cornerjunkie

I have read the many threads about how this engine burns a lot of oil, but I feel like in the 2 months that I have had the car, it has been burning an excessive amount. I have put (4) quarts of oil in the car since I bought it. I have had the 'check oil level' light come on twice.

The first time it came on was a week after ownership. The oil level was just below the middle red tab. I put (2) quarts in and checked it, it was at the bottom of the highest red tab. Drove it for about a month, and the light came back on. Checked it again and the oil was in between the two red tabs... Put another (2) quarts in and it is now to the top of the red tab.

There is only some visual smoke on initial startups every once in a while. Should the car be burning this much oil? I haven't even put 1000 miles on it. Car is a 2010 with 65,000 miles.

I guess I should plan on doing a complete oil change and measuring it from that, but I just don't see how the car burns this much, this fast. There are no visible leaks that I can see either from above or below.

bhamg

4 qts in 1k miles? That's crazy high consumption IMO. FWIW I used 1 qt per 5k miles with Motul 5w-40...22k miles on that oil while adding 4.5 qts total. Now my consumption is at 2.5 qts in 2.3k miles on M1 0w-40.

cornerjunkie

Does anyone know at which level the oil light is supposed to be triggered?

Merc63

Probably why it was put up for sale.


That light shouldn't be coming on if your between the two red markers. Maybe the sensor is messed up? Mine only comes on if I'm not between the two marks.

I think I burn around a litre every 1500km or so.

cornerjunkie

Yeah, I'm not sure. I will be taking it in to get some sort of diagnosis. I would assume that if the oil is indeed burning, then I would see some sort of sign either from smoke, oil temps, etc. Everything looks to be normal and the car runs great. I'm quite perplexed, but again, I may not have read the dip stick correctly initially when I first looked at it as I am still learning things about the car. I will see what the shop says and I may start from scratch with a new oil change and document from there.

odonnks

The dipstick on these cars is a bit odd. If your not certain you've correctly read it check this thread.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...xpanation.html

Also, I've see some who say that to get consistent readings after wiping the stick reinsert it and leave it for up to 30 seconds before removing it.

You may already be doing this but check it after the engine is at running temp.

rentzington

Funny I just checked mine it was lower than the lowest red mark never got a check oil light

Merc63

Ya these acts are weird to check. You can check it 5 times and get 5 different levels.

Temp gas to remain constant as well.


Do a compression test. You should be around 185psi at 2500ft elevation.

Diabolis

You are buring way too much oil. Unless you're using 0W20, it's likely due to a (fairly expensive to fix) engine problem.

With M1 0W40, you should consume about 1 liter per 1000-1500 km depending on driving style (so bhamg's and Merc63's numbers are spot-on). With 5W40 you'd use less than a third of that (so maybe 1L every 5000 km or more), but it won't protect your engine nearly as well.

Check oil warning comes on when you are about a full liter (~1 quart) BELOW THE MINIMUM - i.e. the oil level on the dipstick would be below the entire bottom orange plastic marker piece. The "operating" range between the two orange plastic markers is about a liter from bottom to top. Adding 2 liters at a time means that you are either getting the level drop much too low, or are overfilling which can result in other problems - but I suspect your engine is already shot. I can't think of a head gasket issue that you result in that much oil comsumption, so unless there is a puddle under the engine every time you leave the car parked for more than an hour, chances are it's the piston rings or scored cylinder walls.

cornerjunkie

The engine is not shot... there are absolutely no signs of that. The oil levels have stayed at the level when I recently topped it off so it may either be a dip stick reading error, or a sensor error. The car does not seem to have lost any oil since I initially had the light turn on and topped it off.

I love the fear mongering on internet car forums... Windshield washer level low??? Engine is toast and the car is totaled!

amgen

If the car had a lot of short stops and go, condensated water will mix with
the engineoil.

A long trip at highwayspeed, the water will evaporate and suddenly many
will think they have excessive oilconsumption but it´s completely normal!

