Biznatch

Hi guys..

I have had my 2005 Mercedes Benz C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan for about 6 weeks now. I have roughly 2300 miles on the odometer and I love this car. This is also my first car that takes synthetic oil..

Do you guys really wait for 12-13k miles to change your oil, or should i plan on doing it at 3k miles.. Just curious as to what service intervals you guys use on your cars...

Any help is Greatly Appreciated!

BabyBenz6spd

I'm pretty much like you (05 C230 sedan w/ 2300miles on it), also had my doubts on when to change oil because I use to change my oil every 3000 or so miles.

I brought my car to the dealer and ask them if they will perform a oil change, make the long story short.........they told me to read my owners maintance manual and come back when I reach the the 11000Miles mark.

I ask if they are still willing to perform, they say they do everything according to the factory~~So...NO


I'm thinking about having it done at a regular oil shop, but since the car is so new, I'm not sure if regular oil shop is able to perform the job correctly.........besides its a "Mercedes-Benz" I would hate to give the Dealer an excuse to void my warrenty if something went wrong during the oil change.

dc2774

The dealer should do it for you. There have been many posts on this subject as well. I brought mine after 3,000 to get the initial break-in oil out - the dealer charged $100, which isn't too bad, considering I needed them to fix some weird noises that I was getting only when the car hit 80mph.

Long story short - they should change it. then i bring it back at 11,000 for the next change.

CitronC230K_03

i have the same M271 1.8L engine you guys have and ive gone strictly by the FSS. im getting my 3rd oil change, my Service A, done this Monday at 28,100 miles on the odometer.

Jkw

If it makes you happy change the oil early, it can't hurt.
jkw

f00b4r

Don't justify paying 100$ for an oil change because they fixed other noises, those would be covered under warranty anyways, no?

jinijazz

I have same 05 203K SS, but my service booklet says "free' oil change at first 1000-3000miles & tire rotation at first 6500 miles. Is the service booklet different from dealer to dealer?

CitronC230K_03

no it should be the same for MBUSA market.

Jkw

For MY'05, when MB did away with their free service they changed the first Oil Change to 3,000 miles and than every 10,000 miles after that.
Jkw

xxbenzc230kxx

my 04 has 9900 and it just got done with its first service A..

BabyBenz6spd

I had my first scheduel service done too at 1500Miles, then there's the free tire rotation (Service told me I didn't have to rotat my tires, since the rear is wider than the front....there's no way to rotate them)


Getting back to the first scheduel maintance, When they did mine they said the first maintance only consists of check up on fluids, and make sure all the things are working properly.........there was no oil change.....or so I was told by the service person.

So do I still get my first Free Oil change or what?

jinijazz

Your free oil change should have been done with the first scheduled service, right?
Man I'm confused with this thread

CitronC230K_03

the rotation probably deals with non-staggard wheels.

HumblePie

For the most part, yes I wait. My dealer won't charge me if I am within 1,000 mi on either side of the service indicator. Since the oil is synthetic, you do have the advantage of changing it at much longer intervals. If you have the wallet for it, go ahead and change it sooner. It certainly can't hurt. Just remember that it has to be synthetic oil. This is a snippet from a class action lawsuit against MB (for 98-2001) which I was sent stemming from some folks that did not use the synthetic oil when they changed it. Apparently, the not enough information was provided about using synthetic oils and, thus the use of non-synthetic oil caused sludging and engine damage which resulted in the lawsuit

This is a small excerpt of the text...

"Nonetheless, without admitting any wrongdoing, we have agreed to settle the class action in order to return our focus to providing our customers the exceptional ownership experience we know you expect when purchasing a Mercedes.

To demonstrate our commitment to superior performance and quality, we will cover your vehicle up to ten years from the date of the first purchase or lease or 150,000 miles (whichever occurs first) under the terms of your existing warranty or any extended warranty you have purchased from MBUSA in the unlikely event of any future oil sludging or related engine damage in your vehicle from the eariler use of conventional, approved motor oil (API SH or S)."

Here is a number to find out more (800)367-6372

Here are some additional links to summaries of the lawsuit:

http://www.bigclassaction.com/settle...utomotive.html

http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/...ges/12961.html

BabyBenz6spd

Something as simple as changing engine oil according to the correct period of time......turns in to a law suit? Jesus........I guess I'm just going to follow my owners manual, Its not normal to me changing the oil every 10K miles......but Perhabs there's some secret technology in this new M271 engine that doesn't require changing oil as often??

P.S. Atleast if something goes wrong with the engine, the dealer can't blame me for it. If I follow the maintence scheduel correctly

nicedeboy

German cars are different... just read your manual and shut UP! Every car company recommend's its own way of doing things.

