E/W214: Is the electronic engine oil gauge (service screen) another over-engineering failure?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Aug 2024
Posts: 179
Likes: 10
From: Long Island, NY
2024 E450
Is the electronic engine oil gauge (service screen) another over-engineering failure?
I usually start my car and switch to the service screen to watch the tire pressure, engine temperature and engine oil level (I really wish MB had integrated more information in one screen). My car is hitting 19,000 miles and I'd never seen the engine oil below max. I expected the gauge would truly reflect the real engine level. I was so wrong.
Last week I sent my car to a dealership for service, and they upgraded the software and did some diagnosis. Got the car back Saturday afternoon and left it in the garage for the weekend. On Monday morning I drove to work, and I noticed the oil level dropped to the middle of min and max. I suspected the engine had burnt some oil but the gauge was not accurate enough, and the software upgrade or diagnosis probably calibrated the reading. But in the afternoon on my way home, I found the engine oil level jumped back to max. I contacted the dealership and sent it in again. I was told the engine did burn some oil and they topped it off, but they could not justify the weird behavior of the gauge. With this problem this fancy engine oil gauge on the service screen seems useless to me, and I'll have to from time to time manually measure the engine oil from the service menu. Hopefully that one won't fail easily.
I wish MB to stop over-engineer their cars, like digitizing engine oil measurement, replacing the foolproof dipsticks with some fancy electronic systems which are much less reliable. That definitely contributed to the declining reliability of MB cars. But I guess they won't ever stop.
Last week I sent my car to a dealership for service, and they upgraded the software and did some diagnosis. Got the car back Saturday afternoon and left it in the garage for the weekend. On Monday morning I drove to work, and I noticed the oil level dropped to the middle of min and max. I suspected the engine had burnt some oil but the gauge was not accurate enough, and the software upgrade or diagnosis probably calibrated the reading. But in the afternoon on my way home, I found the engine oil level jumped back to max. I contacted the dealership and sent it in again. I was told the engine did burn some oil and they topped it off, but they could not justify the weird behavior of the gauge. With this problem this fancy engine oil gauge on the service screen seems useless to me, and I'll have to from time to time manually measure the engine oil from the service menu. Hopefully that one won't fail easily.
I wish MB to stop over-engineer their cars, like digitizing engine oil measurement, replacing the foolproof dipsticks with some fancy electronic systems which are much less reliable. That definitely contributed to the declining reliability of MB cars. But I guess they won't ever stop.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 680
From: Tennessee
W214 E450
I would not call it over engineering, but rather engineering to the 90th percentile of customers. Most MBs are leased and most MB drivers don't care about oil level. They bring it in on the required 10K service intervals and will never look at their oil level. They likely figure the dealership has it covered and it's under warranty so why care. They will just get a new one in 3 years anyway.
I don't agree that the dipstick is more accurate than a digital gauge. Most people don't know how to properly read their own oil level with the dipstick and may overfill the oil as a result. The oil capacity of the W214 I6 is quite high which allows it to burn a lot of oil and still have enough. Unless you change your own oil, I wouldn't worry about it. If the gauge is halfway between min and max, that's perfectly fine. As long as it stays above min, you are fine.
I don't agree that the dipstick is more accurate than a digital gauge. Most people don't know how to properly read their own oil level with the dipstick and may overfill the oil as a result. The oil capacity of the W214 I6 is quite high which allows it to burn a lot of oil and still have enough. Unless you change your own oil, I wouldn't worry about it. If the gauge is halfway between min and max, that's perfectly fine. As long as it stays above min, you are fine.
