Hi,

I recently purchased a c240 and finished the 1000 mile break-in period. I was wondering if I am suppsed to bring the car to the dealer for an oil change? The dealer told me that the car will tell me when I have to bring it in (aka after 10,000 miles for the first scheduled service), but I read somewhere that the oil has to be changed after the brake-in period. Apparently some cars use some special break-in oil that needs to be replaced after 1000 miles. Is this true? Does my c240 need an oil change?

Thanks,

Dede.

 

No, technically, it doesn't. There is some debate among some members as to whether you should wait the 10K miles until the FSS (flexible service system) tells you that you need service. Some people are changing their oil at 5K miles I think. But, there is no requirement to replace the oil after break-in. (BTW, it's "break-in", not "brake-in").

You should check the level frequently by using the computer via the steering wheel controls. A couple of people who have C230's have found that their oil level has dropped dramatically during 2500-3000 miles. I have 3600 miles on my C240 though, and my computer is still saying the level is "OK".

 

I changed mine at 1500. Did it myself.

Changed it again at 5500 myself.

Will let the dealer do the next one, and then will do one in between each of the dealer services.

I've grown up around engines, including rebuilding engines in various Porsches over the years. I would never let an engine go from 0 to 10,000 miles plus on the same oil. I don't think many reputable engine builders would, either.

Will it make a difference or not? Maybe. Maybe not. Will it make a difference as to whether the car lasts 4 years or 50,000 miles (the MB warranty period)? Nope. You could not EVER change the oil (just top it up when it gets low) and the car will easily last for the warranty period. The point: I would not rely on the MB service recommendations if the intent is to keep the car long term. 125,000+ miles.

Oil change intervals are a hot topic. Because no one has the clear answer, I chose to simply spend the extra $50 every 5,000 miles to avoid the debate.

 

SoCal,

Thanks for your input. I was planning on doing that myself as well, but heard that MB oil changes are different than most cars...(no filter?). With your oil change, did you change the filter, or whatever it has, as well? where can I find instructions on changing the oil and filter (any links? or maybe just some pointers)?

Thanks.

 

A simple fact. You cannot over-change the oil of a car.

 

I'm no mechanic, but from what I understand, MB is now putting synthetic oil in all of it's cars. The whole point of synthetic oil is that it's supposed to require less maintenance(read changed less) than regular oil.

One thing we should all keep in mind is that if the owners manual, NOT THE DEALER, says to do something, then it's the right thing to do. MB(Factory, NOT THE DEALER) isn't going to tell their customers to do something that would be detrimemtal to the longtem reliability of their vehicles. Think about it. Initially they make more money in after warranty repairs, but in the longterm, their reputation will suffer and their sales will decrease, thus hurting the company.

Would you buy a benz if it died after 6 years? Or if you had to pay a tonne of money in repairs after the warranty expired?

Yes, there is no harm in changing your oil on a very frequent basis, but, there is a point of diminishing returns.

And if so many people here are that intent on changing their oil every 5k, then for the love of the pete, please start using regular oil in your car again. Why bother putting synthetic oil in your car every 5k? Synthetic oil's one big advantage is that it will do the job over a longer period of time. Why spend the extra money for oil with greater longevity when you are not even going to use that longevity to your advantage? Just use oil that actually NEEDS to be changed every 5k, as opposed to oil that dosen't, and then change it prematurely.

I appreciate that are many on this board who have a greater knowledge of engines and automobiles in their pinky than I have in my whole body, but quite frankly, I think some of you are overdoing it.

OK, I have my flame suit on. Let me have it!!!

 

I agree with you, David N. Except the part about going to regular oil. I would want to be sure the warranty would not be voided with regular oil. I understand the warranties outside the US vary and in some cases specify standard oil. In the US, synthetic is now specified for FSS-equipped cars.

Just an observation: Why is it that the people who say that MB designs its engines with peak perf in mind and thus can't make use of K&Ns, snake oil additives, etc, are many of the same people who preach more frequent oil changes than what MB designs into its FSS system? No flames, just an observation.

 

To me there is a far bigger advantage of synthetic oil, other than its longevity.
Synthetic oil also works much better than natural in colder climat (such as Canada for example). I'm sure many people observed better cold starts and so on.

 

I agree with the 10,000 mile oil change, since that's what the synthetic is all about. At the same time I realize that changing the oil more often will do no harm to the car, however it might to your pocket.

What I was not sure about is after the break-in period. I was under the impression that they put a special "break-in oil" in the engine for the first 1000 miles. Maybe this is not the case with MBs. A friend of mine just purchased a WRX and was advised by the dealer to bring it in for an oil change after the 1000 mile break-in period was over. WRXs also use synthetic oil. Not sure if this is just the dealer trying to make some extra money (since there is no free maintenance with Subarus) or if he was speaking the truth.

 

Dede, this post has gone "full circle" a bit. As I said in my initial post, I've never read or heard anything about changing the oil in my MB at 1000 miles, after the break-in period. Certainly, there's nothing about this in the owner's manual.

 

Dede, this post has gone "full circle" a bit. As I said in my initial post, I've never read or heard anything about changing the oil in my MB at 1000 miles, after the break-in period, nor is there any special "break-in oil". Additionally, there's nothing about this type of requirement in the owner's manual.

 

There is a easy answer to your question "NO" you don't have to. Just drive like you stole it .

 

It is very easy.

1) Remove the belly pan under the car (the one that is covering the oil pan, I think its the rearward one). 4 screws.

2. Drain the oil. Replace the plug.

3. Remove the filter top with the factory removal tool ($8 at your dealer). The filter top is that black round plastic thingy on the front of the engine, driver's side.

4. Pull up the filter. You'll see the filter is attached to a "wand." Just pull the filter element off. Put the new one on and replace the o-rings (they are obvious when you see them, plus your filter kit will have the o-rings). Screw it back on.

5. Fill it with oil and you are done.

Synthetics are good, but oil changes are done mostly to get rid of the contaminants in the oil that are byproducts of the combustion process. No matter how good a synt. oil is, it can't get rid of those contaminants.

I think more than 6 months is too long to go on oil. My car doesn't get a ton of miles on it. The dealer says that at my rate, it would probably be 18 MONTHS before the service light comes on. Yeah, right, leaving oil in the crank for 18 months is a good idea . . .

 

My understanding is that there is no longer a "break-in" period for the newer M-B models. This was not true of the older models. The maintenance schedule for my 1992 M-B 190 required that oil (and other fluids) be changed at about 1500 miles. In fact, M-B used a special break-in oil called "autocrit" (if my memory serves me correctly) for the first 1500 miles, which had to be changed. There would be no harm in changing your oil sooner on your C-class. The new C-class models use about eight quarts of synthetic oil and changing that out is expensive!

 

i think that there is still a break in period. the manual states this and as the manual for the C-coupe is new, i would conclude that if the break-in was no longer necessary, they would have changed the manual to reflect that.

btw, here's a thread that clarifies(maybe) the FSS system:
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...&threadid=1716

 

I have a coupe, and it has a cast block. The car was shipped from Germany with blended oil.

Therefor, I changed my oil to full synthetic Mobil 1 at 2k miles. I'll change oil again at 5k, then every 5k after that (along with tire rotation/balance) and stay with the FSS scheduled maintenance at 10k intervals. I'd like to go to a teflon filter...but MBUSA recommends against that.

My theory: Oil changes are an inexpensive insurance policy against a very expensive engine repair.