What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - harrogate big vern

This sort of connects with a previous post in the technical forum, however I would really appreciate if some could give an informed answer.

My 10 reg Mondeo 2.0 tdci has the service oil warning when I turn on the ignition. It could be simply notifying me of an impending service, but it isn't time for the service yet. My dealer has been useless, they simply want to sell me a £200+ service. They won't be getting it though as they have made a number of incorrect comments about this vehicle that don't inspire confidence.

The web is full of experiences of this warning meaning that the oil needs changing asap because it has been contaminated as a result of failed dpf regenerations. This fits a little with my suspicions as the oil level seems to be a little high as though the car hasn't achieved the temperature to burn off during regeneration.

I'd be grateful if anyone could shed any light on this, as at the moment I am not sure whether to wait to get it serviced in a couple of months time, or whether it needs an immediate oil and filter change and an ecu update.

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - Graham567

My 59 plate diesel Mondeo did the same message last winter.I took it to my local indie garage and had the oil and filter replaced for £59 all in.They then reset the oil indicator light.

There are two trains of thought on this issue.One is that the car has contaminated the oil due to dpf regens and needs the oil replacing.The other is that the garage that serviced the car last time forgot to reset the oil indictor at the service and now,a few thousand miles later,its come one thinking it needs a service.

My oil message came on approx 6 months and 5000 miles after it was serviced at the main dealers.Seeing as i don't do a very high mileage i am having the oil changed every 6 months at my indie garage and just take it back once a year for its main dealer service and the stamp in the book.

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - oldroverboy

My oil message came on approx 6 months and 5000 miles after it was serviced at the main dealers.

Same on my vcdi epica, "change oil soon" light came on, down to national tyres, oil change £51 inc castrol edge 5w40 turbo diesel, light still on, so reset, by stwitching ignition on not starting engine, press throttle pedal and release 3 times, switch off, switch back on and voila!

I also suspect that the servicing dealer did not reset, but on a 2 year old car am i going to risk it? As with other contibutor regular oil changes are a MUST with these type of engines.

THANKS to many, I have also picked up a few good tips,

Happy Motoring to all!

Edited by OldRoverboy on 25/08/2011 at 07:43

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - harrogate big vern
Thanks for the replies.

People may be interested to know that I contacted Ford to clarify this point, and to my surprise they got back to me promptly with a clear and personal answer. The oil categorically does need changing if this light comes on. It is driven off a sensor that monitors the oil.

I thought the oil might need changing more regularly if I did a lot of short journeys. However I have read of lots of people simply reseting the message. Whether they may be storing up problems for the future I can't guess.

I contacted Ford because the Servicing Staff who deal with the customer at Benfield Ford in Harrogate didn't inspire me with confidence. Sure enough Fords answer confirms that the Benfield Ford dealership gave me incorrect information on this and another query I had. I will not be going back there!
Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - Jes

My 59 Plate Mondeo did the same, 700 miles AFTER the first 12,500 mile service. I took it to the main ford dealer for my area (essex ford) and they changed the oil and filter and applied an ECU update all free of charge. I was advised it was a common fault.

For the record, they were not the dealer who did the service (Evans Halshaw).

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - Jes


Sorry to drag up an old thread (and even reply to my old post!).

Today the SERVICE OIL message returned. Car was serviced at 22,500 miles in June this year (previous Service was June 2010) and has since done 3,000 miles. Checked the oil and there was plenty in there, so I just called the dealer and booked it in for tomorrow afternoon. It was suggested that perhaps the engineer forgot to reset the light, which I challenged due to the time period and mileage. It was then suggested a faulty sensor.

More tomorrow.

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - craig-pd130

I had a 2008 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI, and the 'oil service' light came on after 3.5K miles and 3 months from new.

Dealer service manager told me it was a known issue relating to over-cautious parameters for the oil quality indicator, they had a tech service bulletin about it (I never found out the TSB number, unfortunately).

The Ford-recommended fix was to reset and recalibrate the sensor; they also changed the oil free.

I had the car for another 30+K miles and 3 years, never saw the 'oil service' light again and had no problems with regenerations despite much of my driving being in urban 30 / 40 limits.

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - Jes

Well it's back from the dealer.

They are telling me that the message is appearing as 'things' (their words) are out of sync. They say that when the first service was carried out (12,500) the cars service schedule wasn't reset and that is why the message is appearing (funny that they didn't carry that service out). I pointed out that THEY serviced it last (mileage was 22,530) so surely it was them who didn't rest things correctly - they deny it. They did ask me to pre-book my 37,500 mile service with them so they can formally reset the service schedule.

Now I can accept the reset being forgot for the second service, but to blame the dealer who carried out the first service I find wrong. Furthermore, the first time this message appeared (July 2010) the dealer, by default, changed the oil and filter, reset the message and applied a PCM update, yet this time the dealer refused to entertain an OIL and filter change.

I have no choice but to accept matters as they are, however, that garage will not be getting my custom in future. It's not the first time I've had problems with the branch of this dealer - they wanted me to pay £70 for PCM updates to the car but could not tell me what those updates would do.

I was not abrupt with the member of the service desk and thanked him for his patience

Details,
Car registered Nov 2009
First Service (12,084) 5th June 2010 - Dealer 1
Oil Message warning (13,020) 6th July - Dealer 2 Branch A
Second Service (22,530) 6th June 2011 - Dealer 2 Branch B
Oil Message warning (25,033) 22nd Sept 2011 Branch B

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - craig-pd130

I would suggest keeping an eye on the oil level as shown on the dipstick. On my 2008 model, it hardly ever changed. If the level on yours does start to rise, then get an oil change.

The Mondeo DPF implementation does seem to be robust: the UK Ford forums have reported very few DPF faults (lots of gripes about heavy fuel consumption, mind you) and in my 3+ years, I never had problems.

My driving was 60% short trips (less than 5 miles) in urban limits and 40% open road / motorway. My daily commute is 3.5 miles each way ... precisely the kind of driving that would aggravate any issues in the DPF setup or regeneration management.

Ford Mondeo - DPF and oil warning 2.0 tdci - craig-pd130

Duplicate post.

Edited by Avant on 24/09/2011 at 22:56