Dirty oil after dealer service
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 31
Likes: 3
C43
Dirty oil after dealer service
Hi everyone, last year after my C43’s first service at 12000km, I noticed that when I checked the oil after only about 150km the oil was already dark brown. I did not check immediately after the service so I did not go back to the dealer but I found it quite odd. A friend with a c43 had an oil change a few weeks later and after having been driven 400km the oil was still yellow/Amber in color. It’s been bothering me and am now coming up to my second service, so thought I’d see what your experiences have been? It seems like the dealer rushed and did not fully remove all the oil at the last change. I’ve worked on Honda’s and have never seen such dirty oil so soon after a change but of course are very different engines.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Junior Member
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 19
Likes: 6
2018 AMG C43
I agree. Oil shouldn't be brown after such a short distance. I'd take it back and show them before you put on too many miles that they claim it's normal. It may be an innocent mistake but either way, they have to fix it.
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 38
Likes: 10
2016 C300
Your oil should look very close to new with that little of mileage on it.
My dealership has a TV screen in the waiting area that shows the service area. They know they are being watched so I think there is little chance they would not change the oil on purpose. On these engines the oil is vacuumed out of the oil dipstick tube. It is possible they did not get the tube all the way to the bottom of the pan. It isn't really an excuse because they should realize it did not take enough oil when the refill it. Possibly it was not changed due to some miscommunication. Next time I would (and have your friend) check the oil on the spot, after the oil change, and call them out if it isn't right.
My dealership has a TV screen in the waiting area that shows the service area. They know they are being watched so I think there is little chance they would not change the oil on purpose. On these engines the oil is vacuumed out of the oil dipstick tube. It is possible they did not get the tube all the way to the bottom of the pan. It isn't really an excuse because they should realize it did not take enough oil when the refill it. Possibly it was not changed due to some miscommunication. Next time I would (and have your friend) check the oil on the spot, after the oil change, and call them out if it isn't right.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 31
Likes: 3
C43
Thanks for the replies! Will definitely check it right away after the next oil change. I can only assume the new MB oil would be pretty bright yellow like all the others I’ve seen over the years. Glad I extracted and put in 5L of Mobil 1 myself Half way through this interval.
