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just wanted to say hello, signed up for the forum since on saturday we picked up a CPOed 2013 e350 4matic in steel gray with a little under 30k miles. went in to look at c class but with one toddler and another in the planning phase we just needed a bigger car plus the wife fell in love with the color scheme of this e class.
ended up purchasing an additional 2 years of CPO warranty -- planning on keeping this car for 8+ yrs so figured we'll take all the warranty we can get.
current deal also has next 2 years serviced for free, which i'm very happy about since i believe the 40k service is the 4matic transfer case service and can get pretty pricey.
anyone else plan on keeping their car for that long? what's the best tip for it going past 100K miles - doing all the service at suggested intervals or should some things be done more often/less often?
i plan on doing the airfilter (both cabin and engine) myself after the 2 years, but with other stuff like brakes and spark plugs i'll probably need to find either an independent or go back to dealer. also found a bunch of videos on youtube where people use a hand pump to suck out the oil though the dip stick tube and change their own oil, thinking about doing that -- anyone have experience? is it as easy as it looks?
another quick question, all videos on youtube show engine airfilter replacement where there are two filters in the back shroud of the engine cover, our 350 seems to have a stand-alone airfilter box on the right side of the engine (left side if you're looking with the hood open) -- anyone have a video or instructions on how remove that? there seem to be 3 screws, can they just be taken off or do i have to take out the box out of the engine first and then open it up?
thanks all, and looking forward in being in the mb famiily
As far as I know the M272.9xx engines all use two engine air filters in the shroud.
Carefully pull up on the front section and remove it. Pull gently up on the rear section. The air filters are on the sides held in by 6 torx screws. Both my cars are using Fram Extra duty available on line but you can get MANN on line which is OEM at cheaper than dealer pricing.
The cabin filter is a MANN CUK29005 is also available on line. This is a ***** to do but I can offer a few tricks.
First of all, once you get the floor trim off and the floor mat out cover every hole in the floor structure with duct tape or similar. There are two small metal clips involved here and if one goes down the holes it is gone for ever and you are in for a long day.
Be careful removing the small metal lips at the ends of the housing.
Slide the lock over and take out the filter.
Push the new filter up and put the cover on but don't try at this point to get it to slide into position. Even my tech told me it can be a ***** until I told him how I did it.
Hold the cover up and be sure it is aligned properly. Put the metal clips on.
Once they are on you have two hands to work with to slide the lock over the cover.
You will need the passenger side seat all the way back and you will still get bruised.
As to plugs, they should go 100000km (62500 mile) but you can change them. There are 18. (3/cyl). My belief is that MB is keen on torquing things for a reason so get torque wrench if you change them.
As to sucking oil out via the dip stick, your choice but you will never get it all out and hence the new oil will be compromised by the residue. My dealer will change the oil with oil I buy independently.
Last edited by Alex.currie44; 05-04-2015 at 12:50 PM.
are you sure about the double filters? i've watched the youtube videos and all engines have double filters but mine seems to only have the airfilter on the left side, like below -- or are you saying that there are 2 filters jammed in there now?
I'm not a fan of the oil siphon method. The worst / dirtyiest /gunky oil ends up in the bottom of the pan along with possibly small metal shavings that didn't get trapped in the filter. The suction method will never fully get the oil pan drained and over time you will accumulate more 'bad stuff' at the bottom of the oil pan, possibly impeding the flow into the oil pickup tube. If you really plan on keeping this car 100,000 miles, I would drain it withthe drain plug and I would swap out the drain plug for a magnetic one while you are at it.
Also - you could run into issues with that extended warranty if you can't properly prove that you have completed all of the required maintenance. Some dealers are more forgiving than others but I have read of warranty claims rejected from not using an OEM oil filter. Traditionally I do all my own maintenance including brakes and cooling systems but I plan to roll my E350 through the dealership for each service. Spending a few more bucks on service now might get me thousands back on 'goodwill' if a warranty issue arises.
Great advice from Diamond White.
Think about it. Oil is blood to your engine and the filter its heart. Why fool with it for the sake of a few bucks to do a task that doesn't come up that frequently only to put you into a fight with MBUSA that you may not win. If you don't want to pay the dealer then I suggest you get a good shop with full documentation for your files should you need them.
As to your air filters, yes the M276 is different from the M272 but here is a link.
