Mr. Toad

Looking through the list of "services" performed during scheduled maintenance, a number of these items seem awfully simple and user-friendly to be paying for. Must I pay the (exorbitant) full service rates to avoid invalidation of the warranty, or may I perform the visual inspections (e.g., tire wear, light bulbs, etc.) myself and pay the dealer only for actual service items, such as oil/filter change?

konigstiger

See attachment, A & B alternate through years.

Mr. Toad

Thank you for your response, konigstiger. I understand that the list of items alternates depending on whether the car is due for service A or B, but that isn't my question. I'm trying to determine whether the owner can do some of these things him/herself without voiding the warranty. Must I pay the dealer to do all of these things, even the simple ones like "check tire pressure", "check coolant level", etc.?

konigstiger

IMHO following required services may have an effect if directly related malfunction issue should arise under factory warranty. Each can be DIY, or performed by independent or dealer.

Engine oil/filter
Brake fluid
Transmission fluid/filter

Mr. Toad

I don't have the equipment or the time to do these types of things and have no problem paying the dealer to do them. I just object to paying (a ridiculous amount of money) to have them check my horn, lights, coolant and brake fluid levels, etc.

Flash Gordon

Oil/filter, brake fluid change can be done by any competent shop, and it won't invalidate the warranty. However, as for tranny fluid change, I would go to the dealer.

Mr. Toad

If I have the dealer do only the actual "work" (e.g., fluid changes, brakes, etc.), do I have to prove that I did the stuff like coolant level checks, tire tread, light bulbs, etc.? And if so, how do I prove it?

konigstiger

No.

ruffrob

+1

For simple check stuff ,you shouldn't have to consult a dealer to look at your tires.......Common sense is extremely helpful in matters like this...

Mr. Toad

I agree; I think it's absurd to pay them hundreds of dollars for such simple, easy checks. I'm just wondering what I can expect them to say when I call to schedule an oil change without things like a horn and lightbulb check.

pca7ggr

Here's a nice YouTube video that gives a good explanation of what is involved in both the "A" and "B" service:


Being retired, worked at an independent Porsche repair/restoration shop for a few years and having a QuickJack, doing this service is fairly straight forward. And in the past, that what I've done.

But since my MB ELW expires next month, I've scheduled a service wit my local MB dealerships that they can do the various checks, plug into their diagnostics and address anything that the warranty will pay for.

The car only has 29K miles but its worth the peace of mind. I'd hate to to discover something out of whack that would have been covered by the ELW. $100 coupon also helps.

ruffrob

I get my oil changed from Meineike and buy the oil and filter from Walmart. Total :$60

Mr. Toad

It is unfathomable to me that what's shown in this video costs hundreds of dollars. I was past the 4-minute mark before I saw anything I'd even consider paying someone else to do.

And the only difference between A and B is spraying lubricant on hinges and checking the spare tire pressure (and do they really only check that pressure once every two years)?

2150john

I have always thought the A and B services are ridiculously priced. This is my third MB and I early on started doing the oll changes myself. I also put new brake pads and rotors on my MY 2008 CLK350 cab. The synthetic oil and the correct filter are more expensive as are the correct air and cabin filter. I still have saved a lot of money DIY. Of course I am retired, have time to do it, and like to do mechanical work. I have an MGB as a hobby car.

Mr. Toad

John, do you have any work done by your dealer, and if so, how do you respond when they say that their records indicate that your "A" or "B" service hasn't been performed?

This is the question that I can't seem to get an answer to - if I bring my car in when the next A or B is due and I tell them that I only want them to do the oil/filter change because I monitor things like tire pressure, lights, etc., myself, how will they respond? Is this fairly common, or does the dealer assume that all MB owners are going to pay hundreds of dollars for them to check all this miscellaneous nonsense?

400ixl

It is a bit country specific.

I assume we are talking about a car under the manufacturers 3 year warranty from new here?

In the UK for example, whilst the car is under manufacturers warranty you must have it serviced to schedule using OEM equivalent parts. Now, this does not need to be the main dealer, it can be an independent, but they must follow the full schedule and use the correctly rated parts. You cannot do parts yourself and only have a garage do parts and expect to have the warranty maintained for the parts you do not get done by a registered garage.You also have to have the paintwork inspected by a Mercedes dealer if you want to maintain that part of the warranty as well.

It is unlikely in the UK a dealer would agree to only do a partial service, an independent may well be more likely. We have specialists in the UK who have access to the Mercedes systems, so they can do the service and keep the online record for the car up to date as well, maintaining the warranty, at usually around half the price of the main dealer.

Once outside of the Mercedes warranty you can do what you like, no need to use a garage at all. But the may affect the sale ability or value of the vehicle in the future.

Not sure what the policy is in the US, but doing it yourself is most likely to invalidate the manufacturers warranty, but maybe the specialist independent is an option to get it done at a cheaper rate.

2150john

​​​​​​

I really can;t answer the question.

I never had reason to have any warranty work done. I did have some work done out of warranty on the SRS (air bag) on the passenger sideof my 2008 CLK cab. It turned out to be a faulty connector under the seat. The charge was around a thousand dollars to replace the connectors for all the air bags and reprogram the CAN bus. What a rip off that was since the original connectors were of such poor quality that they fell aprot.

But I always reset the service indicator. No one at the dealership ever mentioned A or B service being deficient.

My current vehicle just went out of the 3 year warranty but I have had no problems with it other than routine maintenance which I do.

Mr. Toad

So your original factory warranty just expired and you never had any of the scheduled maintenance (i.e., A and B) performed by the dealer during the warranty period?

2150john

Pretty much. I bought the car with 8 - 10K miles on it. It was due for a B service when I bought it. As part of the deal the dealership did the upcoming B service at no charge.. That is the last time it has been in a dealership. It now has about 35K miles on it but has just passed the three year mark. It has a lot of options on it and my wife loves it so will likely have it for quite a while more.

Mr. Toad

I just came from my local dealer, where I spoke with a different (and much better) Service Advisor than before. He said there would be no problem with me doing the relatively simple things like air filters, tire pressure, fluid levels, etc., with them just doing the oil changes, brake flushes, etc. He inferred that the Service A and B program is aimed primarily at rich people who never open the hoods of their cars and just want to hand somebody the key and say "check everything and fix whatever doesn't work, so I don't have to think about it."