MDMercedesGuy

Has anyone on here done an oil change on their C250 yet?

I'm coming up on 4,000 miles - and that's about all I want to put on it with the factory fill. I haven't had much of a chance to poke around under the hood/haven't had a chance to get my car up on ramps yet and roll under it to take a look.

I presume it has a cartridge filter? Any gotchas with this particular setup?

My WIS account expired so I can't go digging through there to look.

papashango

When I got my car the instrument cluster showed next service due in 12,500 KM's. Now I am down to 2,900 to go.

That service includes oil change. What I am getting at is, seems like perhaps you're jumping the gun and wanting to do the change too early?

LILBENZ230

Definitely too early. There was some analysis by Edmunds.com that showed factory fill was designed to be utilized through the first required change.

MDMercedesGuy

Eh, I'm gonna go with my gut and what I usually do. I change at every 4,500 regardless of what the car says.

It's rather dirty and smells strongly, and I want it out of there.

2012c350

I'll agree at least to a certain extent. From what I've read, although you'll find a Mobil1 sticker under the hood, MB puts a different oil in the cars from the factory...supposedly for break-in reasons.

So to those that think you should stick with the original MB fluid before the first scheduled oil change I'll argue that if you do so because of the "break-in" oil then change the oil with the same break-in oil. But if people argue that you shouldn't change the oil at all (during break-in) regardless of what oil you use, then I'll argue that those people are stupid, plain and simple. I've inspected hundreds of oil filters on new/used cars and if you saw the metal shavings in the filter and actually believe that it's a good idea to leave these shavings in your crankcase then you know nothing about the purpose of lubrication..

For me...I'll be replacing my oil next week (at 3K miles) and every 5K miles. Worst damage is a few extra $$$ (but I'll save more than that being that I do it myself). Best case is that my engine doesn't have metal filings to deal with.

Domm

you should check out the Acura forum. They have a new system called the iMid which determines the life of your oil using complex algorithms and everyone swears by it. I have no doubt that it functions well and Acura has spent a lot of money on it, but waiting till the oil has 0% life seems risky to me.

I was asking about the break in period of my girlfriend's parent's new RDX and all I got was "follow the MID; it's expensive and works".

Anyways, what I'm saying is that usually the factory fill and their additives are for the break in period, which is the first 1,000 miles or so. It won't hurt your engine to change the oil after that and you are wasting money (by not using the oil till it's life is over), but I wouldn't let it get close to the end of it's useful life either

J__

ditch factory/mobil 1 oil, go with Royal Purple. Best you can get aside from going with race oils. The stuff is amazing! Made the move from Mobil 1 on my track car + suv a few years ago. Try it and you wont regret.

As for oil change frequency, yes we all know the factory suggests 10k per oil change, but do you really want to wait that long? Remember dealerships make money off servicing the car, not from the sale of a new vehicle. The faster it breaks down, the more money they'll make. If they could, they'd tell you to never change your oil and when your engine seizes, they'll tell you to pay for a new engine. I've had mechanic friends that worked in MB/BMW dealerships and hear tons of stories of neglect from senior certified technicians when servicing peoples cars. Changing oil without changing the filter? happens way more than you think.

My advice, find a reputable independent MB mechanic for non warranty services. Not only will it be much cheaper, but they will take better care of your car.

2012c350

MB-Approved Synthetic Engine Oil MB Sheet
Mobil 1 Formula 0W-40 229.5
Mobil 1 SuperSyn European Car Formula 0W-40 229.5
Castrol Syntec European Formula 0W-30* 229.5
Pennzoil European Formula Ultra 5W-30* 229.5
Quaker State European Formula Ultra 5W-30* 229.5
ELF Excellium 229.5 5W-30* 229.5
Mobil 1 ESP Formula M 5W-40*1 (Diesel only) 229.51
Valvoline SynPower MST 5W-30*1 (Diesel only) 229.51
ELF Solaris LSX 5W-30*1 (Diesel only) 229.51

229.5 or 229.511 engine oils must be
used in conjunction with fleece oil filter
( page 14) in vehicles with Mercedes-
Benz Maintenance System (as of
MY2005). Using other oil filters may lead
to engine damage which is not covered
by the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.

papashango

How many litres of oil does this car take? Also, can you post a link of what a decent oil filter is for these cars?

