LILBENZ230

This is the best advice you will get. I'm not sure why so many people continue to believe they know better than the people who designed, developed, engineered and then relentlessly tested these cars.

Also, I saw this come up earlier in the thread. How an oil "looks" has no bearing on whether it should be changed or not. Modern oils should turn black quickly as the detergents do their job. I'd be worried if it didn't.

MDMercedesGuy

Responses like this are a double edged sword that assume far too much about people. Regardless of what the manufacturer says, they do not base their recommendations on all driving styles and conditions. They also assume the people who are making the statement don't have a significant engineering background themselves and don't know what they are talking about.

How an oil looks (and smells) does have a bearing of how good of a job it is doing. We're talking about a 3,500 mile old engine here - so there is (hopefully) not as much for the detergents to be doing with it at this point.

I'm glad this thread has taken on a life of its own - it's probably helped a few people out. Glyn - thank you for answering my question regarding the filter - I am going to head to the dealer to get a filter this week and pick up some Mobil1 (my preference in oil) - I definitely drive the car hard so I am not as concerned about running it in with a 229.5 product. I'll run it a bit longer per your suggestion though - but there's no way I can stomach 10K personally.

$45K is too much money to not give it some cheap insurance in my book, and while I'm 29 - I'm still too old school to run the intervals.

Cocoout

Glyn M Ruck

Whatever makes you happy. It's your car & your hard earned money. Being an oilco man I'm in the lucky situation that I have free sample analysis available to me if I ever have a suspicion that something is amiss. I've never seen a sample on the forum at the old 13K drain intervals that has given cause for concern. These cars have large sumps so the oil charge is not stressed & good air filtration.

2012c350

Actually that's a point worth calling out. In the "old day" cars didn't have so much oil. My 1967 Buick Electra 225 holds 4qts of oil. So that oils is being asked to do a lot more than a car with twice as much oil.

papashango

Anyone???

Domm

I believe it takes 8.5 liters of oil. The OEM filter is Mann+Hummel (link below). Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 is the factory fill for our vehicles and the OEM brand, though any oil on Mercedes' approved oils list should do.

You should invest in an oil extractor (maybe around $40-70). They're reusable and will be cost effective after a few oil changes.

papashango

Ok so I will order that filter and purchase 9 litres of oil.

What is an oil extractor? What's the purpose of it?

Domm

This should help:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-pictures.html

With Mercedes, the method of choice when changing oil is to use an extractor and pump the oil out from the hood of the car and that is what the dealer will do as well.

papashango

I don't think I will be changing the oil myself, doubt i can do that. So was thinking of getting the material together and going to some shop.

The dealer quoted me $200-$250 for a simple oil change. I have Service B due soon and they said $700 for that! I am thinking just change the oil and reset the meter and be done with that.

J__

is this the right filter for c250? I clicked your link and amazon says it will not fit 2012 C250?

Domm

Amazon states this fits the C250:

J__

i saw that one, is it oem? anyone have experience with wix? no where does it say it's fleece medium though.

does the 2011 C250 use the same filter as the 2012?

Domm

I believe Mann+Hummel is OEM. I have no experience with Wix, but OEM is your best bet at quality parts for your vehicle.

Glyn M Ruck

Please only use a fleece filter by Mann + Hummel. It is available in their own box. MB Genuine packaging or repacked for Bosch & K&N. This is what it looks like.

MBtech1098

This is not the correct filter for the M271 EVO. The engine also takes only about 5.5 liters. The factory M271 filter is a non fleece for the M271.

J__

correct me if wrong, but is this the proper one?


amazon says it does not fit but sites in europe and australia is listing it to be the one for 2012 C180, c200, c250 cgi blue efficiency. Mann model HU514x

MBtech1098

Yes, that looks correct.

Glyn M Ruck

I'm well aware of that. I was just showing what the blown polyester looks like. The filter shown is for V6.
In SA we have fleece filters available for M271 EVO and all previous M271. Only US dumped M271 fleece for paper on pre EVO ~ real dumb!

Indeed the capacity is 5.8 US qts. Not bad by today's standards for a 4 banger. Yes ~ on a turbo engine I might have increased that.

MBtech1098

You are correct, other markets use a fleece filter in the M271 and the US does not. That said, I have yet to see a M271 engine failure attributed to oil quality when services are performed at reccomended intervals.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes - on reflection I'm sorry I might have inadvertently caused confusion. I merely wanted to show what the fleece material looked like vs paper. I prefer the fleece filter knowing it's capabilities but in fairness US has reduced drain interval to 10K from 13K. It still confounds me that the fleece filter was withdrawn from the US market for M271.

Sportstick

I suspect the following MB logic:

- Material cost reduction for non-fleece filter in original production
- Need to have replacement part match original filter
- Shift cost to owner by reducing oil change cycle to 10,000 miles
- Maintain parts replacement price from fleece to non-fleece for margin improvement

kevink2

Flashing back a few months, you had compared how the valvetrain looked dark with some normal Mobil-1 vs Royal Purple. As Sportstick implied then, color is not an indicator of bad oil, but sludge is, among other things.

There is no "normal" Mobil1. The most popular / best selling Mobil1 is likely 5W-30 or another XW-30 oil, and those Mobil1's don't pass the MB 229.5 spec and the related ACEA A3 spec.

.

kevink2

How does 10K change-cycles shift cost to owner?

The non-fleese filter could be a "high milage" synthetic fiber blend filter media, like from Mobil1:

Mobil1 high milage filter media

.

Sportstick

My understanding was that the oil change cycle was reduced from 13,000 miles to 10,000 miles, so the cost of the oil change is incurred more often...to apparently compensate for the differential in capability from fleece to non-fleece filters. Yes, the non-fleece filter could have some unadvertised special qualities, but changing the OE filter type and reducing the oil change cycle seemed contemporaneous, which makes one suspicious. Unless, I misunderstood Glyn's posts, I think the logic holds?