Long story - be prepared.

Took my car in for a broken windshield and had the flex service done. Basically a $500 oil change and pollen filter replacement. As a goodwill gesture they replaced the front tires and dis an alignment due to a bad alignment job on their part when the tires were replaced at 15k miles. Windshield was replaced but there was dust everywhere. Not just a little but a thick layer like the windshield had been out for 2-3 days with nothing covering the car.

Anyways, I picked up the car on Tues of last week. Sat we drove to LA and while going up the 5 fwy a low oil message comes up. WTF?!?! Just had an oil change, no oil leaks but low oil? I pull over and check, the dipstick is bone dry. OK I figure I will limp it to the nearest gas station.... no Mobil1 0-40! Oh well a different grade will have to suffice, better than nothing right?

Pour a quart in.... dipstick is bone dry! At this point, no more low oil light and no 0-40 in sight so I figure I can baby it to a MB dealership. Got to the House of Imports (bought the car there but it wasn't serviced there), got 2 quarts of Mobil1 5W-40 (they are switching because the diesels are coming out).

Pour a quart in.... dipstick is bone dry!

Pour another quart in.... dipstick indicated 1/2 quart low!

So the crankcase was 3.5 quarts low on oil. The dealership (not House of Imports) takes good care of me. I never have problems, all of them from the sales floor, service, parts, check out girl, etc all know me by name. In short, they are good people. So a mensa candidate has dropped the ball but it appears the car is fine. I had them change out the oil because it had 3 different viscosity oils in it at that point. As long as the incident is documented, I don't see a reason to worry. Moral of the story, check your oil level even if the dealership services your car.

 

Doc - did you consider reporting this to MBUSA? In the event you have engine issues and you can tie to the incident above you may have a shot at having the issue covered by MBUSA. Just my 2 cents.

 

I always double check work at the dealer. I even check the oil to see if it was changed right there at the dealer when I pick it up.

Just because its done at MB, doesn't mean the kid working in the back wasnt just fired for not doing his job at the Nissan place.

 

Please tell me this wasn't the Fresno dealership.

 

Shouldn't the "low oil" warning light have come on from the moment the car was restarted after servicing since the oil pan was 3.5 qts LOW ??

 

Sorry to hear about your crappy service at the dealership... Would you mind sharing the name of the dealer here?

Also, I can think of one more moral of the story... Buy a couple of quarts of Mobil1 (either 5W-40 or 0W-40 should be fine, since you are living in California, I highly doubt you will need the extra winter protection that 0W offers over 5W (0W is good for temperatures as cold as -35C and 5W is good for temps as cold as -30C) both of which you are not likely to see...

I keep a couple of quarts of the special diesel motor oil in the space under the rear load floor where the spare tire is located... There is actually a fair amount of space here (I also carry a tow strap, a hand crank powered flashlight and a few D-Ring Shackles for rigging the tow strap.

Lastly, we should all get back in the habit of checking the motor oil level regularly. Ideally it should be at every fueling (just like the old days) but I have a heck of a time convincing my wife that this is a priority.... So I simply check it myself every weekend. (I also make sure I check it before any long trips and at ever fuel stop along a long trip.)

 

Ditto

 

The light came on about 35 miles into our drive when we hit a slightly uphill section. I assume the incline caused the oil to pool towards the rear of the pan and finally triggered the oil level sensor. I shut it down to check the oil level and after starting it up again, the warning did not appear again.

 

Wouldn't we all agree that 3.5 qts down should trigger warning light on a flat road ? ( A MBZ engineer may say the oil pan still has enough capacity so no engine damage can occur , but the REAL WORLD trigger for something like this is a bone headed ADHD mechanic , IMO , as that much slow loss of oil would show up a growing oil slick on your garage floor or a rapid loss from a failed gasket would reveal a cloud of blue smoke trailing your vehicle . . ) .

 

till today i chcekd mine only once, relying on MB's electronics. from now on i will chcek once in a week like Danno said.