W203E35

So today I get the oil message again "Check oil level at next gas station" this has been a constant message for me. Even though my neighbor said don't worry I still don't understand why I would get this message. Some members stated that they add 1qt of oil. This has been the 3rd time and I still have 8,600 miles left till next oil change.

I looked in the owners manual and it said "The engine oil has dropped to a critical level".

It then says "Visually check for oil leaks. If no obvious oil leaks are noted..." basically oil must be topped to regular level.

So I look underneath the car and see oil stains. It gets more when I look towards the oil pan.

My warranty ends in November. I want to take my car in but I dont want them to clean it off and say they fixed it.

From the info I provided (added 3qts so far and still have 8,600 to go and saw oil stains) do you guys think I really have an oil leak?

Also my first reaction was "ohh I must have spilled some oil when I was pouring it" but I mean it shouldn't be as much as I saw. Cover is all oil but not dripping oil.

Is this a common issue of oil leaks?

I don't think 3 quarts withing 4,400 miles of driving is normal is it?

Thanks a lot I really appreciate it.

LILBENZ230

You definitely have an oil leak, then.

Just take it in. There's no point in wasting time because you're afraid they're going to BS the job. My car developed a problem at 35,000 miles that wasn't properly fixed until 52,000 miles (after warranty). If it's a documented issue while the warranty is intact they have to fix it.

Come now. Of course you do. That's what, 40% of the total sump capacity in 4400 miles? I'd say you have a pretty decent oil leak.

Not that I'm aware of. Where did you have your last oil change performed? I had mine done at an indy who installed the filter O-ring incorrectly. My car developed a pretty significant oil leak due to this and he ended up doing a detail clean and another oil change to correct it.

Absolutely it is too much. You're losing oil. Take it in ASAP!

W203E35

Thanks Sooo Much LILBENZ

I did the oil change myself. Sucked out the old oil. Pulled out old filter. New one was dealer and came with rings. So I put those on their. Put filter back and filled up the same amount of oil that I pumped out.

After a while I got a message thinking maybe in the beginning the dealer didn't put enough (since I put in same amount I took off). Then I added a qt. Level was fine. At the Max. Then I got the message again. Put in 1 qt. And now the same scenario and just now put a qt (was on call went to work so I didn't want to damage anything)

Edit:

The book says "The filling quantity between the upper and lower marks on the dipstick (MIN and MAX) is approximately 2.1 US qt.

So there is a big difference (loosing 2 qts initially and loosing more later)

LILBENZ230

Have you taken out the filter and made sure that's not the source of the leak? We have very different engines.. but my filter housing leaked oil all down the back of the engine, under the car, down the underside of the car.. it was a mess. All that had happened was one of the rings was not installed properly. That was the dealership's findings (as I took it in to them, it was under warranty).

Edit: By the way, if it says in the owner's manual that the message you are getting means the oil level has dropped critically, I'd say that's conclusive - the car does have a sensor to tell when oil level is low - regardless of what your neighbor told you.

Now - get that thing into a dealership pronto.

W203E35

Ya, my neighbor is an idiot. Good thing I decided to follow up on it.

Thanks again Matt.

I'll check the oil filter to see if the rings are fine.

Thanks again, I really appreciate your help

W203E35

Yup confirmed it is an oil leak. Wonder what cause it though?
The rings were intact.

W203E35

Here is where my oil filter is. I don't think the oil filter might have cause the problem right?

johnand

Have you ever had the drain plug out? If so, check the drain plug for leaks. I took mine out once, put a new sealing washer on and torqued to spec and it developed a leak. It took a new drain plug AND new sealing washer to fix the leak.

Best bet is to clean ALL the oil up thoroughly, then go for a short drive to track down the source.

e1000

3 quarts in 4000 miles is NOT normal. Take it in and I'm sure they'll fix the issue. Maybe it's the drain plug washer that's progressively gotten worse and is now leaking at a good rate.

In the interim, have you looked at the oil level via dipstick? It gives me the "check oil level" message when I'm 1/4 above the min level on the dipstick.

krisv420

wow.. You got a big leak son.. You need to get under that car and remove that plastic protector.. After that I'm sure its coming from the black oil pan or near that area.. If the oil leaks inside the connectors/Sensors down there you will have a big mess. Plus I'm sure it would be a $$$$ job..

