Linea - My Love

This is a copy of the bill which I received from the dealers. Sorry for the bad scanning I had folded the bills before putting them in my pocket.

As you can see that the part no of the oil is FIATOIL5W40SYNP

The rate may be different may be the VAT was included in Vahans Bill beforehand and breakup was not given.

@Vahan I think you should top up with the engine oil you have. I had read somewhere that for certain Kms. run the oil burns and the quantity reduces. May be the Mods can throw some more light on this.  

Keep the level at the maximum........ the engine is always dipped in the oil so better lubrication.

Engine oil is for lubrication and not for 'burning' at all. The apparent burn occurs because of small leaks in the seals and the obvious overfill.

Keeping the oil at the exact maximum is a risky endeavor and should not be done is any engine(more so in turbocharged engines).The damage possible to the rear main bearing seals are very much real. Somewhere above the 3/4th and full levels would be the best thing to do.

Thanks Binoy for the enlightenment. Yeah true the engine oil is not for burning. But then newer engines have very good oil seals then how come the level drops down . Wouldn't one see tell tale signs of leak from the seals if the oil escaped through the seals?

vahan,ranajan and other friends,

     wish you all a happy new year first

     regarding the engine oil fiasco,the service station guys came home,changed the oil to selenia wr,they again said that they had used the same oil during service too but billed it wrong,they got countless number of signatures from me in countless papers(should it be other way round,me getting their signatures???!)i gave them coffee,gave them a few new year gifts along with a nice calander,they left,but am still afraid about the kind of damages the wrong oil will do,moderators or anyone who has a knowledge please help me with valuable information

 but am happy with FIAT,so far three people have called me from fiat,they immediately sent  people to change the oil,they spoke for a long time to me apologitecally,i had a drive for 60 km after the change,the car is as marvellous as it was before,but am still apprehensive..

Bala thanks for the update. Thats good service from Fiat's side(which could have been avoided in the first place).

Diesel grade oils have more tolerances, more detergents and also an anti-foaming agent added to it, so in effect the diesel engine oil is much more robust than the petrol engine oil. Having said that i dont thing there would have been any permanent damage to the engine.

What has happened is in the past, your car is in perfect condition now, dont worry and enjoy your ride.

@Gupta-even modern engine have seals that leak, no two way about the same. By tell tale signs i guess you mean drops of oil in the garage floor-this would happen only if there is a considerable leak. Small occasional leaks(especially when the engine is under load-as in the running car) would be almost impossible to find.

As the engine ages and adds more miles the seal quality would deteriorate and hence the leaks would increase.

If I shed a tear or two of joy on the level of service by Fiat as encountered by Bala, I would not be irrational here, as the main reason for Fiat to tank in India in their earlier incarnation was SERVICE and SERVICE ALONE!

Wotsay guys?

Told ya so !! Fiat WILL act fast in such cases & it DOES by mounting serious pressure on TASS.

Good to see you to your effervasent best

I still feel you shd have taken whatever they're saying in writing. Letter or email. either from TASS or Tata or Fiat. Speak to Fiat again & express your concern for the future & tell them ou're not asking for too much & only asking for a reassurance what TASS is saying.

BTW, whatt all papers they've got signed from you?

Am shocked. Its you who should have been taking their signatures (as you mentioned)

thank you binoy,vahan and krishna,

           binoy's explanation has alleyed my fears about the serious damages done due to wrong oil used,my mind is calming down,the car was perfect when i drove,but about FIAT,am really happy with them,i wrote to them on wednesday night at 12 midnight,they called me at 9.30 on thursday,apologised and made the TASS guys change the oil on friday morning,despite that day being a holiday-new year,this was very fast and apt and a sort of proactive step by FIAT,i did not ask them to change the oil,i just wrote them what had happened,they immedaitely asked about the covenient time for the oil change at door step,about krishan's view,yes FIAT tanked because of poor ASS earlier but this time they are proactive,it's only the careless workmanship at TASS that is found wanting,they are used to servicing indica cabbies,suddenly servicing a 9 lakh rs sedan is too much to ask from them.yes vahan,even am perplexed about the signatures they were getting from me,one of the paper stated that they changed the oil on my request!,yes,i have wrriten in a paper the sort of indemnity you had wriiten in the thread and asked them to type and sign in their letter head and send it to me,as you have suggested am going to write to fiat again,i will thank them and ask them to give some sort of assurance on the engine part

