Fiat 500 oil change query

[JulesV]

I am looking for a bit of advice.

Mrs JV has a Fiat 500 Multijet bought new in May 2008. The car is used for a daily commute of about 50 miles together with more local journeys ferrying the kids to and fro. According to both the dealer and handbook the car has 18,000 mile service intervals, which seems ridiculous to an old fart like me.

After about 11,500 miles the car announced that it needed an oil change. The garage said it was not necessary but I told them to do it anyway. The car was then serviced at 18,000 but the oil was not changed. Now at 22,000 it is demanding another oil change. So, three visits to the dealer in the space of 11,000 miles.

Does this sound reasonable or could there be something wrong? I am tempted to just get the thing serviced every 12,000 miles. On the other hand if there may be something wrong then I would like to make a fuss about it now whilst the car is still under warranty.

[JulesV]

Thanks for the reply. I was starting to think that there was something the matter with it. It would seem less hassle just to take it for a full service every 12,000 miles.

[mrobin33]

What did they do at the service if they did not change the oil? There is nothing else to do these days except top up the washer fluid and put a big piece of white paper on the floor. Just have the oil change done when the light comes on except every three years or so when it probably needs the other fluids changing (brake and steering etc) and maybe the fuel filter as it's an oil burner.

The handbook may tell you how to reset the light which is a cheaper option. You can do this in the Camaro but not the Vette. For both I get emails from GM telling me how many more miles to a service which is interesting. On the Bentley the service light just came on - exactly 365 days since it had a service - a very scientific approach.