Ticky boxes - Unnecessary servicing

montravia

Member
Messages
1,618
It's not the cost. It's the feeling of being manipulated for automatic rip off.

We're all subject to main dealers rigidly following manufacturer ticky boxes, attending to items whether necessary or not.
More often overlooking or ignoring 'more difficult' tasks which would be preventative of later failures. I've had it.

My runabout is a FIAT. I've almost always had a crappy little FIAT. I love 'em. Ran a 500 for nearly 10 years, flickety flick, my first car was a 600 (there's posh).

FIAT 124 Spyder Lusso. Just the job.

Serviced at main dealer each year.

Booked MOT. Service light on, cleared temporarily. She's done 2,632 miles since last service. Pandemic induced. Probably typical of many.

Minimum they will do to reset the service light permanently is an oil change.
£211 or so.
another £56 with the MOT.
For a job I could do myself.
So my top notch synthetic oil has degraded or hydolysed in 12 months?
Really?

I've read that the service indicator can be reset by a series of accelerator pedal depressions, but dubious as to whether permanent.

She's booked in but it really pi$$es me off.

Should a cheapy OBDC thingy be able to reset it permanently or not.

What think?

Robin
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,512
I don’t think you can expect a main dealer to switch off your service light if the car has no been serviced.
Why don’t you do the oil and filter change yourself if you feel it need doing and live with the service light remaining on.
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
The ability to reset the service light (using accelerator presses in this case) is legitimate as it is a requirement in the EU to be able to reset without a tool. It will be as permanent as doing with with a service tool, so until the next service interval.
 
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Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
Bring it here. Reckon my new Alfa / Fiat scan toy will do it.

C


I had a 13 plate doblo van , it was a year old when I got it but the dealer had serviced it and reset the service indicator, a week in the oil warning light started flashing red

Red is bad , flashing red must mean your engine has 5 seconds to live , I'm on the M67 so I stop on the hard shoulder before the clonking starts , only nothing, it's got plenty of oil in it , no funny noises ,runs normally so I get the manual out

It's an oil degradation light , only there's not a lab under the bonnet analysing the oil , it's just a light on a timer that only the fiat computer or £1500 worth of snap on can reset , to comply with EU law they made the service light so it could be reset at an independent then added the **** you light

I took it to fiat and they charged me 30 mins, £35 + vat IIRC to turn it off , to add insult to it they made me sit there for 40 minutes while they pretended it took the full 1/2 hour to reset it rather than the 2 minutes I knew it took
 

montravia

Member
Messages
1,618
To be no discriminatory, it's not only FIAT. The German marques are the same.
No, I don't feel the need to change the oil. I've looked and felt it just as I do on the aeroplane each flight. There's no discolouration, degradation or particulates. The spyder has only done 20,000 miles total, and changed 2,500 miles ago, and the service indicator shows I've 8,500 miles to go before mileage oil change rather than purely temporal event.
If it was an old loose engine I'd change it.
I'll try the 5 accelerator dip and see if it's permanent. £211 to effectively cancel an unnecessary warning light seems a scam whether I can afford it or not.
2017 car.
Rant over
Robin
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,512
To be no discriminatory, it's not only FIAT. The German marques are the same.
No, I don't feel the need to change the oil. I've looked and felt it just as I do on the aeroplane each flight. There's no discolouration, degradation or particulates. The spyder has only done 20,000 miles total, and changed 2,500 miles ago, and the service indicator shows I've 8,500 miles to go before mileage oil change rather than purely temporal event.
If it was an old loose engine I'd change it.
I'll try the 5 accelerator dip and see if it's permanent. £211 to effectively cancel an unnecessary warning light seems a scam whether I can afford it or not.
2017 car.
Rant over
Robin
Or a bit of black tape over the light until it does need a service ;)