the fourth side effect of 2nd freeservice i've discovered,the passenger side power window has stopped working

about the car,linea,again after the drive,every issue is forgotten by the unparalled drive,ride and the pleasure the car offers,great car 

Thanks for the info Bala , Just caught the program on NDTV profit which was going on for Linea......  but it was only the last part. 

I hope your car is running fine. Yes the Fiat people are very proactive and they put very serious pressure on the TataASS and the TataASS are scared about it too! After I got my servicing done..I received a phone call from the TATA ASS asking how the servicing was done...typically a lady calling and asking from me what points on scale of 10 I would give the servicing to be? I told them I would give them 7/10. Then they started asking me why the complaints. They started requesting me that please give 10/10....anything less is a complain.......They even told me to get my car back to them and they would attend to it again wash the car nicely ....the point where I indicated the TATAAS was bad at ( used Hard Water for washing and had to nag the cleaners to get their job done nicely)......... Later I even received a call from the owner of the showroom inquiring about my service satisfaction. It shows that the Fiat people are very careful and pressing the TATA ASS hard to give their best performance. Never have I received any such calls for the Maruti cars I owned and of course not from Hyundai till date.

 Am yet to receive a call form Fiat about it.

One other thing which I had posted earlier....when my car had the lock problem...key wasnot turning then I called the Fiat 24*7 helpline frantically. After giving them necessary information car no, model, make, color, vin no. , owner name, contact number...within 5mins I recieved a call that help was on my way .... man that is quick  lightning fast service. Never expected it...but then was lucky enough to get my car started and had to cancel the help request. My brother met with an accident a few months back in his new Hyundai. It took him some time ( a few hours) to arrange for help from the dealers. Luckily he was unharmed and infact I reached him earlier being about 60kms apart and using a bus to come to the spot!

That is service. Fiat is here to stay. I only hope this kind of service is there throughout and may be if it is so may be I also get the Punto.....or may be some other Fiat vehicle which will be launched in the coming years!

yes ranjan,the programme called freewheeling by sidharth vinayak patantkar putting lineas and puntos to strenuous test near the arctic circle(at -8degree c) was broadcast between 8.15 to 8.30 pm,it was only a repeat telecast,you can watch it anytime at tubaah i beleive(that is ndtv 's video website),about sidharth,the host,i have been watching his programme for the past 13 years since i was a child!,since he was a child too!!,i have become his fan too,watching the programme i was happy that FIAT has brought a world class product to india,world class product,yes,but world class quality???,honestly no,at times i would wonder sitting inside if am in an indigo with a fiat badge? ,that is only if am sitting,if i drive,well am reassured it's a FIAT from the drive to ride to handling,etc

about the oil change,i watched the oil that was drained,it was completely black,is it normal for the oil to change to black color after just 160km?!,moderators,please help

yes,ranjan other fiat vehicles are getting launched,fiat linea tjet petrol at the auto show and bravo too may be,your opinion on the improvised FIAT ASS is completely true,guys at the ASS are very afraid,yesterday too they had asked me to tell good about them when am enquired! about the rating too,even if my driver takes the car,they ask him too to rate them at 10!,i wonder how these guys will manage a 50 lakh ruppes JAGUAR??,even i feel that even maruthi ASS did not give me such a prompt and a helpfull after sales service,i cant even dream them coming home to rectify a problem free of cost,kudos FIAT