This little line on the bill can change everything, all these motorists must check it every year

Be careful if you drive all these vehicles! Check your service book carefully to make sure your mechanic is using the right part number.

This is a story that is poisoning one of the largest automobile groups in the world, but above all it is ruining the lives of thousands of motorists in France! For several years, there have been increasing reports of motorists facing breakdowns and even spectacular engine failures. The cause is several engines installed on vehicles from the Stellantis group. And there are many of them… Peugeot 208, 308, 2008, 3008 and 5008, Citroën C3, C3 Aircross or C5 Aircross, DS3 Crossback, DS4 or DS7 Crossback or even the SUV Opel Crossland X or Mokka are affected by this problem. These are mainly petrol engines, the now well-known PureTech 1.2l in its naturally aspirated or turbo versions, but also the BlueHdi 1.5l diesel engine!

Following reliability problems encountered on these engines, the Stellantis group has developed a new engine oil in collaboration with TotalEnergies. Named FPW9.55535/03, this 5W30 oil aims to reduce wear and fouling of mechanical components. Good news ? Yes, but be careful, it must be used on certain engines from July 15, 2024, otherwise your warranty will be void in the event of a breakdown!

The 1.5 BlueHDi, 2.2 BlueHDi and 1.2 Puretech Generation 1 (2014-2018) é were the first to be affected. Since October 21, it is the turn of the second generation of the 1.2 Puretech (produced from 2018) of upgrade to FPW9.55535/03 at each revision, as revealed by L'Argus. L&#39 ;old reference B71 2290 is now banned.

Although this change was quickly implemented in the workshops of the Stellantis group brands, independent repair networks are not necessarily all aware of these new directives. It is therefore advisable to be extra vigilant and insist that your garage uses this high-performance engine oil, also referenced under the ACEA C3 standard. To find out, a reflex: check on your invoice and maintenance booklet that the mention “FPW9.55535/03” appears among the operations carried out during the annual maintenance of your vehicle.

This is a crucial point because Stellantis makes certain warranty extensions and support conditional on strict compliance with its maintenance recommendations. Thus, the 1.2 Puretech engine benefits from 10 years or 175,000 km of coverage for distribution problems and excessive oil consumption. The 1.5 BlueHDi is covered for 5 years or 150,000 km in the event of premature wear of the camshaft chain. But be careful to keep your invoices. You will need to present the last 3 invoices attesting to the use of the correct oil in the event of a mechanical problem! However, an excess of 3 months or 3,000 km is tolerated compared to the recommended maintenance plan. Enough to give you some time to get an appointment with your garage…