Nickerz

I reached my 1,000 miles last week and was wondering what exactly is suppose to be done to the C55 between the 1,000 - 3,000 mile mark?

I thought we got a full service, including an oil change.? However, when I visited my dealer, the "head guy" in the service dept. told me, "it's really just a PR thing, nothing is really done and you don't get an oil change until 13,000 miles." He didn't even bother making an appointment for this either! He just brushed me off and I was pretty irritated by it. But before I get upset with his supervisor, I want to make sure I know what I'm talking about

Anyone know for sure?

Nick

rguy

AMGs actually get nothing. Go figure, huh? What we get is no first service: hi, how are you, and oil changes every 10k miles....not 13k. AMG engines need new oil more often. Probably defends against high performance driving and more rapid oil consumption.

It is just a PR thing though. I think your head guy was just a little more honest with you than mercedes would prefer. You can either thank him for his candor, or ***** that he showed you the rotting support structure under the glossy veneer of the mercedes experience.

Your choice.

BlackC230Coupe

I didn't even bother bringing my car in for the 1k service. I knew they would not do anything anyway besides fingermark my car anyway. :p

djx18

They check fluid levels and other bull****. I took mine in for the 1000 checkup and also told them about a noise i heard thinking it was nothing. But i ended up waiting a month to get my car back. The shock strut (front left side) was stripped. 1 month for new part! I have an entire post about it...

Nickerz

Thanks guys for the feed back!

So should I just wait to get the oil changed @ the 10K mile period or do any of you change it earlier?

BlackC230Coupe

Its a very questionable subject. Some people think 10k is to long to wait. Some think its fine. I myself will just do it at 10k or whenever my car tells me to have a service.

more151please

I had my car done at around 1100 miles, not i have roughly 2200, they told me that all i was having done was a diagnostic to make sure the car was in proper working order, in addition to fluids... Though for some reason the car never came with window washer fluid, not did they fill it at that point... Hope that helps, oh and everyone is right about the OIL at 10-13K miles...personally im doing mine at 10K.

rguy

If you guys who own c55's check, then you should find that your distance to service A is based on a 10k interval. There really is no option to change oil at 13k. I just want it made clear that mercedes won't take kindly to 13k oil changes when it comes to warranty issues. They require the c55 amg to be changed no more than every 10k miles. Personally, I think the oil sludging problem doesn't really apply to this engine and oil combo at 10k changes, but tradition says 7k is about the right number for a synthetic of the caliber of Mobil 1 SuperSyn. Additives are bogus by the way. With this type of engine, they are more likely to screw it up than help. Don't buy all that liquid ball bearings crap.

rguy

Bottom line, if you own your vehicle or are planning to keep it off-lease, then change it every 7k miles and do it yourself. Even doing it yourself at 7k miles, you will end up saving a bundle over the life of the car versus going to the dealership. Most Jiffy Lubes will take your used oil and recycle it for free.

Chappy

If you plan on keeping the car, change it more often than what FSS says. I changed mine at:

1,500
5,000
10,000
15,000

.....every five is what I'm going for (after the inital change at 1500). I pay for the changes in between what MB covers.

saturnstyl

The complimentary first siervice includes a visual inspection of the vehicle, a check of any fault codes, and check of tire pressures etc... No parts are changed unless something is wrong. The customer is aquainted with the service dept, and is given opportunity to address any questions he has or problems he may percieve. I think it really helps, because in all the excitement of having a new car, most folks forget to ask questions. You will always find new things to ask about once you have had it for a short time as well.
Afterwards you are given a complimentary tire rotation, which doesn't apply to the staggered tire sized cars. From then on, all the maintenance is the customer's responsibility.
I change my oil every 3K. I hate rebuilding engines, its messy....

05C55

I have issues. I thought the oil would get changed out? SHould I do that anyway? COuldn't hurt. I have two arranty items, the seat back and the drear decklid rattle that need some duct tape and glue, I mean some professional attention.

saturnstyl

They won't change the oil, but if it makes you feel better I wouldn't hesitate to have it done. Sometimes peace of mind is easily worth $100.00, I get to change my oil frequently because it doesn't cost me anything. Usually somebody can dig up an oil filter for me, and I just call for bulk oil that won't be missed . We use the Mobil 1 0w40 that benz recommends.
Enjoy your new car!

neoprufrok

I change my own oil on my cars, but am weary of trying on the C55 - I too would like to change every 5k regardless of what the dealer says. Is it a fairly straight forward oil change? Or does it require special tools to do the job? And can we get oil filters from somewhere?

saturnstyl

You can always buy your filters from the dealer. They will have the correct fleece style filters for your car, all others are incorrect and may cause warranty issues should something crop up....
Oil change is very straight forward, and if you get one of those big vacuum sucker thingys you don't even need to lift the car. I use it almost exclusively now at work, because I don't like lifting the car and taking off all the panelling just to change the oil. Just run the tube down the dipstick hole till it hits bottom and suck all the oil out. It actually does a better job than the drain plug does IMHO.
Make sure you have the correct socket for the oil filter housing! You can pick it up at the dealer too if you need to. I usually encourage people to take their cars in for everything, but for a .4 oil change it aint worth it for most techs...... I would rather do almost anything than a lousy straight oil change or tire rotation

Carbon9

You have a 55 motor compared to my 320 but the FSS is designed for taking all that and more into consideration. If you are wondering, go ahead and do a UOA (used oil analysis) that will tell you how the oil is doing. I have seen a factory fill done at 5k with 5k to go still on the oil.

It won't hurt, and the benefits are? but if it gives peace of mind okay, do it. Europeans are into long OCI's and the oils are designed for a long drain interval. The filter is excellent for long drain and is designed for that.

In my opinion, just drive and enjoy. That's what it is about.

cntlaw

All my previous owned cars were serviced by my school friend who has 20+ experience of repair works on BMW and MB.

5000km is what he recommended for every oil change , filters change.
First oil change is always treating the engine well because he said many "substances" will come off from a new engine.
Mobile No.1 is the best oil for breakin the engine because for some reasons it has the best engine cleansing effect.

My friend once introduced me a very good oil for my W210 E320 where I could immediately feel increase torque at very low rev. Guess I would ask him to let the C55 tries it .....and I will tell you which oil is that by then.

I have no idea about whether AMG engine burns oil quicker. If it does, guess we should only add oil and not to change the oil before 5000km.

I guess logical thinking, if we think we drive hard , there will be more quicker the new engine substances come off , so the first oil change seems reasonable to be a bit earlier. Or if we feel the engine is not breakin well as expected , it is also time to change the oil. I remember , every time after I did oil change with a new car, the engine noise is reduced.

Driving in dusty areas, I guess we should change the air filters earlier.

Just my thoughts, not much of scientific proof that I know.

cnt