Long Islander

I'm going to have an independent shop do my annual maintenance this year, so I checked my manual to see what the recommended oil is. Unfortunately, it just tells me to visit my authorized Mercedes dealer to find out what oils are approved.

Is there a list of approved oils brands and viscosities for an E350?

Thanks.

P.S., I checked my prior year M-B dealer invoices to figure out the oil type, and all it says is "Mobil 1 ESP" followed by an M-B part no. (Q-1-09-0135) .

homeofstone

try this http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.5_en.html or here is another list http://www.nexttechnology.us/mb/oil.html

Long Islander

So, it looks like Mobil 1 0W-40 , 0W-30, 5W-30 and 5W-40 are all approved. Does anyone know which one is the factory fill and which one the dealers stock?

AMGAffalterbach

It would be best calling and asking your dealership, just talk to a technician. Heck, if there are no Mercedes dealers in your area that are willing to help just call Mercedes Benz of Littleton in Colorado they just answered a host of question I had about my oil upon bringing the car in from California just ask for a technician.

Long Islander

Dealer said they use only 5W-40.

ozusa

I think it is for three reasons:
1) It doesn't get quite cold enough to need 0w
2) It is easier for them to source and may be cheaper than 0w
3) Most owners don't insist on 0w

AMGAffalterbach

You're probably correct, I checked with my dealer and they sure 5w-40 in the cars that they service.

Long Islander

I found a good deal at Advance Auto Parts for 5W-40, but it says "Turbo Diesel Truck Motor Oil." See link:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...m=mobil+1+5w40

Is this the same as what the MB dealers use? I can't imagine this is anything more than packaging. Any thoughts?

Plutoe

You could be correct, however after the snow melts if you carefully look at the back of the bottle you will see the various mfgs specs that the oil meets. Does it have your oil spec??

Long Islander

I don't know. What is the standard that MB specifies?

Plutoe

Post 2 gave you the spec. Now just compare that with what is on the bottle!!

Long Islander

Based on that, it has to meet specification 229.5, and the only Mobil 1 5W-40 that meets that spec is Mobil 1 Formula M 5W-40.

One more thing -- I see that there are different oil specifications for Mercedes. How does one know that spec 229.5 is the correct one for a W211 E350? If you look at the link in Post 2, you can go to different spec sheets, and there's nothing to indicate which applies to which engine.

Plutoe

If you have access to WIS you would be assured that your engine oil has to meet 229.5.

If you do not have access, I can assure you that 229.5, the most current spec, is applicable to your engine.

FYI I drive a 606 diesel and the oil spec is 229.5 and in my case I use Mobil 0W40, there are others as you have gleamed from the spec, the issue is finding the speced oil in a retail environment. I chose Mobil 0W40 because it is available at Wal Mart and selected auto chains.

In your case you have to find the brand/oil weight that meets the spec then find the oil in a retail environment(which store).

PS: you will no doubt get the "what's the difference" comments, I will just use a good oil-------do not listen to that BS!!

chaza

Hi forum,just on the E350 mine is coming up to 100,000 kilometres,down under in the land of OZ and my service indicator is showing next service is a C service not a 1 to 15,whats required at the C service please,thanks in advance.
Chaza

Plutoe

Check you manual-----all the services are outlined.

If you do not have an owners manual do a forum search "C Service"

AMGAffalterbach

Chaza, service C is described in the manual as Plutoe said but also call your dealer and they can connect you to a service adviser that can let you know what that entails and how much it costs if you're too lazy to read haha xD.

chaza

thanks for that ,I LL check my manual again ,I couldnt find any reference to C service,but if you do know what the service entails please advise,
Cheers
Chaza

Plutoe

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7...owners_manuals

Jon2007E63P30

Nope. They are using the 299.51 oil.

Lower wear inhibitors than the 0w-40. Those wear inhibitors can reduce the life of the catalytic converters which, as part of the emission system, are warranted for a much longer time than the car. This makes higher levels of wear inhibitors undesireable.

From Mobil

ticondo46

Good question regarding original factory fill. As far as I can recall, all modern MB's were "married" to Mobil 1 full synthetic. When I bought my GLK 220 Diesel (here in Europe) in December '09, I'm pretty sure that's what was in the engine, all the more so that the official factory outlet gave me one liter of Mobil 1 for any top-up which may have been required during the first few thousand miles.

When I gave the car in for its first service (under warranty), I was sort of unpleasantly surprised to see that they had filled it with Petronas 5-30 Synthetic. I have nothing against Malaysian oil, except that it seems that Mercedes had just changed its marketing agreements regarding F-1 racing and had signed up with this Malaysian company. Frankly, I don't see why I should be paying the price of an expensive champagne for oil that may meet BEVO 229.51, but doesn't necessarily have the reputation of Mobil 1. And as a principle, I personally dislike mixing makes of oil. So the next thing I did was to do my own oil change, and I'm back to Mobil 1 ESP 5-30, which is an MB 229.51 approved Diesel oil. The funny thing is that Petronas doesn't even appear any more on the BEVO list. At one point, it could be found under Sunoco (Sunoco apparently were bought out by Petronas), but on the latest MB BEVO list, there is neither Petronas nor Sunoco.

One last point, regarding the age-old DIY discussion: bottom drain, or vacuum pump? The answer is: both are good. At the dealership, they suck it out. So it can't be a problem. The vacuum pump definitely saves time and effort, and these cheap little pumps work great provided the oil is reasonably hot.

mac911

The best oil is Mobil 1 0w40. It has the richest additives pack of the Mobil options. You *MUST* meet 229.5 spec.

Just get Mobil 1 0w40. Every Porsche engine comes with Mobil 1 0w40 in it. Every AMG comes with Mobil 1 0w40 in it. It is oh so easy to find as well.

The regular Mercedes comes with a special Shell break in oil that is for break in only.


Also, if your dealer truly used a "ESP" oil in a gasoline car, that is incorrect. It does not have a rich enough add pack for a gasoline car to go 10-13k miles on one interval, though if just one or two times I wouldn't worry too much.

Now there is also a special 5w40 Formula M that is NOT ESP. Only Mercedes dealers get that oil. It is perfectly acceptable, but a bit weaker additive package than the 0w40 (the viscosities mean nothing to me I'm just basing this on looking at oil analysis of these oils).

I researched which oils my dealer was using extensively and bugged several people at MBUSA.

Make sure whatever bottles of oil you buy are 229.5 if you have a gasoline car. Make sure it is 229.51 if you have a diesel car (do not swap these specs between gas and diesel cars, each have their respective application).

Long Islander

Using the "contact" link in the link that has spec 229.5 in it, I sent an email to MB. They asked for my VIN (year, model and US spec wasn't enough), and here's the reply I got back:

mac911

That is a rather confusing email. So your car is being used within Europe?

A 2008 is certainly after 229.5 spec came out, it's the latest, so I'd stick with it. Mobil 1 0w40 is easily available.

Long Islander

You can easily get to spec 229.3 by just changing the spec in the box. Interestingly, 5W 40 Turbo Diesel oil is approved on spec 229.3.

Long Islander

Yes, not the clearest email. I read it to mean spec 229.3 applies unless you're using the car in Europe, in which case 229.5 applies.

I'll write back and simply ask whether spec 229.3 or 229.5 applies to cars being used in the US. I'm assuming they knew from my email (where I so stated) and my VIN that I have a US-spec car.