hokimon25

I have about 3k miles and had to already add oil. Oil light came on and said to add quart on next gas fill up..... supposedly rings not broken in yet and eating up oil? anyone else have that issue????

chenry

about the same mileage as you..no warning yet but now I'm going to have to go and check later today

CE750

two possibilities..

1. it came from the factory a bit low, and as it burned oil (normal during break-in) it dipped below the min..

2. you drove it like crap the first 1000 or so miles, and it didn't seat the rings well.. (lets hope that isn't the case).

BudC

If your car has a dipstick, check the oil level before and after adding oil. Then continue to monitor the oil level.

This isn't normal for most of the new 4-valve V6's although I've heard that some people have had this problem.

This engine is basically the same engine as the previous M112 V6. What's different is the heads so there may be a problem with some valve guides/seals.

I have no inside Info but if it continues to use excessive oil, I would recommend that you insist that it gets fixed. They may tell you that it's within acceptable limits (set by Mercedes) but that's just a cop out. My E320 hardly used a quart of oil in 8,000 miles.

MB Fanatic

I would say that a quart is quite normal about every 1K miles during break in. However, I do not have such a problem on my E350 as I am a little over 10K miles now.

BudC

I suppose it depends on how the break in is performed but the last car I've owned that used anything but the minimum amount of oil was a big block GMC Suburban that had bad valve seals when I got it.

I took my 2004 E320 on a 4,800 mile vacation when it had only 200 miles at the start. Nearly 8,000 miles later I doubt it had used much more than a quart.

CE750

btw... what does everyone think about break in procedures? Please don't mindlessly quote the MB manual either, give me your logic..

Do you, baby the motor for the first 1000 miles as MB says?
or
Do you drive it hard the first 200 miles and allow the rings to seat that way?
Here is a link to that view point:Break-In

I did the former, as MB and 90% of all other car makers recommend.. I also did a method where you drive it in high gear and low RPM with high load, such as up a hill for a few miles which supposedly leads to better seals..

BudC

I simply follow the recommended guidelines governing RPM. With the E320, it was easy. On the first day I drove to Vegas and avoided using the passing gear and drove at reasonable speeds. The second day I drove a bit faster but still avoided using the passing gear. Once I got a couple thousand miles on the engine I just drove it the way I always do. I didn't baby the car but I never abuse my cars either.

I think breaking the car in on Interstates is perfect so long as you don't drive at the same speeds all the time.

I would never follow the advice of old shade tree mechanics who recommend weird procedures. Just follow Mercedes guidelines and you won't have a problem.

HELL ONA HARLEY

I agree with you bud..... I've broke-in many motorcycle (air-cooled) engines using this rule and have never had a problem... To be honest, This Mercedes (my first) was the first car I have ever (persay) broke-in.... I've always just drove them and never gave it a second thought.... and never had any problems.

On a side note..... With 22,000 miles on the clock with my MB, I've NEVER added a single drop of oil in my ride... and of coarse this is following MB break-in and oil change guidelines.

MB-JIM

I believe that the key elements of the factory recommendations are that you shouldn't lug the engine or accelerate rapidly such as flooring it. I was told at the factory that some of the cars are driven on their test track at speeds over 100 mph right out of the factory. Avoding maximum revs and downshifting to slow down seem to be two of the key elements to a proper break in. I was told that 85 mph on the autobahn was no problem as long as I didn't floor it to get up to speed.

csumt76

next time you are on the highway, like a decent little road trip possibly 30 minutes to 1 hour, drop it into fifth gear and try to keep the rpm's around 3500 at hwy speed. thats it.

CE750

I think the temp of the engine is also a critical factor many forget. My wife, God bless her heart is always driving off in the Volvo at high RPM while it's just started and is cold.. That makes me cringe, and if I know she's driving the MB, I'll start the engine 5 minutes before so it has time to warm up... I still would like the transmission to warm up, but I can't control that with her!

I think the key to a good break-in and long term after break-in to a good engine is waiting for good operating temp before you drive it hard (or even moderately hard)..

cdiken

I felt guilty at the time for not offering that turd the "factory recommended" break in....

But according to the "drive it hard" break in proceedure I suppose it got the best break in possible