If you have two, do them both.
Here is a link of interest:
The mystery of MB.
My 2001 SLK has the M112 and my 2011 wagon the M272. For 10 yr the oil and air filters have been the same as the HP increased from 210 to 268 in the same basic engine. On the other hand you only need one vs. 2 so some savings.
Great article, btw... As a fellow 2013 e350 4matic CPO owner - (however with 2 little ones already here - so not exactly the same... but pretty darned close! Lol...) I appreciated reading it. Although I hate to do so, I take mine to the dealer for service... That said, I bought a jack, winter wheels and tires, do my own changing out each 1/2 year...
I also installed the remote starter from Mid City engineering (talk about funny - going through the "Who's on first" routine with the dealer when I said I installed it... "We did that?" "No, I did." "Oh... What shop?" "No, it was me." "Right... But who did you have do it" "Me. I did it." "Oh.... ... ... We've never had that before.")... It took me considerably longer than it would have taken them, but I saved a ton and learned a lot in the process.
I was equal parts admiring and cursing the engineers who designed our rides... But have been thrilled so far.
Did you get/do the engine compartment seal recall yet? Might want to have them check to be sure... Good luck with the ride & baby #2!
so i think we figured out that the engine only has 1 air filter -- does it still have multiple sparkplugs or is it only 1 per cylinder?
woodlander -- we bought the car with brand new all season contis on it, going to see how the first winter fairs or if it gets bad will buy a second set. did you have to buy new pressure sensors with your winter set too and have them be programmed somewhere?
i'm going to take it to the dealer for sure for the next two services since that was part of the CPO deal, but honestly for the few services where they do the engine/cabin filter i wouldn't mind doing that myself not only to save $ but because i've always done it on all the previous cars (makes me cringe what an ordeal the cabin filter replacement is compared to a honda or a subaru, takes me maybe 2-3 minutes do that same job, with no bolts to undo and no carpet to pull back, etc.).
you guys have valid points about the oil being sucked up from the top, so i'll have to consider that.
i also wouldn't mind changing the sparkplugs on my own, as long as they're torqued to spec seems like there is little complexity to work.
we're going to get the 40K service for free, but the 80K is going to cost us probably over a grand, by reading through forums, so i'd like to eliminate as many things that i could do myself and just go in for the items that i can't and save some $.
can anyone suggest a "maintenance" manual for these cars? that would show how to do these things -- obviously something exists in little snippets like posted here, but is there a comprehensive one that a person outside of the dealer could purchase?
Pure guess on my part I would have said 2 but this site lists the M276 variants and suggest you need 6 plugs so that would be one per cylinder.
Engines:
V6 GASOLINE ENGINE M276 DE35
276.952, 276.955, 276.956, 276.957, 276.958
I want to thank the OP as I have learn more about the M276 and its cousin the M278 V8
While the M276 look the same in most ways to the M272 it is in fact a different engine with a 60 degree V vs. 90 which eliminates the balance shaft issue of the 90 degree and makes it such that the M276 and M278 can share architecture and components.
Last edited by Alex.currie44; 05-05-2015 at 10:55 AM.
also wanted to add about warranty work -- when i was checking out the service history at the dealer there were all scheduled maintenance done + an extra service they did as part of their CPO and i believe all the outstanding warranty work was taken care of.
i do need to request copies of these documents and also the original spec sheet on the car and also the owners manual, as i can't find any of this stuff in the car but i know they showed it to me at the dealer.
OK - around the tires/wheels - my car came with the AMG 18s, but for Winters up here in North East Ohio (in the "Snow Belt" which we learned about post moving from TX) I went to Enkei Edr9 17x8s with the Michelin X Ice Xi3s 235/45/r17 ( to make them the same size as my "summer" 18s, with the Conti-pro-contacts) - I found a conversion calculator somewhere) - $1659 before shipping from tirerack
TPMS 433mhz monitors came (for +$62 included above) already installed on the wheels/tires from tire rack... The funny thing is, quite a few of my buds like the winter look better... Lol.
And one of these: http://www.reverselogic.us/mercedes_jack_pad.html
Although I have no affiliation with the reverse logic company, I did chat with the owner as I work for the company an old boss of his founded, and he's a great guy. I wrote him to say that although not meant for riding on the car, the jack pad stayed attatched in the socket when I stupidly drove 40 miles with it still in, amidst snow, sleet and rain, PHEW!!!
