noodlesoup

i have a question for a long time,
the older version of car change oil every 3k miles
but why does my car change oil every 10k.
is it just mercedez try to cut down the spending on the oil change?

is it bad for my car to change oil every 10k instead of 3k?

nukblazi

synthetic oils are the reason

GDawgC220

Yes, synthetic oils are a good reason for that. Also, I believe that the computer system monitors the cleaniness of your oil, driving habits, etc to make sure that the oil is in good operating condition. If you notice, sometimes when driving hard for a while, it will actually drop faster in mileage till the next service versus slow and smooth driving habits...atleast in my p-rents S. Hope that helps.

Changing your oil every 3k miles would probably be a waste of money.

two.face

so what do you guys recommend for a good time frame using mobile 1 full. syn. oil...5w-30, 5w-25...etc???????????


TF

Matt230K

Use the time frame that the car provides for you automatically, which is about every 10K miles.

vadim

3,000 miles is nothing but a Jiffy Lube's TV ad slogan - they want your money. Modern cars easily go 5000-7500 miles between oil changes using mineral oil, longer with synthetic.

GDawgC220

I've got a '94 C220 with 127k miles and even the dealership writes 5000 miles till next oil change on the window sticker. And that's using regular 10W-40 Castrol oil, not synthetic. They said synthetic may be too thin for an older engine and seep thru small cracks or leaks where the old dinosaur oil will not

session

Your engine is under warranty, honored (by law) by Mercedes. It serves to reason that they aren't going to give you advice that would harm your engine and thus cost them money. Changing the oil when Mercedes advises you to is not only technologically safe, but completely logical as well. Why pay for oil changes when the only required ones are free?

webhost

I was told that the 2003 C230K had a special "break in" lube from the factory and it was important that that oil stay in till at least 10,000 KMs (6,200 Miles)

I think after the 10K point I will change again at Service A (15,000 KMs) Then evey 7,500 KMs after that. I can't see clean fluids hurting anything.

Guest0001

i had oil changed at about 1300 miles after i broke it in for peace of mind.

i have 5500 miles right now, and i will trust MB with there 10k service and go every 10k from now on

Guest0001

yes but your warranty is protecting you for a limited time. people who plan to keep there cars for years and years are the ones that usually question the 10k service and how it will affect the car when it is out of warranty and hits 100,000 miles and more

DCXdynodog

True, but...

If you never changed the oil it would probably still make the 48000 mile warranty, so why would they do any more than they have to? They don't care after that. And yes, they do try to save $$, that's why most MB dealers don't use Mobil-1 any more.

Doesn't make it the optimum thing to do though.

Rick

I changed from the factory blended "break in oil" to full synthetic at 1k miles....then at 5k intervals (with tire rotation).
Call it cheap insurance against mechanical failure...

mueller_jack

I just got 1k with my c230. Are you saying the oil in the engine is not synthetic oil?? It is just some cheap break in oil What kind of synthetic oil I should get? Should I go to the dealer for oil change?

Rick

The oil that the factory puts in the cast iron 2.3 C230 is Mobil1 Blended 5w-50(part synth, part fossil). It's a high viscosity blend because they want the piston rings, pistons, cranks, valves and cams well lubed and coated during the recommended low RPM break-in. The Service Rep recommended changing this at 10k, according to the manual/service notes...but I questioned that logic, so I changed. It costs me $90 every 5k miles...and I'd rather pay that than a full rebuild at 70k.

I'm not sure if this applies to the current 1.8...perhaps one of the dealer guys here can verify?

I prefer Mobil1....MBUSA recommends it...and thats good enough for me.
(I used Castrol Syntec in my previous car...an Eagle Talon Turbo....clocked 167k miles in 9 years without failure.)

RD Sport

My car is reaching 15000km and the FSS indicate service A in 20 days. Any ideas what will be done in service A? Also, after this service A, when will be the next service? What type and what will be done??

How many type of services will the FSS show?

Thanks

Jim Banville

They also say to change oil every 10K miles or so, but that isn't good enough for you?

nukblazi

I have 31K on my 02 Coupe.

There are two services, A and B. A is a light service, B is more intense. The details have been posted before. I forget what they are.

With the autox'n I've been doing I've been using old school oil, changing it myself, based on how long/ far/ hard I drove the car.

FSS is a good program, but it is a program.... it is more for your average driver

66 Roadster

Hey all - Just a quick note

I work as a Triboligist - study of friction, lubrication. We have done tests on the side and yes, Mobil 1 is a very good oil. The last formulation did have some problems with viscosity, but that was fixed a year ago. In our tests (Shell 4 Ball) we show Mobil 1 with 10,000 miles to have as good of extreme pressure properties as new mineral oil right out of the can. For peace of mind, I change my oil (Mobil 1) every 5000 to 7000 miles. Also, please, please, do not use Fram filters! The cases are too thin and they split.

Have a great day!!

Phil

Rick

Obviously it's not, Jim....very astute of you to pick up on that.
If you choose to scrutinize what I type, make sure you read the entire post and take in in it's respective context. Anything less just makes you look bad.

Jim Banville

Well, Rick, that's sort of like trusting your doctor enough to believe he's prescribing the correct kind of medicine for you, but refusing to follow the dosage directions of the bottle

Guest0001

well its not like doctors know what they are talking about half the time.lol (if i offended any docs, im sorry and dont take this serously)

DCXdynodog

Sigh...why does everyone think Mobil 1 is a blend?

Gotta be a conspiracy marketing campaign by the other oil firms

It is a full synthetic, not a blend, and there is no 5w-50.
There is however a 0w-40 and I'm told by my MB dealer that is what is installed in the 1.8 L at the factory.

http://www.mobil1.com/products/trisynth/faq.jsp

Rick

quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by DCXdynodog
[B]Sigh...why does everyone think Mobil 1 is a blend?
It is a full synthetic, not a blend, and there is no 5w-50.
There is however a 0w-40 and I'm told by my MB dealer that is what is installed in the 1.8 L at the factory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


I was told my cast iron block 2.3 had Mobil1 5w-50 blend put in at the factory as a break in oil (read earlier post for details). I changed to Mobil1 full synthetic at 1k miles (and every 5k thereafter). BOTH flavors are available in a variety of viscous 'weights'...

Aside from that, if Mr. Banville can provide documented proof that changing the oil/filter at 5k intervals is worse than 10k suggested by Mercedes..I'd like to see those test results. (I'd also like to run them by some Mobil/Exxon executives I'm aquainted with...they disagree with 10k intervals)

My thought on this: frequent oil/filter changes are less expensive than engines.

Lynn

When Mobil1 first came out, the recommended oil change interval for it was 25,000 miles with filter changes every 5000 miles.