GLE Class (W166) Produced 2015-2019

A1 service? DIY or take to dealer?

Old Feb 16, 2018 | 05:07 PM
  #1  
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A1 service? DIY or take to dealer?

wife 2016 GLE just popped up for A1 service. As far as I can gather it’s oil change cabin air filter and wipers as well as checking all the fluids. Is the oil change possible at home? Is there a standard drain plug on the oil pan or do I need an extractor? If I go to the dealer how much should this cost?
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Old Feb 16, 2018 | 05:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Ride92
wife 2016 GLE just popped up for A1 service. As far as I can gather it’s oil change cabin air filter and wipers as well as checking all the fluids. Is the oil change possible at home? Is there a standard drain plug on the oil pan or do I need an extractor? If I go to the dealer how much should this cost?
I have ML and I use vacuum extractor, getting oil out through dip stick tube.
All parts will cost you around 150-200. Triple it if you go to a dealer.
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Old Feb 16, 2018 | 06:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Ride92
wife 2016 GLE just popped up for A1 service. As far as I can gather it’s oil change cabin air filter and wipers as well as checking all the fluids. Is the oil change possible at home? Is there a standard drain plug on the oil pan or do I need an extractor? If I go to the dealer how much should this cost?
As far as I'm concerned, the A1 service is a rip-off. I found a coupon on my dealer's website for $119.95. This included an oil change, wiper blade inspection, check and adjust tire pressure and a multi-point inspection. The multi-point inspection includes the same things as the A1 service. A1 service replaces wiper blades, whether you need them or not. A ridiculous waste of money. After inspection, they didn't tell me the blades needed replacing. Of course, I already knew that ahead of time. I told them to leave the tire pressure alone. I monitor and adjust tire pressure on my own regularly. The cabin filters can easily be checked yourself. See the link below. Again, these should be checked, not necessarily routinely replaced. It depends on use and environmental conditions in your area. Oil is different. Regardless of how much/little you drive, oil loses its viscosity with time. It should always be changed after a year, regardless of mileage.

https://mbworld.org/forums/gle43-cou...e-filters.html

Reset the A1 service light here:

Last edited by GLE43_Sube; Feb 16, 2018 at 06:26 PM.
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Old Feb 18, 2018 | 04:25 PM
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Check with your dealership first, our dealership offers free A1 service. It's part of their own "VIP" program.
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Old Feb 28, 2018 | 08:12 PM
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You prolly shouldn’t have gotten a mercedes if you’re unsure of going to the dealer for your 1st service(or any service while under warranty)

Maintain a good relationship with them, and they’ll treat you like a king.
(w166 service A $350, service B $450 in Iowa City, IA)
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Old Feb 28, 2018 | 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by A2thek
You prolly shouldn’t have gotten a mercedes if you’re unsure of going to the dealer for your 1st service(or any service while under warranty)

Maintain a good relationship with them, and they’ll treat you like a king.
(w166 service A $350, service B $450 in Iowa City, IA)
it’s not the cars first service. We bought the car used, it’s at about 25,000 miles know and the service popped up. I just don’t know what it all entails.

So there really is no drain plug on the oil pan?
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Old Mar 1, 2018 | 11:25 AM
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Originally Posted by A2thek
(w166 service A $350, service B $450 in Iowa City, IA)
I've owned MBZ cars since 20 years and I never get the "service". Routinely, I just ask for an oil change which usually cost about $90 with dealer coupon. I don't need to pay extra money for dealer to do these checks:
  1. All Fluid Level Checks & Corrections Are Dependent On Factory-Recommended Service Intervals For Your Vehicle's Year & Model
  2. Tire Inflation Check & Correction
  3. Brake Component Inspection
  4. Reset Maintenance Counter
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Old Mar 4, 2018 | 05:21 AM
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there is indeed a drain plug, you can do it home. That is what i would do because in Southern California A service is around $400. heck if you are around me i would let you us e my tools and stuff.
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Old Mar 7, 2018 | 01:07 AM
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Originally Posted by A2thek
You prolly shouldn’t have gotten a mercedes if you’re unsure of going to the dealer for your 1st service(or any service while under warranty)

