# Servicing interval - what do you do?



## Jamsieboy (Jan 14, 2011)

Hi
I have a 2011 Adria Motorhome on a Fiat Ducato base.
It has done 10,500 miles
Gave it a low mileage service at a Fiat Professional Dealer last year.
Due an MOT in July.

The question

What do you guys do?
Do you service your van every year including oil change and new filter?

Fiat Professional Camper web site states service every two years with oil change then OR as indicated by the warning light!!!!

Thoughts welcome


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## flyinghigh (Dec 10, 2012)

You need to get the costs into perspective! 

You have a motorhome worth many thousands and you need to ask a question about replacing oil and filter once a year, it's a no brainier !!!

Regardless of how few miles you do a year the oil and filter need changing at the very least, top up and other fluids as well,

Fifty years in the motor trade has taught me that the average motorist will spend hundreds on ICE/ wheels/ tyres/ body kits but on the important stuff not a penny if they can get away with it


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## Jamsieboy (Jan 14, 2011)

flyinghigh said:


> You need to get the costs into perspective!
> 
> You have a motorhome worth many thousands and you need to ask a question about replacing oil and filter once a year, it's a no brainier !!!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the lecture
I am not worried about the cost. My question was seeking to establish what is necessary and or appropriate.
The garage says one thing - the Fiat web site another.
I was just trying to get a feel what others do -


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

The oil of an engine is its blood...it lubricates and it cools

I change mine religiously every 6 months no matter what the mileage I have covered. though I try and coincide it with a trip overseas.

It will do no wrong and costs very little if you do it yourself (literally 30 minutes of your time). Every year I change the air filter and pollen filter as the cost of them is just so low. I can do it all for about 40 quid.....(that includes oil/oil filter/air filter and pollen filter) add another tenner for a fuel filter which isn't required as much.

I haven't needed pads yet but will do them myself as again its very easy. Brake fluid change is easy, even easier with two of you. Coolant just a pain to bleed but again simple.

I have a half decent knowledge of engines though hence why I do the simple things myself which a garage WILL charge you a lot for.


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## cheshiregordon (Sep 24, 2011)

I have mine serviced and MOT'd at the same time each year by the local mercedes commercial garage.


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## shingi (Apr 18, 2008)

Fully support what bigcats30 says, which is exactly what I do. I suppose one needs to have a bit of an aptitude for getting ones hands dirty, but you'll know the jobs been done, hopefully get some satisfaction from a bit of DIY, plus saving yourself £50 per hour labour as well, or whatever garages charge these days.

Unless the vehicle is still under warranty, for me, and this obviously is a personal opinion, I wouldn't waste money on habitation checks either. Regards MICK.


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## kalamitty (Dec 28, 2006)

i send my into a local garage for mot and service at the same time also ask them to grease the nipples on the rear axle tube with the wheels off the ground cost . due to low miles i only service every second year,
spoke to an old engineer years ago about some old motocycle he had and like he said the oil has been in the ground for years so why worry.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

> ="kalamitty" i send my into a local garage for mot and service at the same time also ask them to grease the nipples on the rear axle tube with the wheels off the ground cost . due to low miles i only service every second year,
> spoke to an old engineer years ago about some old motocycle he had and like he said the oil has been in the ground for years so why worry.
> 
> 
> > Oil that goes into your engine is refined and nothing like that comes out of the ground....thats why.


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

I think much depends on how you use your van. Water, through condensation, is the biggest problem in van engines that don't get a lot of use especially if you do a large number of short journeys that do not allow the engine temp to get high enough to evaporate that condensation.
Water in itself, in the oil, is not a big problem but it does form an emulsion which blocks the filter. 
I change the oil every two years (12 k Mls.) and filter every year.


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Replace Oil, filter & air filter once a year even if I've done 4 or 5000miles.
To me, its false economy not too. . .


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

OK, so you asked.............

I would NEVER trust a YTS chimp at a main dealer to service my vehicle. £80 an hour, plus lunatic consumables prices for what is all too often rubbish work.
I have had to put right their bodges many times now.

And yet many people actually still trust such places and pay their highway robbery prices.

I do it myself, so I know that it has actually been done properly. It really is easy.

On our motorhome I change oil (15w40 mineral) every 10,000kms, (which is typically maybe every 8 months or so) and filter and plug washer every 2nd oil change.

As oil and filters are damned expensive here in Spain, filters are Mann brand, bought via internet from UK, and oil is well known branded stuff bought when we are up in France from supermarkets there who often have very good special price offers on.


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## Jamsieboy (Jan 14, 2011)

Many thanks everyone.
It seems that most responders change oil and filter every year.
Fiat Camper web site states every two years!!!  
As a total non techie I will go with what seems like the safest route and that done by most responders and change oil and filter every year. Cheers and thanks


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

Jamsieboy - if it helps: do remember that you absolutely DO NOT have to have your vehicle serviced by a Highway-Robbery Fiat Dealership, whether still within any Fiat warranty period or not.

It can be serviced by any garage, or indeed by a mobile mechanic, or by yourself, so long as the servicer is "competent" and parts used are of equivalent quality.
For an oil change, a decent brand filter and decent brand oil from Halfrauds or any parts shop. Job takes ten minutes. Keep receipts to prove job's been done.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Jamsieboy said:


> Many thanks everyone.
> It seems that most responders change oil and filter every year.
> Fiat Camper web site states every two years!!!
> As a total non techie I will go with what seems like the safest route and that done by most responders and change oil and filter every year. Cheers and thanks


I do it purely from habit.....it does nothing to harm the vehicle and as I said oil is the blood of it and is extremely important in an engine.

With the low cost of filters from Euro car parts etc (and still buying MANN filters) the money I save allows me to change the filters yearly and I STILL make a saving whilst giving my van that little bit more love and attention.

Plus a lot of it is down to not trusting garages......after paying for a major service once on my van by a Peugeot dealer I found that they hadn't done half the work....so I do it myself now.


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## greygit (Apr 15, 2007)

Are you blokes taking into consideration that the oil recommended is synthetic therefore has a much longer life span than the old mineral type? :?


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

greygit said:


> Are you blokes taking into consideration that the oil recommended is synthetic therefore has a much longer life span than the old mineral type? :?


No they're not but they are also forgetting that a lot of people have to rely on Main Dealers and smaller garages to do their servicing as not everyone wants too, or can, get their hands dirty.

Garages, especially Main Dealers, have huge overheads but the majority of them have a vast amount of skills and recourses to enable them to do an excellent job.

I have seen a very small number of jobs botched by Main Dealer mechanics but I have seen many botched jobs done by DIYers.

Portraying all Motor Traders as incompetent is not helpful and only gives the majority of MH owners, who have to rely on them, false grounds for concern.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

As an ex-commercial vehicle mechanic, I do all my own servicing/repairs, and while some main dealers do have competent fitters, many do not and I'd be loth to take a vehicle to anywhere I had no confidence in.

In the case of the OP I'd be inclined to find a reliable Fiat indy workshop that could do the job.

As far as longevity of oil is concerned, I'd change it annually regardless of what mileage I had covered, it's the cheapest insurance you can buy for your engine.

Don't forget transmission oil changes as well, we do ours 2-yearly, had both axles, gearbox and transfer oils changed before the present trip, great peace of mind.

Peter


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