[MichaelT]

My Series 9 started off with oil life 17,000 miles and after about 4000 miles it went up to 24,000 miles.

Yes but yours has been sitting on sites plugged into EHU for most of its life so the computer thinks it's in for an easy life

 

[Lenny HB]

Yes but yours has been sitting on sites plugged into EHU for most of its life so the computer thinks it's in for an easy life

True I only did 3,350 miles on 6 weeks.

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[Mark1965]

Here:
Post in thread 'Series 8 Ducato' https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/series-8-ducato.300831/post-6083260
It was you who asked for that and I answered you back in April.

I was hoping for an English version not Portuguese..

 

[Peavy]

I was hoping for an English version not Portuguese..

I did an explanation of the procedure in English in the post under the video