zibby43

7/18/14 UPDATE:

My "Service A" was due today (unbeknownst to me at the time I made this thread) so the whole 1.5-2 quarts of 5w-30 issue is now a moot point. The dealer changed the oil and filter today. The car passed all inspection points with flying colors.

The dealer gave me my choice between Mobil 1 Synthetic 0w-40 and Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w-40 and recommended that I choose the 5w-40 (Formula M) to to keep the lifters happy.

As stated by others on this board/in this thread, although 0w-40 is still an approved option, MB now recommends 5w-40.

Original Post:

I know the oil topic has been beaten to death. Furthermore, I have conducted several searches. Most of the oil discussion has centered on 0w-40 vs. 5w-40. I found the updated list of approved oil for the M156/C63.

My question is a little different, as it does not pertain to an actual oil change.

Yesterday, a message came up telling me to check the engine oil at my next refueling.

I suspected that the car was merely a quart or two low on oil. Thus, I went to my local Mercedes-Benz dealer to have the motor's oil topped off as I was only minutes away at the time.

The only oil that they had in stock was 5w-30. They technician carefully and methodically alternated between checking the oil level and adding oil until the measurement/reading was satisfactory.

My question is this: Will a quart or two of 5w-30 cause me any problems?

Additional information: The car has roughly 4,000 miles and I plan on paying for my own oil change sometime around 5-6,000 miles. For the oil change, I will request 5w-40 oil that meets the required specification(s).

Many thanks in advance.

Ingenieur

I can't believe the dealer did not have the proper oil and put the wrong spec in
Should have went to a parts store and bought Mobil 1 0-40
Having said that, probably not an issue til the next change
How much did he put in?
2 qts low is very low

zibby43

Nearly 2 quarts. Judging by the research I just conducted, it looks like this particular 5w-30, while not necessarily recommended, is approved.

Car is running fine. Also, no leaks whatsoever.

Thanks for the response. I realize that a mere 1.5-2 quarts of 5w-30 will likely make no impact whatsoever. Whether I pay for the oil change or do it myself, 5w-40 will be used for that endeavor.

Critter

First I cannot believe that the dealership would put 0-30w into your car. If anything as the car burns oil of the 0w-40 or 5w-40 variety then it will burn the 0w-30 at a faster rate. Neither of our cars burns any where that amount during the 5K the oil is used. Do you run a catch can, if not it would be interesting to see how much oil consumption is thru the intake manifold.

zibby43

They used 5w-30.

And no, I'm not running any sort of a catch can.

It wasn't that low, fortunately. As I said, only about 1.5-2 quarts low. I've logged almost exclusively city miles (very little highway). Car runs like a dream.

The more I read, it seems that there isn't that big of a difference between 5w-30 and 5w-40. I mean, we're talking about viscosity at this point. And there isn't that much 5w-30 in there now.

zibby43

I should add that as far as I know, the 5w-30 used was a 229.5 approved oil. For the C63, I know that 229.5 and 229.51 are the magic "approval" numbers.

I guess I sort of answered my own question at this point.

I suppose I'm just wondering if anyone else has "topped off" with 5w-30 at some point and if so, whether any differences in temperature/performance were observed.

Ingenieur

You have 5W38 now lol
1.5 to 2 qts in 4000 miles is pretty high consumption
It is during break-in though, should taper off
Mine used less than 1.5 in a 7400 mile/11 month change interval
14k to >21k miles
1qt per 5000 miles, I'm good with that

zibby43

Haha! Thanks for the reply. Appreciate it.

The manual says the car will burn 0.8 L per 1000 km.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...refueling.html

Ingenieur

Most are spec'ed about 1 qt/600 miles
But few use that much
My M3, RS4, Porsche all used that spec
Seems high but I guess not

zibby43

My mind is completely at ease now.

Upon extensive reading (and after contacting Mobil 1), it appears that there are 5w-30 offerings that are approved for the C63 AMG.

0w-40 used to be the recommended oil and now 5w-40 is preferred.

However, whenever I have to top off again in the future, I'll just get my own 5w-40 (for extra peace of mind). Also, for my oil change, I will insist upon 5w-40.

