2013 GL550 oil consumption
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Newbie
Joined: Dec 2020
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Mercedes 190e 2.3L 1991 and Mercedes sl320 1997
2013 GL550 oil consumption
Hey guys, I have a 2013 gl550 with 265k km on it so far. Always have done oil changes at the interval stated by Mercedes Canada at 20k km.
recently, within the last 10k km, I’ve been forced to add a liter of oil every 1000km.
no leaks that I could detect coming from the engine.
ive read that early m278 motors had some oil burning issues. Is this what I am seeing? What’s the solution? I’ve read that buying a 2015+ m278 motor is the best as it’s had all the revisions.
any ideas?
recently, within the last 10k km, I’ve been forced to add a liter of oil every 1000km.
no leaks that I could detect coming from the engine.
ive read that early m278 motors had some oil burning issues. Is this what I am seeing? What’s the solution? I’ve read that buying a 2015+ m278 motor is the best as it’s had all the revisions.
any ideas?
Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 126
Likes: 58
From: Gresham, OR
GL450
A liter of oil every 1000km (620 miles) for an engine with 265k km (165k miles) is not unusual at all. I've had many gas engines over that mileage from German, American, and Japanese companies and they all burned/leaked some amount of oil once they got in the 150k to 200k range. You can play around with changing the weight of the oil to possibly reduce consumption, and some people have had success with that on other engines, but it's risky.. A vehicle with 165k miles is something you'll be needing to pop the hood on fairly often anyway to check for coolant/oil leaks and levels, so adding a liter of oil every week or two isn't a big cost in time or money. My 2013 GL450 has 193k km (120k miles), and I go through about a liter about every 1600 km (1000 miles) and I'm not worried. The oil capacity is pretty large for the M278, so even if you're down a liter you're ok for a little bit.
Member
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 173
Likes: 36
2014 GL550; 2010 GL450
Wow! Great to see other share their experience. I thought I was in a unique position and was getting ready to rebuild my engine for this (and other reasons). I go through 1L every 800 to 1000 miles on my 2014 GL 550 with 140k miles. No other car I've owned burned this much oil; not even my x164 GL450 with similar mileage. I've seen a BMW technical info on oil consumption essentially telling dealerships to not undertake repairs on vehicles that consume up to 1L every 600 miles; they should tell the customer that it's normal. I guess these rigs do eat oil for snack.
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 733
Likes: 297
From: New Orleans
2014 GL450, 1992 W140 300SD, 1993 W140 300SE, 1987 E30 Convertible
It is not always due to engine wear. Replace plastic cover on centrifuge vent separator, seal could be leaking letting extra oil ventilated into intake.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 35
Likes: 1
gl550
yes the monster of mobile does drink the oil at (in my experience) 2 quarts/5000 miles.
Do NOT wait 10k for a synthetic change. Change every 5K and chalk it up to this vehicle is just a dud.
I have never had any vehicle fail on so many levels (fuel lines/brake lines/compressor/air matic system/door sensors ESP all the time.)
It is the monster of Mobile for a reason.
Do NOT wait 10k for a synthetic change. Change every 5K and chalk it up to this vehicle is just a dud.
I have never had any vehicle fail on so many levels (fuel lines/brake lines/compressor/air matic system/door sensors ESP all the time.)
It is the monster of Mobile for a reason.
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Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 105
Likes: 39
From: SC
2015 GL350, 2013 GL350, 2002 ML320, 1983 E300TD-D
Wow! Great to see other share their experience. I thought I was in a unique position and was getting ready to rebuild my engine for this (and other reasons). I go through 1L every 800 to 1000 miles on my 2014 GL 550 with 140k miles. No other car I've owned burned this much oil; not even my x164 GL450 with similar mileage. I've seen a BMW technical info on oil consumption essentially telling dealerships to not undertake repairs on vehicles that consume up to 1L every 600 miles; they should tell the customer that it's normal. I guess these rigs do eat oil for snack.
Be wary if that one my friend.
