Acta_Non_Verba

If it were my car, I would just request the normal service oil change. After service I would drive home and check the oil level. But, by the time you make it home and with normal op temps, if you're overfilled the dash warning with tell you that. I would also check using the tank dipstick, but that needs to be done a couple of minutes after shutdown or the level changes and the reading will be inaccurate.

I'm not trying to impugn the expertise/integrity of any tech anywhere, just curious if it is routine to short the WIS process as it is impractical to exercise all the steps in a busy shop and they're all busy. The only "if" in all of this - If the shop has had returns in the past BC of overfill, then they learn to only put in 6.4 qts on the refill instead of 7.4. But, that still means you've had an oil change that the entire contents of old oil was not completely drained, with one quart of old oil now blended in with the fresh oil.

57 GTR

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

57 GTR

Acta_Non_Verba: Went to the dealer yesterday and I was 1 hour late due to some difficulties at home...I arrived and it was like no big deal, I decided to get the A service. My tech John (AMG tech) has been with the dealership since opening 4/2016. Once the car was pulled in and on the lift the tech came in the waiting room to ask if I wanted to check things out since I told him it was my first MB...He gushed about the R and told me how much he thought about them. I got to look under the car from front to back and it was as clean as the top,lol....Some oil was still draining from the oil tank and it looked new, I don't know when it was last changed but I am glad I know its now got fresh oil and a filter of course. He then drained the pan and replaced copper washer on that plug,oil tank got a new plug in which he told me ALWAYS get a new one if I plan to do them myself. I know they filled the car with 5W-40 from a oil/nozzle /gun. I did not ask how much was put in but my invoice states 7 and I forgot to ask if it was liters or qts....I have to assume liters as the manual states 7.4 US qts which equals 7L.
Once the oil was in he told me they run it up to temp 212 and in C mode at idle, so not to worry if I hear it rev a little....He told me to not wait more than 2 minutes before checking on oil dipstick and oil should be about 3/4s between min and max.. NO oil overfill notice on the way home and when I got home I checked it again per the manual/tech and it showed level about 3/4s up between min and max.
Kevin
PS MY tech basically followed this video posted by the Cutter64 in this thread....Thanks cutter!!!

Hendrik Koster

If you have the educated background, years of practical experience, lifts, tools, MB SDS, yes you can do as well or better than a qualified tech at a reputable dealer / understood that doing your own Coronary is impossible!

My experience with provided services is that many a times I have to make small or large corrections to what has been done, paid for services are subject to the amount of time and cost involved in each project.

I consider myself old school after owning about 15 different Porsches and MB's over the years (many from the time period when there was a DBII port to hook up a diagnostic device) and in the past I have worked in different countries where you simply didn't have the right service providers available, so if you wanted to drive a Porsche, Jag or MB you DIY or forget about it!

With the experience behind me to have an engine replaced, removing and draining the oil tank and engine filter myself I can tell you that 6.4 qrts is the max amount that should be put in and this which will get you to the top of your dip stick when the engine is warmed up.

Best H

kck77

The extra oil after an oil change is due to the dry sump oil system... when the tech drains the oil, a lot of the time they forgot their is still a quart of oil in the dry sump oil reservoir. It’s a pretty well known issue, and you simply go back to the dealer. I mention it to the SA and he puts a note on the work order to remind the tech.

Acta_Non_Verba

The first oil change I did on my GT I followed WIS procedure to the letter. The oil fill was 7L (7.4qts). I know it took 7L because I filled it myself.

The reason a quart of oil is left in the system is BC the tech is not following the procedure to the letter. The step(s) being missed are either warming up the oil to 100*C and/or pulling the tank plug within 3 minutes of engine shutoff. The oil cooler and lines will drain into the tank if the plug is pulled within 3 minutes, after that a tstat closes and traps the oil in resulting in overfills as many have discovered.

I've suggested in the past, these steps are a challenge to follow in a busy shop. I believe they pull the car in cold, pull the tank plug, then the engine plug, change the filter and fill with oil. If they follow the fill spec they'll be 1qt over.

