Yeah that's oil. I'm hoping it's nothing major but I'm concerned it somehow might have done permanent damage? I don't know enough about engines...

 

Holy s**t! I would have never expected that kind of negligence, especially from dealers that want $200 for an oil change.

It's a shame, but I always used to check the cap tightness, filter cleanliness and dipstick level after an oil change. After years and years of not finding any problems, I started to slack off. Only once did I notice a slow leak on the garage floor after they didn't tightgen the drain bolt to spec. I was so mad at their cavalier attitude about it. The inconvenience of having to go back is annoying by itself but imagine all those folks who don't even check and the damage that can ultimately be done.

Seeing this makes me want to go back and recheck my cars. What a mess. Let us know what happens.

 

I hope not either and since you're under warranty/CPO if anything comes up you should be covered since this isn't of any fault of your own.

 

WTF? Do you park in an area where you may have seen oil on the floor/pavement? Did you smell the oil burning off of your engine block when parking after your drives? Easy to leave off the cap and roll onto the road as you drive away from the dealership. I wish you well and that you were not running on low oil for long.

 

I would have noticed oil beneath the car most likely but I can't say 100%. I will say that when I got the "Check oil level at next refueling" I was on my way to hotel last night... this morning I checked my oil using the dipstick and it was totally dry.

The oil cap was definitely on but I didn't check to see how tight it was.

I called MB and they said to put a quart of oil in so I drove to autozone, checked again (before putting oil in) and it then read as about 1/3 or so between min/max.

I decided not to put more oil in due to the fact that it went from "empty" to 1/3 min/max so quickly maybe it would continue to go up... about twenty minutes later that's when it started smoking.

I'm at a different MB dealer right now and they told me the oil level was not "dangerously low" and it appears they just need to clean the engine and refill/replace the oil cap.

They are putting notes in saying that the issue was caused by a dealer and any issues going forward related to this I will not be responsible for.

We will see!

 

It will be interesting to find out how your car went from oil cap on (maybe not tight) and oil level of low to 1/3 to cap coming off (exploding, flying, etc.) and oil spraying all over your engine compartment to come running down the side of your car near the hood hinge.

I am also surprised they told you to drive it when the dipstick was dry. I would have thought they would have sent out roadside.

 

Yeah the whole thing is interesting to me. At this point i'm pretty confident this dealer will get to the bottom of it because the original dealer has already agreed to pay whatever they have to in order to fix any issues.

They are not under the same company so in the effort of making money i'm sure they will fix anything and everything that may have "suffered" from this incident.

 

Wait, so it was you that left off the cap? You said it was there when you went to add oil at Autozone. Is that correct?

"The oil cap was definitely on but I didn't check to see how tight it was."

 

No I didn't touch the oil cap. I checked the oil level with the dipstick this morning, it was dry, and then I checked it again when I got to AutoZone. By that point it read 1/3 full or so and I decided not to put any oil in so I never had to touch the cap.

After reading someone else's comment about checking those things after any service I will definitely be doing that going forward.

My guess is that the oil cap was extremely loose which may have triggered the "Check engine oil level at next refuel" warning.

 

Nevermind. I misread your post and thought you added oil. Sounds like you will be fine.

 

Yeah I originally planned on adding some but after reading the comments in this thread about overfilling being just as bad as under... I figured 1/3 was sufficient until I could check the dipstick after driving more.

 

I can see the loose cap triggering the warning light, but it is not a complete explanation for the loss of oil that you saw with the dipstick. Today, you clearly saw a sign of oil leaking - the smoke from the oil running down (or exploding out of) the engine and burning up from the heat of the engine and exhaust. Prior to today you've seen no signs which is concerning of itself that it would have lost that much oil. Unless the cap being loose would cause the dipstick to read low.

 

I didn't think about the cap being lose causing the dipstick to read low... The whole thing is really odd!

I'm just happy I didn't die in a fiery inferno today... when I first saw all the smoke I was pretty convinced my car was on fire.

EDIT: I did ask them to check the oil level when the car arrived at the dealer BEFORE doing anything else and AFTER all of the oil had already spilled out over the engine. They said the level was not "too low" so i'm assuming something caused the dipstick to read lower than it really was.

It was about 35 degrees and engine had JUST started up when I checked so maybe that will do it?

 

That really SUCKS. Again call MBUSA America Coustomer Service and demand action, it won't hurt........

 

Well the dealer who left the cap loose already paid the $500 to have the engine bay cleaned of oil, the oil cap removed from the exhaust manifold (it had melted on) as well as the 6 quarts of oil that had spilled out.

I'm going to ask they give me a discount/free service for my next service there and if they are willing to do that I have no real reason to call MBUSA I don't think?

At this point, it's well documented that the first dealer left the cap loose, this happened, there was 6 quarts missing, and also they paid for the service which is essentially admitting fault as far as i'm concerned.

They've been great to me in the past and I realize mistakes happen... but if they are difficult with giving me something for the fact that I spent the entire day dealing with this crap I will contact MBUSA.

