[lurker]

friendly neighbourhood garage (fng) & 'friendly neighbourhood mechanic' or some friend or family member who is automobile savvy and qualified so that you can consult beforehand stepping into ASS.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

Is this the only reason sufficient for FIAT ASC to shrug off entire responsibility and put the blame entirely on me.

In a word, Yes.
Your best bet is to get this car looked at by a FNG, as mentioned. You're in bangalore, look up the directory here for recommended people.
Ethical or not, ASC nowadays have an unwritten no repair policy. If the fault is not something as simple as a nut to be tightened, or a wire to be reattached, it shall be replaced. (Poetic license used).
And in this case, they can do so without any qualms, with you having no standing to blame the car.

For changing the title, report your original post. Look for the exclamation triangle at the bottom left of the post. Edit it to something like : Missed service causes engine failure.
Otherwise, this thread title will be popping up in answer to "Why shouldn't I buy a fiat?"

PS: Diesel gurus, soot on the dipstick? I have never seen that. Is that owing to extreme usage of the oil?

[srivatsahg]

Mentioning Soot here, I actually meant blackened oil and I don't feel any rough composition with my fingers

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

I always keep a bottle of Petronas Selenia 5W40 handy during my long drives. I have added the oil myself during my last long drive to Goa. (Unfortunately I just topped it without draining the existing oil reserve)

Hi srivatsahg,

I'm confused. You are careful enough to keep a bottle of oil in your car and even top up the oil, but, not enough to check the service interval?

Also, what prompted you to top it up, since the level is way above the normal mark?

Since you say there are sounds from the engine, my guess is
1: Oil pump failure, which lead to this condition.
2. Soot in oil eating up con road bearings and eventually less oil pressure in the engine, leading to this condition.
3. Too much oil, hence froth, hence this damage.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sidindica

The selenia oil cannot withstand 22k kms, period. Its an oil which completely loses viscosity after merely 10k kms. I use synthetic oil, and change every 7.5-9k kms depending the usage.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

But that Selenia oil is no good beyond 10K kms.

Originally Posted by torquecurve

The oil itself is 'gunked' up, which is messing with the oil level sensor. When you pull the dipstick out, rub the oil between your fingers. It should feel 'clean'. If you feel a certain amount of roughness it indicates oil that is beyond its use by date.

I personally don't believe in these 15,000 kms service intervals and would never make my car suffer them. They're only there because of marketing reasons. There is no way regular engine oil is good enough for 15,000 kms in our stressful driving conditions.

I change the engine oil of my cars anywhere between 7,500 - 10,000 kms (absolute upper limit). If I ever buy a car with 15k service intervals, I'll change the oil myself at my own cost at 10k.

If the oil has indeed gunked up in this Punto, that could require an engine rebuild. But when the engine oil goes bad, the engine oil pressure light usually comes up well in advance. For the OP's sake, I hope it's just a choked fuel filter or something similar.

Awaiting updates, Srivatsahg. What did the workshop say?

[srivatsahg]

Originally Posted by GTO

Awaiting updates, Srivatsahg. What did the workshop say?

They haven't had time to check my car as of yet
It's been fourth time I'm calling them since morning. They are out for lunch now and they're expected to be back by 2-2:30. I have a meeting till 3 P.M. I'll leave for service workshop to go and see by myself. Will keep you guys posted.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Hi srivatsahg,
I'm confused. You are careful enough to keep a bottle of oil in your car and even top up the oil, but, not enough to check the service interval?

Also, what prompted you to top it up, since the level is way above the normal mark?
.

I usually top it every 10K kms. I topped it recently (1L) during my long trip to Goa by myself without draining it. I guess that was the mistake. I should have been more careful.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

They haven't had time to check my car as of yet

Which FASS is this?

I usually top it every 10K kms. I topped it recently (1L) during my long trip to Goa by myself without draining it. I guess that was the mistake. I should have been more careful.

You topped up 1 L? The difference between the MIN mark and the MAX mark is about 300 ml - EDIT - 1L, as pointed out by sdp1975.

Sounds like you overfilled.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

The difference between the MIN mark and the MAX mark is about 300 ml.

The difference between the MIN and MAX marks on the dipstick is 1 litre as per the MJD owners manual.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The difference between the MIN and MAX marks on the dipstick is 1 litre as per the MJD owners manual.

Thanks for the correction. Even then, topping up with 1L of oil would mean that the dip stick was almost dry. Going by the pic posted by the OP of the dip stick, to me it looks like a case of severe overfilling. What happens when the engine is overfilled?

