Burning oil

[daSong]

About how many miles do you get before your E320 (W210) wants another quart of oil? I get roughly 5,000 miles and I have to put another quart in... Just want to see how everyone else fares... Thanks!

To remove this ad, register today or login if you already are registered!

[uberwgn]

What kind of oil has been used in the car?

[Musikmann]

I add a quart at least every 1000 miles and there are no leaks so I am burning it.

[daSong]

i always use some sort of mobile 1 synthetic... usually 0-W30 or 0-W40 if i can find some...

[Musikmann]

I don't think their 0W30 meets the proper MB spec. No matter what brand you use, always look for MB 229.5 on the bottle. If you use Mobil1, you should use the 0W40.

[SLOPESTAR]

WIFE JUST CALLED, OIL LIGHT "MINIMUM OIL" WARNING AFTER 3500 ON OLD TIRES. FIRST LONG DRIVE, OW 40 MOBIL 1 ADDED BY WIFE. PRICELESS...

[b20vtecpt]

I have the engine oil light sometimes also, but those sending units go bad. I think 90 bucks and about 10min during an oil change will fix mine but im not runnin through oil. Is it actually burning up THAT much? If so, I would think rings or maybe valve seals?

[Musikmann]

I had my oil analyzed by a lab twice and they found higher than normal levels of aluminum so I think my rings are to blame. Now, after 2 oil consumption tests by my dealer I'm still below what MB considers normal usage (less than 1qt/660 miles or 1liter/1000 km).

[mistertonyn]

I use Mobil 0w-40 and so far I have never had to add any amount between oil changes since 1999 when it was bought...knock on wood...and on the average, the oil change interval is 7-8K.
I do drive it hard too...reving it up near redline now and then to burn stuff out the pipes.
Actually I am sort of surprised that it does not burn oil....since I know and hear that most German cars do burn oil and it is normal.
I remembered my 1987 911 Carerra did burn a quart of oil probably every 2-3k or so. The Carerra had about 102k on the odometer and so it was understandable for it to burn oil.
I hope my e320 won't burn any oil at all as it gets up there in mileage.

[stickygreen]

Never had to add any makeup oil since we bought it brand new in '96 (now at 241k miles). Other than a small external seep that sprang up a 20-30k miles ago - and now seems to have disappeared since switching oils - neither my mechanic nor I have noticed any signs of oil usage or leaks.

Wish the transmission was as flawless as the engine.

I don't think their 0W30 meets the proper MB spec. No matter what brand you use, always look for MB 229.5 on the bottle. If you use Mobil1, you should use the 0W40.

Agree and disagree with you on this one. If the car is under warranty and/or you plan on even coming close to the factory recommended service intervals, use 229.5 oil only. If you are like most and change your oil every 7500 miles or so, any good synthetic in the proper weight (30 or 40wt) should work fine.

[Figuero]

1qt / 660 miles is the cut-off for normal oil consumption? Why bother ever changing the oil...just swap in a new filter every 12 months.

[uberwgn]

Originally Posted by daSong

i always use some sort of mobile 1 synthetic... usually 0-W30 or 0-W40 if i can find some...

The easiest-to-find oil meeting the spec required for this car is Mobil 1 0W40. The M1 0W30 product does not meet the MBz spec.

Our '02 320 wagon doesn't consume any measurable oil over the 10,000 mile drain intervals. In fact, none of our recent Benzes have consumed any measurable oil.

[Musikmann]

Originally Posted by Figuero

1qt / 660 miles is the cut-off for normal oil consumption? Why bother ever changing the oil...just swap in a new filter every 12 months.

Good one Figuero! That's what the FSS tells me too. Everytime I add a quart the interval increases. Right now, I have driven 8000 miles since the last complete change and it says I have 7100 miles to go. It usually increases by 1000 miles per quart added but I think I have only added 5 quarts.

[manila58]

I just acquired my 98 E320 about 6 weeks ago and am unsure when its last A service/oil change was done. It has 177K on the odometer. Got the "Minimum Oil" warning this past weekend. Previous owner (a MB mechanic) said it used 0W40 but I couldn't find any when the warning light came on at dawn on the road. I could only get 5W30 so I added only 1 quart. Hope this doesn't damage my engine. Buying Mobil 1 0W40 to add to bring level up to normal and to keep in the trunk for the next time the "Minimum Oil" warning flashes again.

[Musikmann]

I don't think 1 quart of off-spec oil will hurt anything. It was synthetic I hope? I carry a spare quart in the trunk of all my cars (non-MB too). Mobil1 0W40 is not always easy to find, especially at dawn.

[manila58]

Originally Posted by Musikmann

I don't think 1 quart of off-spec oil will hurt anything. It was synthetic I hope? I carry a spare quart in the trunk of all my cars (non-MB too). Mobil1 0W40 is not always easy to find, especially at dawn.

Fortunately it was synthetic. Thanks for the reassurance.

I put in a call this week to the previous owner, who is a Mercedes mechanic. He said (contrary to what I remembered) that the car used Mobil1 05W40. It wasn't until later that I realized that grade is for diesel engines. Then my son, who drives a 99 Audi A4 2.8 said that his mechanic uses synthetic 10W40 in his car. Confusion reigns!

[manila58]

I called an indy MB shop that my previous owner recommended and was told that 5w-40 is what they and my local dealership use. My brother, who has a 95 E320 concurs that he too uses 5w-40 in his car. The indy shop said that 10w-40 was also acceptable.

[RichardM98]

Assuming the previous owner/service tech knew what they we doing you can infer the mileage since the last oil change based on what the FSS says. If the car's been driven normally and it's says 2000 mi to the next oil change, then it has been about 8000 mi since the last change. But if oil has been added regularly because of a leak it would be off some.

Instructions for polling the FSS are in the owners manual.

[W210Wagon]

I am not positive but it seems like my 98 E320 with 186,000 miles is using 1 quart of Mobil1 0W-40 every 3000/4000 miles. But I know my oil level sensor is whacked. Within 3 seconds today, I got a "'oil over max" warning and a "oil under minimum" warning. Dooh.

[RichardM98]

Oil level warning messages can mean a low battery assuming that the dipstick shows the level to be okay.

I believe that MB considers 800 miles/quart to be acceptable. That is -- no factory warranty repair is authorized. And that's new cars not a 12 year old W210.

[W210Wagon]

I will check the battery. The battery is obviously not a virgin but the car always cranks easily and I have never had any reason to think the battery wasn't good to go.

[RichardM98]

W210's are pretty sensitive to voltage level because of the CAN system. When it gets below a certain point (~12v) electrical gremlins start to show up such as false diagnostic errors even though the car will start fine.

[W210Wagon]

Richard, I think you are right on the money about the battery. I found my VOM and checked the voltage. 12.36 after a drive. Not anywhere near the 13.2 of a good fully charged battery. At the same time, I noticed that the battery is about a month shy of being 7 years old. Not too bad for most batteries. But the end is near.