sflGL450

wondering if anyone else has had oil consumption issues. the other day, saw a low oil message. checked the dipstick, & was shocked to see that it was down to the halfway mark on the dipstick. seriously, is this normal?

i would think that a low factory fill would've been detected before vehicle delivery, & i've never had a V8 engine lose so much oil in only 2-months of ownership. i swear that our previous lexus GX470 never burned any oil--not when new, or any other time during the 3yr lease.

i've read in some other posts, where S550 owners reported black smoke @startup, but i haven't ever noticed this. just getting worried, because our friends bought their GL450 a month before us, & although they don't have an oil burning issue--they did have to have the front suspension serviced for a factory defect (cannot remember the details of their service writeup; can post it later, if anyone is interested).

i called the MB dealer, & they told me it's normal to burn oil, which i understand--but half a dipstick? would make me feel better if our friends' GL450 was also burned oil...

petery

I take "halfway mark" as in between max and min. I don't have personal experience with MB but with my previous BMW 530i and current 750LI, I had/have to add one quart about every 7500/8000 miles. I don't know if this is inherent with all german engines but hopefully I don't have to add one quart every 7500 on my GL450 with only 535 miles as of last night

Danno4x4

I think you are within the normal parameters for oil use...



This is directly from the Interactive Owners Manual located here... http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/e/cars...ng/flash6.html

.8 liters per 1000KM is 27 ozs per 621 miles. Or about a quart every 721 miles... This seems like a lot, but engines sometimes consume oil as they break in.

jayj

I burned through 3 quarts of oil my first 2000 miles. Took it in to the dealer for check up as this seemed abnormal. They did a consumption test and found it to be fine although my "check engine oil" warning came on again. They made an adjustment to the sensor(or something) and it went away. I will assume the "problem" is gone.

MBTech21

This is due to the new piston ring design (they learned from the 112/113)- the engine is in 'breakin' for the first 6000 miles, then it should be fine..

Can Drive 55

My 55K engine has never indicated to be low on oil in 18K miles. I can't look at the dipstick to verify this, as it does not have one.

manofsteel

I own a 08 GL450 which lost oil from day 1. Likewise dealer said it normal. I have approx 90K now and loose 2 qts in 8K miles. The problem only gets worse. Don't make mistake I made. Insist your concern is written on your work ticket when you go to dealer and on your returned copy with their findings. I was told they did a compression test etc etc each time I had it serviced and voiced my concern...but I have no written evidence to prove it.

BlownV8

I have over 85,000 on my GL450 and I have never had to add oil between oil changes at 12,000 mile intervals.

alx

half-way on the dipstick should not trigger low oil level warning.

and yes- the official statement is up to quart every 1000 miles is permissible.

extended high-rpm drives on the highway will use some oil- more when engine new.

germans usually use oil as they rely on piston oil squirters for cooling more than any other school of thoughts. being doing it since wwii that is why they have the 8 quart oil pans

eric_in_sd

My 07 GL450 has a steadily increasing drinking problem. I bought The Beast with 39K miles and it now has 111K. I started paying close attention to the oil consumption at about 96K miles. At that point it was a quart every 1,500 - 1,600 miles. Now it's about one every 1,400 miles.

I use M1 10W30, but bear in mind I am in San Diego, the thing sleeps in a garage at night, and it's unusual for it to drive in ambient temperatures above 90F. Generally quite mild driving, too. When I exhaust my supply of 10W30 I will start using 0W40 to see if that reduces the consumption rate.

Pretty soon I am going to quit changing the oil at all, just the filter, because I'll be adding oil faster than the normal change interval!

BlownV8

I wonder if you damaged your engine by using g he wrong oil? Approximately 200k miles here and still don't have to add oil between changes.

eric_in_sd

It seems unlikely the lower weight oil damaged the engine. The viscosity of 30W oil is just not that different from 40W, and as I said, it's just about the most mild driving conditions possible. No cold, no heat, no great strain on the motor.

I also understand that there is more jeopardy from too high viscosity oil than too low.

If the increase in oil consumption rate suddenly stops when I put in 0W40, I'll post an update.

I do wish I had priced 0W40 at Walmart; I got into 10W30 because of its Costco price, but I found out 5-quart jugs of 0W40 at Walmart are only a little more expensive per quart.

I wish I'd kept a closer eye on the oil consumption rate at lower mileage. I know I saw the oil level warning light come on some time around 45K miles, so it's had a drinking problem for a while now.

I'm not too worried about it; the thing's value is already down to $13K, so it's not too much to stress about. Even if I get down to a quart every 500 miles, it's not that big of a deal.

eric_in_sd

Very curious thing happened. The oil consumption is declining. Last quart interval was 1800 miles. I had put in one quart of 0W40. I'm keeping a close eye on it and will continue with the 0W40.