JRHolt

Page 351 of the 2013 C Class Sedan Operators Manual states: That being said, using one or two quarts of 5w-30 until your next oil change will not hurt anything

zibby43

Appreciate it!

Conv_GSDriver

I agree with this, the dealer should have gone to a local/nearby part store and get the apppropriate oil. Are they that hard on spending out of pocket that they are willing to do that with other than what the manual recommends. Did they actually log that in, as in your vehicle maintenance history that they added this spec? I don't think anything will happen really, but you never know, to cover your ***.

zibby43

Apparently, there are 5w-30 oils that meet the required MB specifications.

Just to be on the safe side though, I will insist on 5w-40 in the future (or buy it and pour it myself). Right now, 7 of the roughly 9 quarts are 5w-40 (or 0w-40, whatever they put in at the factory) . . . and that ain't bad.

whoover

No reason to panic, but there are no 5W-30 oils that are approved.

Look at footnote 2:
http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/spec_223_2.pdf

There's even an exclamation point.

zibby43

There appears to be a lot of conflicting information out there.

Check out MB part # 000-989-83-01 which corresponds to Mercedes Benz 5W30 229.5 synthetic.

Here is the actual product, which is labeled with 229.5 specification: http://allworldautomotive.com/auto_p..._ots37854.html

And it is listed again here: http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevoli...hbegriff=229.5

Apparently more and more dealers have been switching to 5w-30. It seems as if certain 5w-30 oils have been approved as recently as the past 6 months.

whoover

No conflict. There are 5W-30 oils listed in 229.5. But they can't be used in an M156 engine. They're approved for engines that they're approved for. But ours is not one of them. The document I linked is clear. Any engine that has a dot in the 229.5 column without footnote 2 can use it. If it has the footnote, anything but 0W-40 or 5W-40 is verboten.

Mort

The above is correct.

I ran into the same problem when my car was low on oil at 5000 km but before the add oil warning came up. I decided to add some and went to the dealer and all they had was 5W30 Mobil 1. I called MB Canada and asked them and mentioned the requirement to use only 0W40 or 5W40. They said 5W30 was fine and to go ahead and use it. I would never expect them to back me up in court, if it came to it, but they knew what I was using it for. I added 1.5 L as well and it made no difference in the operation of the car and I changed my oil & filter at ~6500km. I think your engine will be fine. I have not added a drop since but I do my oil changes once a year and only drive about 5000 km a year.

Ingenieur

229.5 is a performance spec
It applies to various grades or weights: 5W30, 0W40, etc
The M156 requires 0W40 or 5W40 weight
But mixing some 5W30 of the same spec for a short duration will not be an issue

zibby43

So basically, it is all riding on the footnote? I agree that this document is clear.

All I'm saying is that the footnote document was updated in January 2014, whereas the second document I posted was updated a few weeks ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next time the first document is updated, that footnote is changed.

Regardless, I thoroughly appreciate all of your help.

zibby43

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Sounds like your experience was very similar.

Ingenieur

both documents are valid and current
the 5W30 is 229.5 approved
the 229.5 spec was updated because a new oil brand was added
but when looking at the vehicle type sheet 223.2 the footnote is valid also (0W40 or 5W40 only)
if it changed it would have been updated, the current is 1/2014, and still in effect
but again, no issue


http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/Spec_223_2.pdf

zibby43

An excellent summary.

I am all for using 0w-40 or 5w-40, and will make sure the latter is used for my oil change. I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to schedule an early change because of 1.5-2 quarts of 229.5 spec 5w-30.

I mean, it meets spec but my understanding is that it is a little thinner in hot conditions, compared to the 5w-40.

chris135b

Hi all,


For what it is worth, here is what my dealer uses for me on the M156:






This is the oil Mobil 1 made exclusively for Mercedes: note the Formula M (M = Mercedes). I got this at my A service. But for the changes in between at 1875 (changed oil at Diff Oil change) and 5000, I used the European Car Formula 0W40.


-C

whoover

That same footnote is called out even more explicitly in the maintenance booklet. It's on page 7 of mine. I don't fault you for missing it, but the dealer really should know better. If it were me, they'd hear about it.