Just get a nice towel lay down and remove it.. get a rag and start cleaning the under of your car... Find the leak / I'm sure its just a seal or a bolt that needs to be tightened..

I love finding the issue before i take my car in.. Because they can't **** me in the end saying that this was broken when it truly wasn't

BTW how is the power on that 350?

LILBENZ230

His car is still under warranty. Just take it in and post up what they find. The leak is pretty significant and I'm sure other (and future) 350 owners would like to know the source.

W203E35

Thanks everyone for the input.
When I bought the car it had 21K miles. So it had two oil changes before I got it. When I changed the oil I didn't use the drain plug so I have not looked at that yet. Actually it has not crossed my mind since the car isn't that old. I got an appointment for tomorrow. They said they will check it out right then and there and tell me what the problem is.
Probably going to lift it take off cover and see where the oil is comming from.
He mention that it might be some transmission connector hose. I don't know if this is common.

When I get home tonight I'll jack up the car and do a little examining of my own.

I'll keep you guys updated on what happens.

I use to get this vibration noise from underneath the car when it was idling and when I came to a red light. The vibration noise was reduced when they flashed the TCU but it's still there. I'll mention that too.

Thanks Again

Glyn M Ruck

It should be bone dry. That said it does not look as though it's dripping all over the place. Tell them to fix it. The engine should be bone dry.

Some engines use more oil than others. Mine & splinter's use zero as an example. Mine used a little during run in.

The Benz condemning limit is high however. Their rule of thumb has always been that oil consumption should not exceed 1% of fuel consumption. That's high! I consider that too high for Cat preservation.

Oil consumption is not directly related to mileage. It is related to how much fuel an engine sees (better measure of how much work it's doing)

Drain plugs are micro encapsulated. Fit a new plug if you disturb it or apply a sealant to the threads if you are parsimonious.

W203E35

Going over to friends house. His Garage has a huge hole in the ground (sort of like mechanic shops) going to go check it out.

I'll keep you guys updated.

Glyn, so you think it's nothing major?

Thanks

Glyn M Ruck

I think you drive with a heavy foot That said it's amazing how much oil you loose through a small leak.

We need to work out how much you are leaking vs how much you are burning.

The only way to check properly is to do a leakdown test. That will tell you if you have anything to worry about.

LILBENZ230

I had a leaking trans connector. But we have different transmissions and that was leaking transmission fluid. Would the engine really be sending oil to the transmisson? Maybe they're confused. In any event, my connector leak was transmission fluid and it was a seep. You clearly have a big leak. Post as soon as you know.

W203E35

Here is an update guys.

Took off the cover and is was dry. No oil has ever leaked. The picture tells a different story. In the picture it looks as if oil has leaked before. But everything under the cover was dry and not even an oil spot.

I guess I am burning oil. I just hope "Check engine oil at next gas station" is logged so they don't say I am making up stories.

Now I am really stuck because since there is no leak I'm afraid they will give me a story.

LILBENZ230

Take it anyway. That's a crazy amount of oil to burn.

To give you an idea of my oil usage - My car says "Service B 6900 miles" and when it said 13000 miles the oil level was 5.7L. Now at 6900 miles it says 5.5L. Hardly any loss.

W203E35

That's hardly anything (knock on wood)

Ya, Hopefully they can take care of it. I'll post my experience soon.

Now I'm really thinking of getting the extended warranty
A 3rd party (which my friend has and isn't happy with) quoted me 2K.
I hope Benz can give me something like that also.

LILBENZ230

I wouldn't fear the car, Karo. The 2005+ cars have proven very reliable as a whole. And the M272 engine is a workhorse.

e1000

Yeah my engine burns about a half to 1qt of oil in 13k miles. That's also considering I drive like a complete maniac too.

I got a couple quotes on an extended warranty and if I remember correctly, they were all over $3k.

Keep us posted!

Glyn M Ruck

Insist on a leakdown test - That will tell us if we have ring bypass taking place (or a leaking valve). The only other place oil like that will go & that is down the valve guides. If you run against compression down a hill & then floor it do you get a puff of oil smoke out of the exhaust? You might have a troublesome valve guide seal or two.

Make them check the crankcase ventilation system. If you have a stuck PCV valve or blockage somewhere it pressurises the crankcase which will force oil past the rings.

