"I'll probably top it up or change it again next week."

My advice would be not to rush into anything you may later regret.

Got an 09 fiesta. I've written about it a few times here in the past but thought I'd give an update since I keep getting oil warnings (they pop on for one second then disappear). My ex owned this car for 5 years before me and I've owned it for about five years since. She never changed the oil. I've changed it once and topped it up once.

Anyway, I bought a bottle yesterday and I'll probably top it up or change it again next week.

I don't know whether to admire chutzpah, or reprimand anyone so uncaring about their (presumably valued) assets. If you are saying that the sump may still contain some 10-year-old oil, I would say that is something to be ashamed, not proud, of. Of course many robust engines will carry on working with knackered lubrication, but changing the oil (and maybe filter) every year or two is generally accepted to be worth doing.

That is if you can shift the drain plug, of course .... :-)

Anyway, I bought a bottle yesterday and I'll probably top it up or change it again next week.

Don't bother changing the oil - I think you might need to change the car.

Two different things here

Not changing the oil in a few years could easily be OK. As I've posted before, I didn't change the Skywing for about 6 and it got quite a lot cleaner over that time, becoming ludicrously shiny (see pictures).

bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/engine-after-sit.../

This might be partly due to the unusual oil mix I was using, though, plus my low mileage and Taiwan's benign high temperatures.

Not topping up the oil even when you are getting the oil light come on, OTOH, suggests that

(a) you nevertheless STILL dont know your oil level,otherwise you would have mentioned it and

(b) that it is probably very low.

This is strange, given that there is clearly some mechanical awareness (if not sympathy) available.

Perhaps you want a new car, in which case the awareness must fall short of realising that new cars are utter c***, and that old ones should thus be preserved for as long as possible (though fortunately 09 isnt old enough to be really upsetting).

My landlady (when I was working in Bracknell) once asked me what this light was that had been on for a while in her nice little Fiesta. No oil on the dipstick, just a splattering of grey bearing metal slurry. Was still going though.

Oo-er! A sexist lubrication theme emerges.

Fnar fnar!

Edited by edlithgow on 27/01/2025 at 08:35