Reply With QuoteIt will be absolutely fine. Did they change the spark plugs during the service? If so they could be gapped wrong which could cause misfire
I'm after some advice from anyone in the know about modern car engines....
A few weeks ago, I took my runaround 2017 Ford Fiesta (1L ecoboost) to an independent garage for a service. Pretty much immediately after the service, the car developed a problem where if you demand power to accelerate, for example coming onto a motorway from a sliproad, it hesitates every few seconds (blips of loss of power leading to poor acceleration) and there is something obviously awry.
Took it to another garage recently and they couldn't pinpoint the issue...no fault codes, no engine management light and not apparent at slow speeds or driving round town. I insisted they drive it somewhere they could speed up properly and they could feel it but said without fault codes, they'd be changing stuff blind, probably starting with spark plugs. I took the car back with the intention to run it and see if the problem got worse.
Tonight I decided to look through my service invoice and notice the original garage that serviced it changed the oil with a different spec from the manual...a 5W-30 has gone in instead of a 5W-20. The manual recommends 5W-30 can be used by all gasoline engines except my 1.0L ecoboost, which it lists 5W-20 as the spec.
I struggle to link the slight viscosity difference with my exact problem but I was just wondering if this could be the cause of my issue and if any damage would have been done in the two weeks I've been driving? Would you recommend an immediate oil change?
It will be absolutely fine. Did they change the spark plugs during the service? If so they could be gapped wrong which could cause misfire
Thanks.
From my online research, I've just found the following:
The main reason is because the 1.0 ECOboost has a wetbelt (timing belt lubricated by engine oil). A wetbelt requires an engine oil that does not affect the material of the wetbelt. Using incorrect engine oil can result in serious engine damage. Another reason why Ford specifically prescribes the 5W20 is the oil pump. The 1.0 ECOboost has an PCM controlled variable displacement oil pump that is driven by an additional wetbelt. The output of the oil pump is based on the prescribed 5W20 oil. Using a thicker oil will (slightly) affect the output of the oil pump.
The car is running ok now and I fully intend to get an oil change done straight away after reading this. Any opinions on potential damage if I've been driving it for a couple of weeks?
PM me your registration and I’ll check for youOriginally Posted by Christian
Edit...don’t worry
All of the 1.0ltr eco boost engines run 5w/20 from 2017 onwards. My gut feeling is that it’s unlikely to be causing your problem however I’d be getting the garage to put the right oil in which means another oil and filter change. It’s their responsibility to make sure the right oil is used and as such you shouldn’t be charged for it
Last edited by Franky Four Fingers; 27th November 2020 at 21:24.
If they drove it and it was misfiring it hesitating did they use live data?
I think the mechanic drove it round the block in town so wouldn’t have got over 30mph and didn’t feel a thing whereas the garage owner took it out on a faster road and said he could feel it but it’s a small indy garage so I don’t think it was hooked up to anything.
Thanks. Unfortunately, I’ve moved home inbetween so I have little chance of going back to the old garage. Will be phoning them up though.
Again I don’t think the two are related - it sounds like you have a misfire and that really cannot be down to slightly different oil viscosity
I would change the oil but wouldn’t be particularly worried about getting it done quickly
Did the service include a spark plug change? They could be gapped wrong which would cause your symptom especially as the misfire is under load
A belt driven and electronically controlled oil pump?
That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen...!
I’d get the oil changed to the correct spec, as your search found the ecoboost has a timing belt (yes a rubber belt) that runs in the engine oil and it requires a specific oil that won’t damage the belt.
My old Focus had a similar sounding problem and it turned out to be the speed sensor.On a long drive home at roundabouts it was bloody scary!!!
Doubt a different viscosity oil could damage the belt. The viscosity says nothing about the composition of the the oil which will be very similar in any case.
I doubt it has anything to do with the oil, I am assuming that they haven’t massively over filled it and it is suffering from crank case compression pit getting blown into the intake system?
The 1.0 ecoboost is a clever engine, your garage should have a decent scanner, most good ones have live data which would probably show the issue, you can’t really work on modern cars without one, I would ask them why they didn’t do this.
Early on we had some issues with coil packs and some coolant pipe issues ..but most have been fixed early in life cycle.
Oil ...change it ...doubt its contributory but stick to mfr recommend ( agree with Adrian overfill can cause as many issues as under filling)..
Its worth checking non of the plugs have visible fouling and consider a compression test.
That said if you have a lack of acceleration under load on turbo cars its very often a loose hose more often on intercooler side so start by checking all pipework secure and check no splits in hoses....this kind of fault does not always throw up CEL.
Last edited by TKH; 28th November 2020 at 11:54.
All I know is Ford refused warranty on a focus I knew of (with 1.0 ecoboost) due to incorrect oil. Was a fleet vehicle and wasn’t using the exact oil specified. Engine ate itself, timing belt went... warranty was refused and the vehicle wasn’t even 3 years old and had been regularly serviced.
I’d tend to agree about the viscosity but the ecoboost has a trick oil pump for one and the potential issue with the wrong oil is whether it’s got additives that might damage the belt (like Ford suggest). They even specify emergency top ups with other oil should be a tiny amount only (can’t remember exactly)
I don’t know whether it’s total BS or even possible for a different oil to attack the belt (I’d be surprised personally) but I do know we only use the exact oil Ford suggest to cover our backsides in the garage I work at.
Thanks for all the input guys...as you can probably tell, I’m no expert when it comes to cars. Booked in next week for an oil change for the correct spec oil.
Looking at the previous service, the plugs weren’t changed, just oil and coolant (and filters).
These days, they call that sort of thing progress.
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