So you topped up the engine when it was warm after getting a faulty dipstick reading, or you put too much oil in when you changed it yourself. What's the worst that could happen? Well the problem with this is that the next time the engine is run, the windage in the crankcase and other pressures generated by the oil pump, etc. place a great strain on the seal on the rear main bearing.
Eventually, often much sooner than the ordinary man in the street might expect, the rear main bearing seal ruptures, and the engine becomes a 'leaker'. If you've got a manual gearbox, this means one thing: this oil goes right onto the flywheel and the face of the clutch disc. A lubricated clutch is A Bad Thing. If this still goes unnoticed, the front seal is the next to go, and the engine then becomes a 'gusher' (or to be more colourful, it starts pissing oil all over the place). As well as smothering the clutch with oil from the rear, the oil now coming from the front leak will be neatly distributed about the engine bay as it hits the front pulley - often propelling it out as far as the brake discs. At the same time as this Hollywood disaster movie is unfolding outside the engine, things aren't working out any better on the inside. As you can see from the diagram, the correct oil level is really close to the rotating crank. Overfilling will mean the crank dips into the oil and churns it into a froth. Froth is good on certain types of coffee but not good in an engine. The mixture of aerated oil will be forced into the bearings and in case you didn't know, air is not a lubricant. Typically this means that bearing damage will follow quite rapidly, especially if you are driving on a motorway. You'll know bearing damage when you get it. The engine smells like a garage mechanic cooking over an open flame and the noise coming from the engine is the sort of thing you'd normally hear in vaudeville plays when a piano is pushed down a flight of stairs. As if that all wasn't bad enough, the excess oil gets thrown up into the piston bores where the piston rings have a hard time coping with the excess oil and pressure. It gets into the combustion chamber and some of it will get out into the exhaust system unburned resulting in a nice patina of oil all over the platinum surfaces of your catalytic converter. This renders it utterly useless for good.

Source

[Chethan B G]

1L is too much for a top-up. Hope the top-up us done after checking the level with the dip-stick, in the first place.

I would have taken a day off and be at the service station when they start with the first-aid. Hope they don't open up everything, before consulting you!

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

I usually top it every 10K kms. I topped it recently (1L) during my long trip to Goa by myself without draining it. I guess that was the mistake. I should have been more careful.

For topping up the engine oil, you have to open the bonnet, open the oil filler cap etc.. I find it weird, you didnt check the oil level in the dipstick which was right next to the cap.

Anyhow, please let us know whats the diagnosis the service center guys comes up with.

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

Thanks for the correction. Even then, topping up with 1L of oil would mean that the dip stick was almost dry. Going by the pic posted by the OP of the dip stick, to me it looks like a case of severe overfilling. What happens when the engine is overfilled?



Source

Overfilling is extremely bad. The oil sloshes around and forms foam and then this foam is not as efficient in cooling or lubricating as plain oil. Uneven cooling causes warpage and the may result in seizure.

Never overfill.

[sagarpadaki]

Just do not let them open the engine in the first place.

1. Get them to run a scan on the car and record the findings.
2. Change oil,diesel filter and fill fresh engine oil and see if the problem resolves(Assuming that the engine is cranking and is in runnable state)

Even if they want to open the engine ensure that they do it in your presence. This is the last step and must be done when absolutely all other diagnostics fail

Underfilling engine oil by a couple of hundred ml is better than overfilling it

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

They haven't had time to check my car as of yet
It's been fourth time I'm calling them since morning. They are out for lunch now and they're expected to be back by 2-2:30. I have a meeting till 3 P.M. I'll leave for service workshop to go and see by myself. Will keep you guys posted.

Hi Srivatsa,

I hope things are going well. Any update?

Is the car at FIAT ASS?

[srivatsahg]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Just do not let them open the engine in the first place.
2. Change oil,diesel filter and fill fresh engine oil and see if the problem resolves(Assuming that the engine is cranking and is in runnable state)

Yes, I have relayed the same.

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Hi Srivatsa,

I hope things are going well. Any update?

Is the car at FIAT ASS?

Sorry I came home quite late yesterday and couldn't update.

Yes Chethan, it is at the Vecto Motors, Hosur Road. First they are gonna check with all the Oils, coolants and fuel & oil filters replaced. Today morning post 11AM they are going to update me about the progress.

Keeping my fingers crossed