 

Lingering issue will be was there any damage to engine, seals, etc. Did you get any confirmation that it was not really low on oil despite what the dipstick said? If a loose cap meant the dipstick would read low, then how do you know there was adequate oil pressurecirculation in the engine while you were driving it.

You should get something for your time and inconvenience not to mention taking time off work, etc. Up to you to decide if a free next service is enough. Reporting to MBUSA is another issue. Even if you are happy with how the dealer handled it, at least corporate will have it on record too if signs of damage show up later.

 

It holds 9 quarts.

 

Dealers do this more often than you'd think.

Back in 2010 I took my girlfriends C63 to MB of Chicago to get a oil change done and the f**kers never took any oil out but double filled it. I drove the car home, 30 miles away and the car started twitching when I got home. I called them to tell them they had way over-filled it and they told me to drive the car back and than try to justify that they had hired a new guy and he didn't measure how much oil he added in correctly

 

The reason it's vented to the intake manifold is to meet smog regulation by recycling noxious gasses. The pressure comes from oil frothing and gas seeping past the rings and there's just so much free space for it to accumulate in. Before smog laws on cars the crankcases were just vented to the atmosphere by a tube pointing straight down to the road. The first "smog kits" retrofitted on cars routed that vent up into a hole they punched in the rocker boxes with a one way valve to prevent back flow. Screwed everything up.

 

E63s hold 9 Qtrs (8.5L), E550s hold 8L which is 8.5 Qtrs, E350s hold 6.5L or 6.9 Qtrs. Its in the owner's manual.

 

Protect your Merc and change the oil yourself. It is not difficult. I do mine the old fashioned way. You get under the car remove maybe 6 torx screws and remove the pan, than remove the oil pan bolt to drop the oil. I get complete satisfaction being able to do the work myself on my beloved Mercedes, 08 cls550 and 07 slk280. I hope your problem gets resolved.

 

I thought that the crankcase is connected to the intake with a small tube to relieve possible pressure that can build up due to worn piston rings passing some exhaust gases.


"Noxius" gases I thought are tried to control by recirculating some of the exhaust gases back in the intake side thru the EGR valve. I did not think this had anything to do with the crankcase ventilation.

 

You were driving the car 6 qt. low on oil, i.e. with only 3 qt. oil in the engine??!!?? Did you not get low oil of low oil pressure warnings?


I would be very worried about the engine condition if this happened to me.

 

Okay, here is the timeline:

1. A week ago Thursday I picked up the car after having Service B performed as well as new spark plugs. Service B includes an oil change and what MB calls "V8 maintenance."

2. Yesterday was the first time I drove the car, and I drove it from Miami FL to Orlando FL. The total trip is about 220 miles. About 170 miles in, I get a warning on the dash "Check engine oil level at next refueling".
- I call the Mercedes dealer who performed Service B + extras. I am told the warning can be triggered by a low oil level, or too much oil. I am told to check the oil next time I drive the car.

3. I check the oil this morning, after a cold start, and the dipstick is dry.
- I call the Mercedes dealer who performed Service B + extras. I am told to drive the car to the nearest Autozone and put a quart of oil in, and then bring it to the dealer.

4. I make it to Autozone (5 miles). I check the oil level. It now shows 1/3 between min/max so I decide not to put in any more oil.

5. I continue driving the car, and about 5-7 miles later, the car triggers the warning again "Check engine oil level at next refueling". I am on the highway at this point and stuck in traffic due to construction. I continue driving towards the next exit.
- about 3-5 miles after receiving the warning, traffic goes to highway speeds, I accelerate from 15mph to about 80mph and notice a lot of smoke behind my car.
- I pull over. At this point a large amount of smoke is coming out of my engine, I pop the hood and notice that my oil cap is gone (it had been present when I checked the oil at Autozone) and there is oil all over my engine.

6. Tow truck arrives, loads my car onto the truck, oil is spilling everywhere the entire time. On my car, on the truck, on the road... etc

7. I arrive at MB and I specifically ask them to measure how much oil is needed to "fill" my car so I know how much is missing. I am told 6.5 quarts (or so).

One thing I noticed, when I was at the dealer, they had to drive my car into the service bay. When they started it up, they had to jump the battery so the hood was open. When the car turned on, oil was "popping" out of the engine where the oil cap would be, much like when you're cooking bacon (I love bacon).

My guess is that the oil cap came off sometime between Autozone and hitting traffic (or during traffic) so the oil was simply "popping" (like when you cook bacon) out of the engine. This would not cause a significant amount of smoke or oil smell especially considering I had my windows rolled up.

Once I got out of traffic and accelerated to 80mph (mind you I accelerate fast, so the car 'leans back') I believe the oil spilled out in a larger quantity all over the engine which caused the significant amount of smoke which lead me to pull over. This also sort of explains the oil dripping down the side of my car in the picture I posted.

At this point, it is all documented that MB did not tighten the oil cap properly which resulted in this issue. If there's any long time damage, I cannot imagine I will be responsible. I do intend to call MBUSA and make sure they have the same notes I saw the tech enter into the system.

I hope this clears everything up...

 

So I repeat my opinion that I would be really worried of the engine condition if indeed it was running with only 3 qt. or less oil in it.