It's the part circled in blue most likely missed, and possibly along with the steps marked with the first two red arrows. Note: in the first instruction, it takes the oil temp to be 100*C TO OPEN THE OIL COOLER TSTAT. Once the engine is shut down and after 3 mins, the Tstat closes and WILL trap approx 1qt. of oil that will not drain.

I want ALL 7L of old oil drained, not 6L, so I follow these steps:

Hendrik Koster

I stand corrected that's what I did as in my case I didn't want to hold on to a hot oil tank,

So the correct information is 7L

Thanks

Acta_Non_Verba

The correct fill is 7L...unless the one doing the oil change is "shorting" the process, or doesn't understand it.

MalibuScott

My dealer overfilled my 2018 coupe every time I brought it in for service. (Three times.) Does someone have a printed or printable copy of what the service person is supposed to do so that I can bring it in and ask the SA that my 2020 GTA have the oil changed properly? The oil change date is fast approaching.

57 GTR

Acta,
My tech printed out a 3 page copy of their instructions, I never asked. The 2nd page is what you displayed in your above reply... He let me watch to show how those instructions were followed. I called back to find out it was indeed 7L and not 7 qts... of oil fill....Back at home with oil at temp I followed the 30 sec in C mode and idle, shut it down and oil level was 3/4 on stick between min/max.

Scott, DM me your phone # and I will have my wifey take pics of the 3 pages and get them to you...I have a flip-phone,lol..Kevin

Acta_Non_Verba

57
In earlier posts, this was the reason we had an exchange about what to ask your tech before he began the work. Or, to wait afterwards to see what procedure he actually followed. This thread is now 36 posts long and I believe some are finally getting it that the correct oil change takes 7L (7.4qts) and NOT 6.4qts. A 6.4qt fill, or a 7.4qt OVERFILL means the tech did not follow the WIS instructions.

BTW, you're not needing to check the oil level with the dipstick within 30 seconds of shutdown. You actually have a little more time than that - 2 mins - per the WIS AND you'll see this 2 min instruction in your owner's manual as well.




BTW - The video in your post #28 correctly states @ .052, that after you shut the engine down you have 3 MINS to pull the drain plug on the tank, and if anyone has actually done this you realize just how difficult it is to perform and why I think so many shops (busy shops) just short it.

THIS is the big miss for those thinking it is normal to leave 1qt of old oil in the system on an oil change! After 3 mins, the tstat to the oil cooler closes trapping about 1 qt of oil in.

Acta_Non_Verba

Let me leave one last post here on the topic of oil change on the 4.0L platforms. MB advertises the GT series and many owners use these cars on the track. This creates a "severe use" condition. The steps in the WIS to change the oil are cumbersome and difficult to perform but necessary. Leaving 1 qt, of dirty old oil, 14% of the entire capacity, is hardly a good oil change for a track car.

Unless you've actually done the steps and tried them, it is difficult to realize what ANY shop goes through to accomplish a correct oil change. If I were a tech in a MB dealer, I would request an 8 foot step ladder to do an oil change on a GT. Getting the oil up to 100*C idling the trans in neutral for 30 sec, shutting the engine off, then finding yourself under the car pulling the tank plug within 3 minutes is quite a feat on a lift. It means you probably had the car on the lift, raised with the engine running (to get the 100*C), then somehow you have to be up that high to shut the engine off then back on the ground in less than 3 minutes - thus the request for the ladder.

If you tried running the engine on the ground, shutting down, then raising the car up to a working height, getting the correct tools and drain pan in place, you'll consume most if not all of the 3 minutes needed before the tstat closes trapping the one quart of old dirty oil in the system. This is one of the reasons it is so common to find the oil overfilled or the tech knows in advance he is not following the process but smart enough to only put in 6.4 qts.

I"ll wager if I took a poll in all MB dealerships that a large % of techs wouldn't know the detailed process on this platform. The average tech who has been doing oil changes for the last 10 years, is reluctant to "learn" how to change oil on a new platform, more likely concluding - "It's just another car. Pull into the bay, raise the car, pull the drain plug" and why owners are finding it common to be overfilled.

The advantage here - owners understanding the process can now discuss this with the service writer. I'd have a copy of the WIS I published earlier and review it with him/her, and that your expectations are that the tech will follow it especially if you track yours.

OK...Done....