I am not planning to take it to the dealer as they quoted me $250 for just an oil change which seems absolutely ridiculous. So I want to buy my own oil/filter and take it to some shop and get it changed.

Thanks

Cocoout

Mobile 1 nowadays the quality is bad, after 2000 km runs ....forget it ...

Sportstick

Based on what objective data, please?

J__

no objective data, but from personal experience (sorta) friend's miata been running mobil 1 for as long as he's had it. We took it apart to change the cam and was the typical 10+ year engine look, dark brown. Switched to Royal Purple after it and long story short, after ~1500kms, we took the engine apart again and it was like brand new... car ran much much quieter after a few hundred kms

Sportstick

Reading what you wrote...you switched from "mobil 1" to "mobile one"???

So, other than color, the engine ran and continued to run as if "new" throughout all of this? I don't see the downside. In any event, I'm sure you understand that a sample of one in an uncontrolled experiment with unknown other variables does not override MB's official recommendation for me. But, thanks for sharing!

J__

sorry my bad, switched from mobil 1 to Royal Purple.

yes I understand, it's just a personal choice I've made to stick to Royal Purple along with all my friends that track their car. We all used to swear by Mobil 1 but after trying Royal Purple, don't think we'd ever go back. Not saying Mobil 1 is not good, just that from our personal experiences, Royal Purple performed much better and the results were well worth the slightly higher price.

google some tests on Royal Purple vs Mobil 1. You'll find lots of them from independent sources that compare the 2 and other major brands.

edit: also will get slight hp increase (~4 hp tested on dyno just from switching oils from mobil 1). However most hp gains were from Motul 8100 oil, it's just quite pricey.

jetflyboy

Good point

Cocoout

the best lubricants , i tried is pakelo .... the rest motul.......... not compared ......

Glyn M Ruck

MDMG - No Royal Purple crap or similar. Only 229.5 approved oils but I know you will do that. Mobil 1 Euro formulation 0W-40 is excellent but so are other approved products. Benz has extreme HTHS requirements for cam & tappet protection. Not using 229.5 approved products invalidates warranty.

The filter is removable element & not spin on cartridge. We might have a terminology issue here.

One problem here. 229.5 products retard run-in severely. The Shell product in your engine is designed for the run-in period. These cars have chamferred MOS2 coated rings running in Alusil bores. They are hell to break in & changing early can lead to you having an oil burner for life.

If you decide to do an early change to 229.5 oils please only do this if you intend driving the car hard to ensure proper break in.

It's your choice. I'm not going to argue with you. Just be aware of the above. It is absolutely safe to adopt Benz recommended change interval or 1 year changes.

dfordham

I had a 2002 W203 that had a similar system. It took into account how you drove the car and adjusted the oil change interval accordingly.

Don't know why they did away with that. I could be cynical and say it had something to do with money?

Regards,
Don

Glyn M Ruck

The Benz FSS system is loaded on most cars but switched off. The problem with FSS systems is that they are in some respects a good monitor for engine oil life but not for other service checks where mileage, time or operating conditions are more meaningful.

papashango

Mrpster

Oil change at 10k??? Shouldnt turbos be at 5k max???

kevink2

Not all Mobil1 oils are the same, and several are not on the 229.5 approved list, usually because of too low a value of HTHS, among other spec's. Which exact one did you try?

BTW that 280Z I6 ... how is it running?

.

kevink2

I think the factory fill is a special Shell? 5W-30 run-in oil, as Glyn later said.

If the turbine shaft has full floating bushings (vs ball bearings), I would suggest 229.5 approved Castrol 0W-30, for minimal lag, based on my experience with other dialy driver turbos.

.

kevink2

I'm sure the algorithm does not let you go to an absolute zero % life left, rather 0% allowed life left. It's like if you religeously change at 4500 miles, at 4499 miles, you have 0% allowed life remaining.

I studied a similar GM system that they have used for about all cars and trucks since ~2002. It was well thought out, used different logic and different allowed oil groups for the Vette vs a passenger car, and had superceeding limits like 1 year max and 3K miles min.

.

J__

just the normal Mobil 1.

280z is running great, but my car only has 116k original kms on it haha. Car was stored for 20 years by previous owner.