I like to do my own maintenance. I haven't found a repair manual covering the 2020 E-350. I have a B maintenance coming up. I was able to access what was included, but I was wondering if there were any instructions/tips for actually doing the maintenance? Are there any books, videos, etc. that might help in figuring out where things are, what tools are needed, resetting the notifications, etc. ?

 

Get yourself a copy of WIS/EPC off eBay... most run of virtual machines. A few dollars and tons of info.

 

Just be careful. I bought one which covered up to 2020 model year for $8 off eBay but when I put my VIN in it never accepted it so never got it to work for my car. For $8 I wasn't too upset. Just an FYI.

 

True

A trick I use if I want to find info on a different model or year... is searching car listing sites and grabbing a VIN and using that. Also you don't really need the exact VIN to use EPC/WIS. If you know the Chassis #, engine and transmission model you can get the data you need.

Then again, if there's big differences for MY20 then punching in an older MY might not be helpful to the OP.

 

Thanks for the responses. Sorry for responding so late. The response notification didn't work

How do the WIS/EPC work? Can the info be held in my computer indefinitely or do have to repurchase every time I need to use it ?
Mine is a 2 liter turbo model, and I am having difficulty finding one that covers my car

 

You guys are brave. I have no problem stripping a classic car down to bare metal and restoring it or suspension, motor or exhaust mods on newer cars but I have ZERO interest in working on my 21 E-450 Coupe. I suppose I need to get over that fear one of these days.

 

There is nothing much to it to be honest unless there is something wrong with the car.
The normal maintenance stuff are pretty standard and in my opinion, not that hard at all. People have this fear that, Mercedes cannot be worked on unless there are some special tools are not correct.

 

Or not, it's up to you. I don't have as much mechanical background as you do, but I have generally done my own fluids and filters type maintenance. This is my first Mercedes, and after three years, I finally got the courage/motivation to change the engine oil and filter myself. The biggest issue for me was that practically everything is different from every engine I've worked on before.

Right from the start, I need to remove some plastic pieces from the top and front of the engine just to get started. These parts require some force to disassemble, but they are also quite breakable, so I needed to do research to learn specifically how these parts come off.

The engine oil is sucked out through the dipstick, which actually IS easier than crawling under the car, but it required me to buy a new tool, and it was generally a new experience.

The oil filter is different from any one I have ever seen before. For any normal filter, I tighten by hand and then use a filter wrench to go maybe another 2/3 of a turn. The Mercedes has a plastic part that holds the filter and needs to be screwed into place. It quickly reaches the point where I could no longer tighten it by hand, but at that point, it still needs to be tightened quite a bit. But not too much, because the whole thing is plastic and looks like it could easily be destroyed. This was the first time that I bothered to use my torque wrench to understand how much force to apply, and of course, I need to convert the force from newton-meters to foot-pounds.

Then I need to reset the service interval reminder. I wouldn't say it was difficult, but it was not intuitive without reading up on the process. For other vehicles, I could just go through the menus and figure it out.

So in the end, I wouldn't really say it was difficult, but it was different almost every step of the way. I also want to remain patient through the whole process, so I don't end up damaging the most expensive vehicle I have ever purchased.

 

How do the WIS/EPC work? Is it some kind of subscription deal? Can the info be held in my computer indefinitely or do have to repurchase every time I need to use it ?
Evidently there is some variation in the 2 liter turbo, because none I've checked have included my car.

 

Um, this is a HARD NO... I've chenged the oil on my MBs since 2004, and the instructions I've read are to NOT tighten the cap beyond hand-tight.

You'll find that you need the cap wrench to remove the cap each time, confirmation that firmly hand-tight on install is plenty of pressure.

 

Perhaps our cars are different? To my reading, I'm supposed to tighten my cap to 25Nm. I did a little less than that, because I could feel the point where the cap reached the end of its threading, and it really didn't feel like it would vibrate loose.

Then again, I've done stupid things before. Perhaps this is another one.

 

I've never used the official version, so I can't answer your questions. I use the cheap Ebay product, and I did test entering a VIN for your model of car, and it didn't recognize it. I don't know if there is a more recent product available.

From what I've read, the official version is a subscription product, but I think you can even buy a single day of access. Whether they allow you to download information or not, you could still take screen shots or even use a product to capture a video of the whole interaction. If you can see it on your screen, you can save it.

 

Your W213 and my W212 use the same (similar) parts.

25 Nm is 18.4 Ft Lbs... hardly worth getting out the torque wrench. A firm hand tight is all you need. Check the cap a week later and you will see it doesn't move.

As I mentioned before, you will not be able to loosen a hand-tightened cap by hand the next time you want to remove it. So don't bother with any more than hand tight to reinstall it. Trust me on this or do what you insist... doesn't matter to me.