5.5L M157 Engine in R231 AMG SL63
(Specifically model year 2017, but the model year shouldn’t matter.)

I’ve owned the car five years, have 27K miles now; and I’ve been extremely slow to address this issue and I’ve finally had enough. The car downright drinks engine oil. I don’t care what Mercedes’s guideline is- and Mercedes Shop foremen have told me the same- it’s excessive, and it’s annoying — so let’s not even discuss that aspect. I’ve been running the OEM Mobil1 5w-40. Warm weather climate (FL).

I am looking to know SPECIFICALLY if anyone has tried the below engine oils or has heard of someone trying them for the specific purpose of consuming less engine oil than Mobil1.

My intention is to switch brands and try to get it right the first time by making an informed decision. Engine oil volatility is a known statistic but because I am not proficient in seeking out and interpreting the data connected to engine oil technical specifications, I am asking for help here since these forums are an excellent resource comprised of highly informed enthusiasts.

Let’s try to avoid please both another oil debate thread and also a peek into what might be going on with my car mechanically (I have no smoke, I have no issues).

After perusing Mercedes own extremely long list of 229.5 approved oils at 5w-40, the suitable candidates seem to be as follows:

1) Castrol
2) Fuchs
3) Liqui Moly
4) Motul
5) Pennzoil
6) Quaker State
7) Shell
8) Valvoline
(Many of the above have several variants at 5w-40 carrying the 229.5 approval)
**Post recently edited to correct a mistake on the engine oil list.

Any recommendations based on the brands above?

Thanks in advance!

 

Any oil should work if it meets the SAE Spec for your engine. Brand does not matter the SAE spec matters.
Excessive oil being used at 27,000 miles is BS.
How much oil is it using? 1 quart in 5,000 miles would be considered OK but not perfect.
1 quart of oil in 3,000 miles would be considered Bad by any standard in a modern car.
1 quart in 1,000 miles is flat out terrible and the engine has a problem that needs to be repaired.

FYI: The EPA in America had been pushing car manufacturers that sell cars in the USA to seal the engines tight. They want 1 quart of oil consumption or less in 20,000 miles. That is the standard they ask for. It includes Leaks of oil on the ground, they do not want oil leaking or being burned in the engines.

IF Mercedes tells you 1,000 miles per quart of oil is normal insist they put that in writing for you and make sure the person telling you this is listed on the paper. They won't do this because it is not True, upper levels of Mercedes people know the standard and it is public knowledge.
I should say that was the standard pushed 20 years ago, I bet it is higher now, maybe a quart in 30,000 miles.
It is known that manufacturing is not always perfect, some cars will use more oil than others, some will use less. Some use far more and need to be repaired. You won't win in court if you are only using a quart in 5,000 miles because the industry still considers this good but if you are using much more than a quart in 5,000 you have a beef.
I suspect your engine probably has a simple issue like the crank case vent not working properly allowing oil to be pulled into the intake manifold. Does it smoke on start up? Does it leak on the ground?
One bad valve stem seal can cause excessive oil consumption. A bad valve stem seal can leak a lot of oil, one drop of oil per combustion can cause the engine to burn one quart of oil in 400 miles.
There are several possible reasons for it but the factory should fix the problem it sold you.

I just noticed your engine is a 2017 which is a Direct Fuel Injected engine. The Direct fuel injection engines need oil specifically designed for them. It helps avoid carbon deposit build up on the Intake Valves. GM calls this oil Dexxos, Check and see what Mercedes calls for but again there will be an SAE spec for it.

 

Why is the engine drinking oil? Bore scoring, valve guide or turbo issue?

 

Mobil1 is known to have a high volatility - meaning it vaporizes relatively easily.

Just looking to know if anyone has experience with those other brands in this kind of situation or has heard of those other brands having helped. Beyond that I think we will be off track.

 

These engines drink oil from the first day with low-mileage and all new factory parts.

The basic PCV system is unsuitable to separate engine oil from air stream.

Quarts of crankcase oil migrate directly to the intake plenum where it puddles before getting ingested to coat the intake valves.



$$$$
Use the "MB oil specs sheet" else Pennzoil has a ultra platinum oil that should help mitigate this issue. Search YT: "project farm" for oil tests including the Amsoil PAO...


> Flashing quarts into vapor:
I bet the ECU on affected engines is designed to control the oil pump pressure such as with M276... This is not to help increase lubrication. It's to stop the cylinders squirter jets.

The MB engineers decided NOT TO LUBRICATE CYLINDERS WALLS below 3,500.RPM.

The cylinders walls get so hot, the burned oil is flashed into vapors. Piston rings are kept dry and unable to prevent excessive blow-by.

> Quick assessment:
Does your low-mileage NA/TT engine burns fresh oil into a black tar under 2KMi? If so, it likely features the troublesome "managed oil pressure".

​​​
> Stop Burning Engine Oil :
To help this out ... :
1-- disconnect the oil pressure deregulating solenoid
2-- use ultra premium oil designed for higher temps.
3-- (Add a large volume catch-can)
4-- code control solenoid down to 1,000.RPM


This amazing oil control feature is a wide open door for a lot of sweet failures:

• burned oil!
• coated intake valves
• scoared dry cylinders
• unlubricated stuck piston rings
• contaminated lambda sensors & cats.

MB could have done a thousand things differently to make this work well:

• Disable cylinders lubrication only below 1,000.Rpm
• Use a proven PCV system to separate oil vapors
• Drain quarts of intake oil back to cranckcase

> What's your thinking??

 

Greetings,
I also have a 2017 SL63 and found a similar issue with needing to add oil at what I thought was a somewhat frequent interval. I was informed by an MB/AMG technician that the M157 engine does consume oil at a rate that exceeds what is considered normal, especially when new. My experience with Mobil 1 was that I needed to add a quart or so, as alerted by a message in the instrument binnacle, every 800 - 1000 miles. ( I also remember having read something about the need to add oil regularly, in the owner's manual.) After switching to Amsoil European 5w-40, the need for adding oil has lessened to a quart every 1500 - 1800 miles. I was told that driving style can also have a significant effect on oil consumption beyond what is typical for the M157 engine. WOT and triple-digit cruising will result in more oil being burned. Apparently, the lower Flash Point of Mobil 1, relative to the Amsoil, causes it to be consumed at a faster rate. May give Pennzoil Ultra Platinum a try next oil change, as some UOA have shown it to have a Flash Point exceeding that of the Amsoil.
Hope this helps,
DR.VJM

 

Interesting. Thanks for the information.

My Pennzoil Platinum 5w-40 arrived today and I’ll be back to visit this thread with observations. Won’t be tending to the oil change for a few weeks but I will update when possible.