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For those who self-service...how often do you do oil changes, etc i
I keep reading online how their Service A is every 10,000 miles, and service B every 20,000 miles.
Standard convention has always led me to believe to change out oil and filter every 5,000 miles. Getting service at 10,000 and 20,000 intervals seems like such a long stretch of time...
Am I wasting my time and money by doing it 5k-7k miles?
We just bought it and the dealer had a sticker on the windshield saying it was serviced in May 2019 and the next service was at the 110,000 mark. But we did a pre-purchase inspection and both air and cabin filters were dirty.
I went and bought some 0w-40 Mobile1, new filter, Mann air/cabin filters, and just replaced all of them just for my own preference. We only put about 8,000 miles / year on the car, if that, so I can't imagine going a full year before changing that stuff again.
Attached is a pic as I drained it last night..it looked dirty to me, but that could very well be a normal color..especially if that is from "May".
Last edited by majorchamp; Jul 28, 2019 at 12:36 PM.
You posted in the 166 forum. Your GL is a 164 so it typically helps to post in the correct one. The 450's on the 166 are all bi-turbo engines while the 164 is naturally aspirated. With that said, I have a 164 GL 450 with around 250k miles and it goes 10k miles between oil changes with no oil ever added between changes. Car runs great except for a factory defect from mercedes with a wearing balance shaft sprocket which causes the timing to be slightly off enough to signal the check engine light but not enough to effect the performance.
You posted in the 166 forum. Your GL is a 164 so it typically helps to post in the correct one. The 450's on the 166 are all bi-turbo engines while the 164 is naturally aspirated. With that said, I have a 164 GL 450 with around 250k miles and it goes 10k miles between oil changes with no oil ever added between changes. Car runs great except for a factory defect from mercedes with a wearing balance shaft sprocket which causes the timing to be slightly off enough to signal the check engine light but not enough to effect the performance.
My apologies. I will correct my mistake.
"Car runs great except for a factory defect from mercedes with a wearing balance shaft sprocket which causes the timing to be slightly off enough to signal the check engine light but not enough to effect the performance."
So I had a 2006 ML 350 prior to this..and if what you are referring to has to do with pulling off the front two sensors, turning the crankshaft to 305 degrees, and seeing if the emblems are aligned centered in the two sensor holes...then I also had that issue. The check engine light remained on..but talking with a mercedes friend of mine...we were lucky to have driven it that long and it likely was only going to go downhill from there. After driving the 2011 GL its incredible how smooth the 2011 is compared to our 2006.
I did the whole verification on here and found my engine serial # and it was in fact within the 'affected' engines.
5k-7k oil changes for garden variety engines are from days gone by. High performance engines are a different story. New engine and oil designs allow for longer change intervals. Use the manufacturer suggested interval. For the W166 with M276 this is every 10k miles.
Every 5k miles with an OEM filter and approved MB oil if you want to keep repair costs down and make it last. DO NOT skimp on oil changes, it is the cheapest thing you can do to protect the engine and make it last. You WILL NOT make it to 200k miles without significant repair cost by doing only A and B services
I do the MB recommended service interval for my GL's. One has over 250k miles and the other one at 95k miles. No issues. Only use Mobile One 0w-40 and fleece Mann filter. I don't have to add oil between changes with either GL.
On the diesel, they need a much more intensive oil change intervals to avoid sludging and severe engine wear and tear. The gassers seem to do fine with the recommended intervals if driven normally.
Howdy from Texas...my first post. My wife has a 2017 GLS450 with 55K and the B Service came due. My daughter and I started a YouTube DIY channel so we're doing the whole B service this week, hopefully post the whole thing when done.
In my other vehicles that have an oil life monitor, I've generally followed whatever the car tells me to do (without issues), which I guess on the GLS is every 10K miles. I have a Ford Excursion with a PowerStroke diesel and that one gets changed every 4K miles...and still the engine failed at 81K!
A couple of vintage cars get their oil changed annually just because of time, not mileage.
