How to top off fluid levels

[David]

Tweet

Your owner manual will tell you exactly how to do this on your model, but here is a general guide. With all of these, make sure your engine is off and has been allowed to stand for at least five minutes.

Step one - OIL

Open the hood and identify the dipstick. You’ll usually find it towards the front of the engine, and it normally has a brightly coloured handle.

Step two

Remove the dipstick and wipe the oil off it with a rag.


Step three

Dip it back into the oil, lift it out, and check the oil reading. If it comes near or below the minimum mark on the stick, you need to top it up.

---

Step four

To top it up, remove the engine oil filler cap, pour the oil in a little at a time, and wait a couple of minutes before checking the level again. Too much oil can be as bad as too little - you must not overfill your engine.


Step one - COOLANT/ANTI-FREEZE

Open the hood and locate the coolant/anti-freeze (they’re the same thing) reservoir. It’s usually a plastic tank, marked with ‘maximum’ and ‘minimum’ levels.


Step two

Check the coolant/anti-freeze level. With the engine cold, it should be somewhere between the two marks.

---

Step three

If the coolant/anti-freeze level is low, you need to top it up. Never undo the filler cap while the engine is hot – you could scald yourself. When the engine is cold, wrap a rag around the cap and unscrew it slowly to allow any pressure to escape.


Step four

Top up using a 50/50 mixture of water and coolant/anti-freeze. We recommend using Paraflu UP (Ultra Protection) in our new models for a long and happy engine life. You can buy this from your nearest Fiat dealer. If you have an older car with blue-coloured anti-freeze, don’t mix this with the orange Paraflu UP. If it’s an emergency, you can top up with clean tap water and add the coolant/anti-freeze part later. Be careful not to overfill.


Step five

To close the hood, drop it from a height of approximately six inches to engage the catch. To make sure it’s closed properly, try to lift the hood from the locked position. If you can’t, you’ve closed it securely.

---

Step one - SCREEN WASH

Lift the hood and locate the screen wash reservoir. Depending on which model you have, this reservoir serves windscreen, rear window, and headlight washing functions.


Step two

Check the level through the reservoir tank. You should never travel with an empty windscreen washer reservoir - it’s fundamental to visibility.


Step three

Remove the cap and fill with a mixture of water and screen wash. We recommend using screen wash in the following concentrations:

• 30% screen wash and 70% water in summer
• 50% screen wash and 50% water in winter

Don’t dilute the screen wash if the outside temperature is less than -20°C.

These diagrams are supplemental to, and should be read in conjunction with, the instructions in your vehicle handbook. Always refer to this before topping up your car’s fluid levels.

[Mark12]

This is a very basic but helpful guide. I was looking for one that talks about oil changing. Do you have anything like this?