Don't fret until diagnosed - from previous posts your car has always used oil. As long as it's not ring trouble the rest is easy to fix. The Alusil bores on these cars are as tough as hell but to do a ring change is a bit of a bugger. They must inspect the bores for scoring with a boroscope. If scored then you are in big trouble.

johnand

Karo, listen to Glyn and take the car in to the dealer and get it taken care of. I had a very long talk to the shop foreman at my dealer about the M272 engine. He said they are darn near bulletproof, should have very little to no oil consumption, and should have outstanding longevity. I can tell you my 2.5L M272 doesn't burn a drop of oil at 10K oil changes. at almost 60K on the clock, and large use of E85 for fuel. Looks like E1000's engine only burns a half a quart per 13K changes, so you definitely have a issue. No worries though, that is what a warranty is for

maverik259

i had the same problem back around christmas...I took my car to a service station to just have them change the oil before my long road trip from FL to MD and about 150 miles into it i got the check oil level at next gas station...then 10 minutes later everything turned red and told me to immediately turn off engine and go to service station. I started freaking out that maybe they didnt put in enough oil or maybe th wrong oil, etc. So i finally get off the highway (keep in mind I'm in the middle of central FL which is like hick town with no major service centers, much less dealerships and it was a Sunday morning about 7 am). I went inside the station to look to see if they had oil, they only had 2 stroke and normal engine oil, no fully synthetic...i come out to my car and notice a puddle of oil under my car and my heart sank, i knew I was screwed. So i mad a risky decision, searched my gps for the nearest main stream service center who i knew would carry my oil and it was about 32 miles away and I was losing oil fast. So i made my way there, told them the problem and that it was their sister location back home that did the oil change. He brings me to my car 10 minutes later, tells me that they guys forgot to put the second o ring on the filter and then showed me the back of my car and how it was litterally soaked in oil. my entire undercarriage was dripping he said. Thank god for the heat sheilds b/c it kept it from reaching my wheels or rotors, that coulda been interesting to have slick rotors, lol... needless to say i received vouchers for 3 free oil changes and oil and considering these things run around 100 i figured that was a good enough apology for me !

W203E35

UPDATE:

I took it in, the SA was such a cool guy (old guy doesn't work there anymore). I told him about the tranny and everything and told him how I was having transmission issues (very hard downshift) and they flashed it but it came back. He said "The flash is BS a flash won't help out hard downshifts". Then we took it for a spin and when easying off the pedal and almost comming to a stop luckly a very hard jerk happened as if we got rear ended and he says "Ya cuz, there is definetly something wrong with the tranny" (He is a early 40s white guy and what he said made me crack up).

The I tell him the whole story how I am loosing oil (3 qts within 4,600 miles). He said they'll take car of me.

Then when he walked me over to get my rental he wispered something into the guys ear. Then they gave me a C class which I thought it was a C300 but then I saw a pop up navigation and a rear lip. After signing paper I checked the badge it was a C350

A white C350 with Navi everything.

Anyway sorry I got off topic...they said they will give me a call and keep me updated.

He put down:

Transmission getting stuck on gear (don't know why he put this I guess he knows what he is doing).
Hard upshifts and downshifts.
Sunroof lube.
Engine oil leak (I didnt say it was leaking just that it was consuming oil 3qts within 4600 miles)
Engine consuming oil.
When gear selector is engadged into D, car jerks hard.

So i'm crossing my finger, hopefully they can take care of everything.

I will keep you guys updated.

But the C350 (w204) I really like it. Don't feel a lot of the cracks and bumps on road (feels soft) but still has great handling)

Compared to the w203 it feels at beginning it's a bit slower at take off but then picks up very good.

Also the rental C350 never had the jerk when I slow to to almost a stop without the break. So this shouldn't be a common issue that most people are having.
Maybe since it's 09 (might be 10-didn't check the build date) maybe mercedes fixed the buggs in the tranny.

I also noticed that when I downshift it goes low and has room to go one more lower (gear). Where my car goes low but doesn;t have room to go any lower. (this will go down one but mine will do down to the lowes tit can go (skips 2 gears instead of 1).

When I downshift on mine it goes above 5, but the rental c350 goes maybe 3 1/2 - 4 then still has room to go.

Keep you guys updated when I get a call from them.

By the way this dealer was Keyes Van Nuys and the SA's name is Donald Dorion