Diesing out the dirt

My wife has a FIAT 500 diesel (which she loves) and we took it in for a first service at £149. I didn’t check the oil after the service to ensure it had been changed. (It was a FIAT dealer and I automatically assumed it would be done as it said on the invoice). But it’s now she has covered about 1,800 miles since (mixed length journeys) and the oil is quite black. Could it have become this colour so quickly. (My A Class diesel has 5,000 on the clock and the oil is still quite light coloured.)

Asked on 14 November 2009 by

Answered by Honest John

Carbon created by diesel engines can blacken the oil very quickly. But with this engine in the 500 it is essential to watch out for a dashboard “oil exhausted” warning because this tells you that the level has risen due to DPF activation malfunctioning and the engine could be in danger of running uncontrollably on its sump oil.

Tags: dpf technical issues diesels owning

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