GDawgC220

it's not something the engine does differently to have longer times between changing intervals. It's synthetic oil, which doesn't break down as easily as regular dyno oil, as you were use to before. Tests have been done and shown that @ 15k miles, it still provides sufficient lubrication for the engine and still can go on. So 10k is not out of the question at all.

The engine has sensors that monitors the condition of the oil, your climate of the area that you drive in, how you drive, etc and factors all that information into a computer and calculates when the next service will be by counting down the mileage accordingly to all those factors. So you could have 8900 showing in the morning and if it's been hot, humid and you've been pushing the car for a while, it may show 8700 later that night or the next day. Get the idea?

I hope this helps man

dgwee

Due to the high operating temperatures and high humidity here the service interval is 10,000km (approx 6,200mi). The dealer confirmed that there is no need for an oil change before the first servcing at 10,000km.

Audi Junkie

10,000mi+ is in an engine that is ideally clean and free of deposits from a bad oil incident. On a used car, a few short changes of a cheap 15w-40 oil will clean it up and prepare for long synthetic intervals. Any 15w-40 works great in warm weather. Most carry MB 228.3 specs. I use Mobil Delvac 1300S, $1.75/q. New API SM/GF-4 5w-30 oil is suitable for cold weather. I would go 5000 miles on these "dino/HC" oils. Mostly, Mobil 1 0w-40 is good advise, it carries MB 229.3 spec, but so does German Castrol Syntec 0w-30, a much better oil. Mobil 1 SUV 5w-40 oil is a great choice too.

BabyBenz6spd

I just had my first oil change at a friends shop. (05 C230 sedan), Make the long story short. I would not wait till 10,000 Miles for my first oil change. I changed mine out at 5000 miles on the car. The oil was ALL BLACK and looks real nasty.....I can not imagin to run on this oil for another 5000miles.

My friend basically just order the oil filter from MB dealer and 6 quarters of Mobil 1 0w-40 and change it out for me. My car takes 5.8quartes of oil according to the owners manual.

Engine runs much smoother after the oil change, and I'm not planning on waiting for 10,000 to do a oil change on my car. However, I will still go to the dealer and have them do the scheduled services. But Just not waiting that long to do an oil change.

elchinocache

i noticed a big difference when i changed my oil over the summer in my c240. The difference was clear as night and day, the engine reved so much more freely and the car felt a little more peppy. i also waited till the computer told me to change the oil which was about 10,000 miles. never again will i wait so long, i'm planning to change my oil every 5 or 6 thousand miles.

Audi Junkie

Thinner oils allow free revving. Also, friction modifiers play a role too. With M1 0w-40, it starts out as a light 40 weight and thins to a 30 weight from shearing. Near the end of the ACEA A3 test sequence, it thickens back up to meet the HT/HS requirements. There is no beating frequent changes. Also, an engine needs to be clean in order for the long oil change intervals (on correct MB 229.3 oil) to work properly.

elchinocache

i'm tryin to understand your post. SO is it good or bad to change the oil sooner than mb says? or it doesnt make a difference? Wats best if your planning to keep your car for the long haul?

GDawgC220

its doesn't harm the car to change the oil every 5 or 6k. some do that and some follow what MB says and don't have problems (even cars that first came out with the longer intervals are doing fine on MB schedules). Up to the individual person.

c4791p

My 2004 has of course the FSS program and our computer display keeps counting down to a mileage that will total near 13,000 mi when an A service is finally due.

I kind of think as time progresses, the engine sensors will adjust that count down distance and the A service will come due at just about 12,000 mi.

Of course the one and only MBZ dealership here in LV says we should come in at 5K miles (midway between the estimated time for A and B services) and pay for an out of cycle oil change and vehicle inspection (quoting $100.)

That $100 actually isn't that bad since the full synthetic oil costs so much and an oil filter retails at nearly $19. I have received quotes of $70 to $80 from places like Quick Lube. Even the company that works on my 92SL quotes $100. But the dealership's rationale is; I should get the service done early (out of my pocket) because it's so hot here in Las Vegas. Well considering the last time I checked internal engine temperatures were far hotter than any LV temperature, I find that argument hard to follow.

What's interesting is that my selling dealer up near Sacramento, suggested simply changing the oil filter at 5000 mi or so since the main problem with an engine is contaminents, as long as the lubricant is changed "regularly."

That sounds like an OK plan to me. Since my car was covered by the FSS, the 1000 mi oil change wasn't offered to me by the dealer here in LV. So instead, at 1600miles I changed out the filter and checked the oil remaining in the filter. It looked nice and clear.

Chuck