Diabolis

Fear mongering? You are going through 4 liters of oil in less than 1000 miles. Unless someone is draining or siphoning the oil from your crankcase without youe knowledge just to mess with you, I'd say you're in for a nasrty surproise. As someone else pointed out, you bought someone else's problem which is now yours. I hate to point this out, but you're in denial.

Dipstick reading error? As in "you were wearting sunglasses late at night and couldn't see the level" and furthermore someone also siphoned out your oil just to mess with you? If it was just a reading error and you actually put in 4L more than what the engine was meant to operate with, you would have at least blown a seal, sheared the treads and popped a spark plug out like a bullet or possibly blown the head clean off.

How do you know that your cylinder walls aren't scored? That's exactly what happened to 25% of all B7 Audi S4s with the 4.2L V8 including my own. It also happened on 25% of all BMWs using the M60 engine with the nikasil plating. No indication that anythign was wrong except that I was going through a bottle of oil per tank of gas. Even compression / leakdown test was 100% fine seeing as the scoring was not near the top of the cylinders so with the piston at TDC there was no leak. Then I stuck a boroscope in there and saw the $30K repair bill. However, unlike the previous owner of your car, instread of screwing someone over by filling the car with 20W50 and selling it as-is, I took the $30K loss.

You bought a 5-year old C63 that's been flogged to death (if it was a Prius it may not have been flogged, but every single C63 has by definition). Did you expect many trouble-free miles of operation with minimal maintenance costs?

Yeah, it's the windshiled washer fluid... or maybe you should let some air out of the tires.

Diabolis

While the first part is 100% true, the amount of dissolved water in the oil may amount to *maybe* a quarter of a liter at most. If you had 4L of water in there, it would have mechanically separated from the oil and your crankshaft bearings would have seized after 50 miles of driving.

Gerry_M

I think you need to set a baseline and change the oil to a known level and viscosity... might be a good starting point.

aussie e55

change oil to a quality oil that meets MB spec. for your vehicle use new MB spec.filter & moniter. what oil was used last oil change & what oil have you been topping up with.

cornerjunkie

That is my plan. I have since put 300 miles on the car after topping off and the oil level has not moved as far as I can tell.

I have been using MB spec Mobile 1 0w40.

beejAMG

if it was a dipstick reading error, then where did the 4 quarts of oil went after 2 months? my money is on a shot engine but we wouldnt really know until you get it to a reputable shop or dealership. hope you didnt get a lemon mate!

1Lop2K5C

Don't fool yourself, something is wrong with your engine. I went through an oil burning issue last year. Mercedes looked at it and decided to give me a new engine. Haven't burn oil since.

rentzington

i'd start off my getting a good full oil change done at a shop, then check every few days and see if you dropped below that bottom marker. If you drop that much again get that sucker checked out and I hope you have a warranty.

c63Jimbo

I was averaging a quart of 0w40 every 1,000 miles (topped up three times). I became concerned and talked to the mechanics at Benz and they assured me it was completely fine.
When I went in for an oil change, it was replaced with 5w40 and I have since gone another 2,000 miles with no indicator.

Although yours is high and you should probably take it in to get checked, try switching to 5w40.

c63Jimbo

This is interesting. I've noticed that 0w40 burns quicker than 5w40. SO you are saying even though its more costly as you go through it quicker, you would recommend 0w40 over 5w40?

rentzington

basically the 0w40 gets up into the engine quicker at start than the 5w40 does.....lots of threads regarding oil debates i'd suggest combing through those for the technical reasons.

BLKROKT

See this thread, particularly post #40 (https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...ml#post6292207)

Just use the 0W-40 so we don't have to hear a thread about how you oil-starved your engine and it blew up

Gerry_M

I have had so many sports oriented cars that went over 100 thousand miles modified with no issues. I just use whatever the manufacturer says to use. Drop by the dealer and pickup their oil. I think if you were to go and go for something like the Volvo 1,000,000 mile club its worth obsessing over, but otherwise what ever MB has should be good enough.

Eric ATP

M1 0w40 from Walmart. Dump in 2 jugs with a new filter and ur done.