Another lesson learned, the ML350 and the E350 take the same all weather mats. I bought my wife the Weathertechs for her ML, and bought the Honeycomb MBs for the E. Bad move on my part for the E. I have to clean the salt out of both - almost nothing on the weathertech protected, a mess on the OEM.
Here's a link to the service manual, although not sure that's what you meant...
Ok... I think I've advertised for so many things I should have Nascar style stickers... But all this comes from lessons I've learned / research, hope it is helpful.
Woodlander
Last edited by woodlander; 05-06-2015 at 05:32 AM.
Reason: clarification on Winter/Summer wheels
Just thinking about it... The other two accessories I use a ton are the MB seat back hanger - and the trunk cargo net... Although I have the comfort box, I really don't use it a ton...
Btw, have you discovered that your glove box is airconditioned yet?
Also, check out the "point your remote at the drivers door handle with the panic button forward, and hold lock or unlock to open/close all windows/roof at once.
hi woodlander, thanks for all the tips -- and i do agree with your buddies that those wheels look better - maybe it's just a vantage point
we're in msp so we'll get plenty of snow and i probably do have to consider a winter set. how bad were the all season contis, have you ever tried them in snow? also, surprised you went with a 8" width, i'd have though smaller contact is better for traction so i wonder if it's worth for me to explore a 17x7 option or something similar (i'm assuming you can't fit 16 either due to rolling diameter or due to brake clearance?).
we (or at least I), buy our tires at costco so it's free rotation and mounting, i'll have to see what's worth the hassle, getting a set of 17's and do what you're doing or just buying tyres in 18 for the winter. when i did the math for my subaru it'd take 8 years for the rim/wheel package to payoff vs. just remounting the tires on standard rims which by then i'll probably wear out the winter tires so i'm sticking to single rims on my car and may do the same with the mb.
the sales guy showed me the window trick but believe it or not my old 2001 a4 and even my 2004 accord had the same thing and i didn't need to point it at the silly sensor for it to work.
which brings me to a keyless-go question - is there a way to disable it? i'd imagine the key's battery is getting used up much faster since it has to be broadcasting all the time. the light already started blinking on my wife and i'm gonna hit up the dealer for the battery since i think for a 2 day old car i don't want to spend the 3.75$ on it
oh - and for the maintenance manual i actually meant a manual that would show how to replace an air filter or an oil filter, not a service frequency manual. maybe this could be a 3rd party book or something similar?
Last edited by iridium7777; 05-06-2015 at 11:36 AM.
Reason: adding info
which brings me to a keyless-go question - is there a way to disable it? i'd imagine the key's battery is getting used up much faster since it has to be broadcasting all the time.
As of March 2014 KG function can be temporarily turned off by a double click (within 1 second) on the locking button of the key. The red LED will indicate the deactivation by two short and one long red LED flashing. Reactivate by a single click on any button. Majority of keys with this function have a date stamp 4101 or higher.
The Contis are ok a most things, good to great at NOTHING.
I slide a lot in the snow the two times we've gotten hit out of season so far... before/after my tire swap. With the Xi3s, I slid around 1 corner a bit in heavy snow over the last 2 years (about 12k winter miles) but other than that have been amazing. I read up a lot on the width issue and got comfortable with the 8s. It never presented an issue at all, and I was never out of commission due to snow.
One thing about the Contis - they are wearing gently. I have Bridgestone Potenza Pole Positions on my Mustang GT, which are going fast, but still slower than my summer Pirelli P0s (in Texas)... I really want to put "proper" non-winter tires on the W212, but can't bring myself to do so prematurely, as I hate wasting money. Lol.
We have a ton of potholes here, kind of a special surprise when covered in a bit of snow... and I wanted the extra cushion from the smaller rims, btw. I also worried about tire wear from mounting/unmounting/remounting tires... Any thoughts on that? Is that "tire salesmanship" or real?
Anyway... I thought the other type manual was what you were looking for, but wasn't sure.
I've used youtube, especially when replacing my wife's headlight housing on the ML350 after a 2x4 wanted a closer look on the highway and cracked the front, breaking the "seal"... Turned a 2k job into a $250 salvage yard part + part of a weekend... And not a bad weekend at that... So you might check there...
05-04-2015, 10:19 AM
