Hello guys,
Sorry to open up a new thread for this small question.

I went to Valvoline instant oil change center today to change my oil. They have 3 months/3000 miles warranty on the work they did.

Should I follow intervals provided in our bible (manual). It says 10k for oil change, but the guy who changed my oil says you need to change it 5k even though you're using full synthetic. It'll help in the long run. (He also mentioned it looks a bit burnt and the replaced oil looked a bit black as well - before I even started the engine after the oil change which makes me believe him).
Current Usage: 6-9 miles each way to and fro work 5 days a week and close to 1000 miles trip every month (recently moved to NJ, so will travel a lot for next 2 months in road trips).
I used to have 2 cold starts per day in Charlotte, NC, as I lived less than a mile away from office. So, low interval for oil change makes sense here and I did for 5k-7k range.

Also, do you suggest places like Valvoline instant oil change facilities? I did it for this time, but want to be careful from next time.

 

Anticipating spirited debate over oil usage and intervals.....

My 02 - as retired I drive much less so I change oil/filter once a year, well under any recommended intervals. Equates to about 5k which is fine with me, M1 is cheap at W-Mart and Mann Filters from Rockauto.
No way I'd use a quick change oil place for anything I drive.

 

I think Mercedes probably knows a bit more than someone at Valvoline.. But I may be wrong.

^^ Agree with Mud. Since I only drive 2k to 6k miles per year on my cars, I do oil changes once a year. All of them are on M1 as well and never use quick oil change places. Learned my lesson many years ago.

 

Annually for me as well and only at the dealer. They treat me fairly and I have trouble doing a lot of DIY work these days. Never will a lube shop touch my car.

 

Agreed, With my hard driven AMG's oil was changed every 7k sometimes 10k. 189,000 miles, no issues. E350 oil is changed every 10k. No issues. The weak link isn't the oil it's the filter. The MB fleece filter can be changed every 10k. If clean M1 0W40 can go longer. I do my own oil changes or see the dealer. Quick change shops use recycled/'blended' synthetic (maybe) oil and generally their mech's are more concerned with sales than your car.

 

Okay, 3k-4k miles it is for this time and will stick to a dealer from next visit. Hopefully by that time we will get that 150 off of 300 coupon, as B-service will come up in 7k miles.
I missed the spring coupon this time by 3 days.

 

If you use a synthetic oil that meets the 229.5 oil specification you are more perfectly fine doing oil changes every 10k miles or 1year. I use liqui-moly at my shop and I have customers that have put more than 100k miles using liqui-moly. Also, you need to use the correct oil filter.

 

DIY vacume pump , oil and oil filter changes are so easy & cheap .

And why does everyone think Mercedes has the best oil specs ?

 

You still have two cold starts per day, because 6-9 miles is not enough distance to warm up an engine completely. Don't use the coolant temp gauge as your indicator, because oil warms up much slower than coolant. Given your usage pattern is often regarded as "severe” duty, the Valvoline person's recommendation of 5k miles isn't crazy outrageous.

You know how you will know for sure? Sample your engine oil at appropriate intervals and send the samples in for analysis. As long as you use the same spec oil and follow the same usage pattern, the data from this analysis will hold. Sample at 5k, 7.5k and 10k miles, and send to Blackstone Labs (or similar) for a detailed analysis. Don't forget to include TBN in your test suite.

 

Lowest cost "insurance" for your engine is to do oil changes frequently enough. In my opinion 10000 miles is too long to go. I do mine every 5000 miles and I had to fight myself even for this as I was used to 3000 miles change interval but, as my driving is almost all highway and because after 5000 miles my oil is so clean it is hard to see on the dip stick, I feel 5000 miles interval is ok for my car.

And if I was you I would seriously consider changing oil immediately again making sure you use correct oil. You never know what these cheapo oil change shops pour in your engine. That is why they have 3000 miles warranty as any oil will allow your engine to run that much but what condition is your engine after 3001 miles when they do not cover it if it brakes down from inadequate lubrication?

Just my thought...

 

I am on 200 hours oil change , as a baseline for 5,000KM. Or 6 months max.
My average speed is so low at 21 - 25 KM/H , hence I use the 200 hours/5,000 KM or 3,100 miles.