Hello,

Over the past four months I’ve driven over 10000km on my 18’ s560. It got me thinking beyond oil changes, how often are fluids such as transmission, brake, differential, etc… required to be changed? The owners manual isn’t particularly helpful.

thanks!

 

the maintenance manual spells out when to changes are required.

 

As someone who sees how the cars drive with used fluids before and after on a fairly consistent basis:

This is my recommendation as someone who fixes these things and sees every kind of Mercedes in various states of wear and maintenance. They're much more durable than you'd think even with negligent owners. This schedule is for the best performance.

Trans every 40k. Itll say 60k but you can feel degraded performance after about 20k if you drive in traffic/idle a lot since the ATF cooks itself. It also becomes acidic over time.
Diffs with the trans, it's very cheap to do (less than an oil change) although on non LSD cars you may not ever notice a difference with fresh gear oil. The actual truth is that those gear faces are working very hard, with only the gear oil's shear strength saving them from certain doom at all times. The pins can also rattle themselves loose.
DOT4 every 2 years, this could be annually if you don't care about the money, but after year 2 the performance drops off pretty rapidly. Youll want to use a low viscosity DOT4 for the presafe, lanekeeping, and ABS systems to function optimally.
Oil every 7500 miles. It starts cooking off after that and you'll need to top off. 10k is fine you'll just need an extra half quart or so.
Powersteering is based on use, I would do it every 3-5 years. It'll keep the seals fresh and lubricated.
Coolant is 10 years. They were absolutely right on the money with this one, I have needed to replace coolant multiple times due to water pump/thermostat issues before I ever noticed a degradation in the coolant.
Do not use "bug wash" wiper fluid, it clogs the nozzles and forms goo inside the reservoir. You can cycle it out with regular wash though, no big deal if you did.

You can reduce the intervals by 30% if you want to spoil the car or if money isn't an issue. Clean fluids always have a honeymoon period where the car feels the best. You will particularly feel this with transmission and engine oils.

 

great advice……i do all under fluids every 45-50k.
oils at 5-7k….
thats just me.

 

Thanks for info Chris,
S550 has 25k on just bought(2014), it had to be sitting for awhile. Doing all Fluids and sparkplugs now. Apparley the transmission fluid his hard to come by, I called a local EURO shop , and the will have to order it directly from a german company. The Stealership quoted me $2200.00 For plugs and a transmission change. So i looked other for other company's that can get the correct transmission fluid.

 

With the exception of motor oil i get all my fluids from the dealer. Ive never had an issue with supply of fluids….

 

I live in wisconsin, the owner at the Euro shop said it was a order fluid , I guess i am looking outside of dealership because of the cost. The owner said he has to order it from Germany , not something they pick up from autozone Ect. 40k service at Benz would be $2200.00, Plugs, transmission ect. they are about about 1100.00 at this euro car place.https://www.theeuroshopwi.com/about-us

 

If you want to take the leap, and this is not an MB approved fluid, Amsoil signature ATF FE is compatable and it'll feel better and last longer than the original stuff, there were a couple threads. I personally use it, I also use their DCT fluid in the GTS. Buy 7-9 liters to flush out the system by overfilling it a little bit at a time and letting the excess circulate and drain out.
https://www.amsoil.com/p/signature-s...EA/&zo=7236674




however I understand the desire to follow specs published by MB, so this is the approved fluid readily available with a filter kit for your convenience.
https://www.blauparts.com/mercedes-s...hange-kit.html

I charge $500 for ATF service and filter
I charge about $800 for plugs.
You'll want to do a $170 oil change to get it out of the way
If you don't know the condition of your cabin filter and engine filter do it now, and start changing it annually you'll notice a difference. Mann for everything.

Your shop is right on the money. However you can buy Pentosin ATF134FE on amazon so the idea that you have to order it from Germany is a bit ridiculous unless he's getting the specific Shell Spirax stuff

 

Its a Mercedes. It takes a specific fluid based on the year. Of course it has to be ordered....but there is plenty of MB spec fluid already imported to the USA. It is NOT hard to come by. FCP Euro carries most of the fluids needed, sometimes you need to go to another German type vendor. I just did my trans at 50K and Chris above is dead on....the analysis stated it was worn out, so 60K is too long on this car. The trans is a service for more experienced guys not a novice job, very specific. The diff was done at 30k and came out looking like new. Oil I do every 5K. Most who do spark plugs at 50K say they look new. Trans is a must 40K is a good interval.

 

Thanks for the input, the Car is 2014 but was sitting god knows how long so im just doing all fluids , the benz dealership had no service recorders for the car besides oil changes by first owner. I don't have the tools or know how to do transmission flush , so i will leave to the pros.

 

Thanks allot, this clears allot of uncertainty up. Thanks for the price points too!

 

The maintenance booklet is posted in the DIY linked in my signature.

 

I can concur on the above.
i have done the plugs at 50k, looked new, lots of stuff to take off (I have the 4.0tt) and put back on the motor. You will break something during this job, most likely a stuck rubber boot)
Trans at 45k, looked golden, dont forget the torque converter, I got about 4 liters out of it.
refill is a procedure and not for novice.
diffs at 45k, looked normal. mercedes adaptor tool is a must for a clean job.
transfer case at 45k looked dark but was still slippery.
dont forget engine filters every year or so and cabin filters.
if you really love your car get a star knock off from china, very useful in making the car yours.
oil, i do every 5-7k with mobil 1 esp or mercedes golden olive oil…..
I use all MB stuff since that one time i put a Reinz gasket on the rear main seal of an m113 motor….that will teach you!