Maintain a good relationship with them, and they’ll treat you like a king.
(w166 service A $350, service B $450 in Iowa City, IA)
Maybe in Iowa City, but in So/Cal, there are many indie shops who are highly rated. Most are ex-dealership mechanics with there on business, mines charge me $115 for everything the dealer does.
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Old Mar 7, 2018 | 09:11 PM
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Take it to the dealership
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Old Mar 23, 2018 | 01:00 PM
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Well, The car developed a small coolant. I can't see where it is coming from but there is a slight drip that hangs onto the lower plastics just inside the front drivers side wheel. We took the car in for them to find and fix the leak. While we were there we asked about the A1 service and they said it was $350, which included an oil change, check all fluids, inspect brake components, rotate tires, a hand wash and new wiper inserts. Now I detail cars so I don't want them to wash the car, I don't trust their so called detailers after they said they would detail it before we picked up at purchase and when we got it, every thing that I pointed out that needed attention was not addressed. There were marks by the seat belt in the b-pillar, a mystery go under the ash tray and dirt in the all creases of the seats, nothing was cleaned. I detailed the car inside and out and coated in with Gtechniq CSL topped with EXO V3 after a two step polishing. I rotate my own tires since we have winter tires for the vehicle, and the car doesn't need new wipers. I asked how much just an oil change was and they quoted me $175!!! I said I thought that was rather high for just an oil change and which point the service guy got rather rude stating that they are MB certified technicians and that this wasn't some cheap $10 oil change jiffy lube lube place. I almost wanted to tell him off and leave with the car right then and their. What are they using for oil changes that it's so expensive? Unicorn Blood? I was expecting something in the $75-$100 range since I know it's like 9 quarts of oil.

I'm just going to be doing the service myself. Does anyone have a good resource for getting the proper oil filter and what not? Is there a good vendor for parts? I know for my mazda I can buy oil change kits from one of the online dealerships/part suppliers for a good price. Anything like that for MB?
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Old Mar 23, 2018 | 01:08 PM
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Well, The car developed a small coolant. I can't see where it is coming from but there is a slight drip that hangs onto the lower plastics just inside the front drivers side wheel. We took the car in for them to find and fix the leak. While we were there we asked about the A1 service and they said it was $350, which included an oil change, check all fluids, inspect brake components, rotate tires, a hand wash and new wiper inserts. Now I detail cars so I don't want them to wash the car, I don't trust their so called detailers after they said they would detail it before we picked up at purchase and when we got it, every thing that I pointed out that needed attention was not addressed. There were marks by the seat belt in the b-pillar, a mystery go under the ash tray and dirt in the all creases of the seats, nothing was cleaned. I detailed the car inside and out and coated in with Gtechniq CSL topped with EXO V3 after a two step polishing. I rotate my own tires since we have winter tires for the vehicle, and the car doesn't need new wipers. I asked how much just an oil change was and they quoted me $175!!! I said I thought that was rather high for just an oil change and which point the service guy got rather rude stating that they are MB certified technicians and that this wasn't some cheap $10 oil change jiffy lube lube place. I almost wanted to tell him off and leave with the car right then and their. What are they using for oil changes that it's so expensive? Unicorn Blood? I was expecting something in the $75-$100 range since I know it's like 9 quarts of oil.

I'm just going to be doing the service myself. Does anyone have a good resource for getting the proper oil filter and what not? Is there a good vendor for parts? I know for my mazda I can buy oil change kits from one of the online dealerships/part suppliers for a good price. Anything like that for MB?
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Old Mar 23, 2018 | 01:55 PM
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Walmart has the 5Qrt Mobil 1 0W-40 for like $25 and you can get the oil filter from Auto Zone. If you have an hour or two of free time and want to save some money, you can do the oil change yourself. I used to do my own maintenance when I was in undergrad, It's really not that hard if you have the tools.

Keep in mind dealer will bundle a lot of other things in their service that may not be necessary. I always do maintenance based on what owner's manual states. I don't listen to my dealer's recommendation.
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Old Mar 23, 2018 | 03:46 PM
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Well, I’m going to change the oil myself. Picked up 0w40 from Walmart and got a wix filter from Napa. The wix gold filters are actually on sale right now for about $10, so I think that’s a good deal.

Anyone use the Napa/wix filters before? I’ve always liked them in the past
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Old Mar 23, 2018 | 08:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Ride92
Well, I’m going to change the oil myself. Picked up 0w40 from Walmart and got a wix filter from Napa. The wix gold filters are actually on sale right now for about $10, so I think that’s a good deal.

Anyone use the Napa/wix filters before? I’ve always liked them in the past
Check out Mobil 1 website there is a $12 rebate for their oil.
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Old Mar 24, 2018 | 02:50 AM
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I have a 2015 ML350 approaching 50,000 miles which i purchased as a CPO with 9500 miles . I take it in for service every 10,000 miles . I do a ala carte service, in that I look at what the service manual requires and figure what I can do ( inspect wipers, tire rotation, tire pressure warning lights, etc) and then just have the dealer do the other things like change the oil and air/cabin filters.Usually I have a coupon to use also. This way the dealer supposedly gives me the so called free inspection worth that it would never get going somewhere else. In the St Louis area we have two Mercedes dealers and I get them to match each others coupons.

One thing I just found on the was a Mercedes service manual site. It does not have a service manual for 2015 ML350 but does have one for a 2014 ML350(same car). What is interesting it divides each service ie 10,000-20,000 etc into two separate categories. One is called REQUIRED and one RECOMMENDED. The recommended one has less items to check and replace. This is interesting since the 2015 Maintenance manual that came with the car does not have services divided up that way. One item I noticed was the Required only said replace the DUST filter whereas the recommended said replace the DUST & CHARCOAL l filter. This was for the 50,000 service.
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Old May 12, 2018 | 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Ride92
Well, I’m going to change the oil myself. Picked up 0w40 from Walmart and got a wix filter from Napa. The wix gold filters are actually on sale right now for about $10, so I think that’s a good deal.

Anyone use the Napa/wix filters before? I’ve always liked them in the past
I've always used the Napa gold, which is really WIX. Can't go wrong with those.

I was due for service and had a couple of recalls, so I just took it to the dealer. Pretty big rip off for oil there as opposed to doing it yourself or even an independent shop.
Oil change: $160
Break fluid xchange: $123
2018 v9.0 map update: 0

Didn't bother with the air filters since she's only got 10k miles on it. Leave it to the germans to make even filter changing more complicated than it needs to be though. I'll probably end up just taking it to an independent shop to get those done eventually.
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Old May 12, 2018 | 03:45 PM
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Check your dealers, there is a promotion $130 off of $250 or more on maintenance. Check the link

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/service_special/fb2018
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Old Jul 6, 2018 | 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Ride92
Well, I’m going to change the oil myself. Picked up 0w40 from Walmart and got a wix filter from Napa. The wix gold filters are actually on sale right now for about $10, so I think that’s a good deal.

Anyone use the Napa/wix filters before? I’ve always liked them in the past
When I pulled up the WIX air filter it was actually the MANN/Mercedes OEM filter. Don't know about oil filters.
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Old Jul 7, 2018 | 08:22 PM
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I always take mine to an independent dealer near us that has Saturday morning oil changes for $60. That said, Years ago I was complaining about my '02 S500. Now all of this was covered under warranty but I was miffed that the suspension air compressor and water pump crapped out within a month of each other. I told the owner I was disappointed with the car and he said, "Bill, it's a hundred thousand dollar car. Things go wrong". LOL!
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Old Jul 14, 2018 | 01:10 PM
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Where do you take your Benz in Chicago area for that $60 oil change? Interested

Originally Posted by Bill Baird
I always take mine to an independent dealer near us that has Saturday morning oil changes for $60. That said, Years ago I was complaining about my '02 S500. Now all of this was covered under warranty but I was miffed that the suspension air compressor and water pump crapped out within a month of each other. I told the owner I was disappointed with the car and he said, "Bill, it's a hundred thousand dollar car. Things go wrong". LOL!
What is place that you used for the oil change?
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