It’s an app called Fuelly (formerly Gas Cubby)
I use it to track my mileage and maintenance reminders, service logging, costs, etc.

 

There are better ones like Fuelio and Drivvo.

 

Hey everyone. I just read through all of this and I’m more confused than before I started.

We just bought a 2018 W222 M276 E350 4Matic with 32k miles and every possible option on it. The single prior owner took extremely good care of this car. I had it inspected and it was pronounced perfect save for needing brake pads and tires soonish, which I’m doing.

So this car we bought because I recently discovered I have Stage III cancer so we will be driving five hours to MD Anderson Cancer Center a LOT for the next six years assuming all goes well. They are extremely thorough at MDA which is probably why they are rankled #1 in the world. Otherwise I have a Tundra and between us we probably drive 5-7k a year. Stay at home mom, homeschool youngest, work at home, go to church and kids stuff, that’s it.

Will someone who clearly knows WAY MORE THAN ME tell me what to do please? I want to do the oil changes myself while I also teach my older boys (23&19) how to do the same. I’d like to buy it all from FCPEuro because of their return policy on WIPERS. Remember this has every option including the Magic… view? Those $180 wipers. 😉

How often?
Which oil kit?
Anything else I might need?

I think I might like to get some ramps - would that be easier/safer than jack and stands? If so does anyone have recommendations?

I know from reading that fresh fluids keep these engines running happy, and I want this engine to do that as much as possible while teaching the boys how to properly take care of things. So I’d like to buy the best I can get knowing I need as few issues as possible, because we have bigger issues.

I did check but there are so many options, and it’s hard to think clearly when you have a chemo ball pump connected to the port in your chest pumping 5FU literal poison into your jugular. Cancer sucks. Get your colonoscopy… you know the one you have been putting off. That’s WAY better than this. Anyway, sorry so long. Any advice is very welcome as appreciated!

 

YouTube is your friend.

 

Yeah … to a point. Then it’s overwhelming. A lot of different opinions out there. I just finished watching one guy changes the brakes without first going into brake pad change mode and just forcing everything apart with a hammer. I watched it to see what would happen. It worked, but it was a lot longer video. 😂

Is LiquiMoly just for a leaky engine or is it better than say Mobile 1? Is the Mercedes oil relabeled Mobile 1? I’ve read the Costco synthetic is exactly the same as Mobile 1.

Feels like info overload. I haven’t worked on cars for 30 years and then not too much unless I had to and that was limited to a 280Z.

 

Check out The Motor Oil Geek on YouTube.

He demystifies oils/additives/misconceptions.

(Spoiler - there is no magic oil. Proper viscosity/specs/intervals are what you want - confirmed via testing). Because the 450 is turbo ‘d and direct injected, you’ll want to stay with an API SP oil, lower in Calcuum.

 

The 2 biggest factors regarding engine health and longevity are unfiltered contamination in engine oil, and warmup habits. Oil change intervals are not as important. Follow manufacturer recommendations concerning oil changes within reason. Avoid conditions that would introduce contaminants in the oil. Don’t idle after startup, in order to warm up the engine. Start up, and as soon as the engine is running smoothly, put the car in gear, and drive putting little to no load on the engine, until reaching operating temperatures of at least 160deg F. Then you can drive at all the higher performance levels. That is as far as the engine is concerned. If you want the transmission and drivetrain to last longer, let them come up to operating temperature before increasing performance demands.

 

Multiple mechanics I have spoken to disagree

 

The reason information varies so much is because circumstance vary even more. If a guy is delivering pizzas in an urban area or where there's tons of dust, it would be wise to change the oil more frequently. But you'd be perfectly safe from causing harm if you changed your oil with the appropriate, meaning type and certification of engine oil, every 5 thousand miles. The manufacturer says 10K, and I'm personally sure that's fine too. Like @MB2timer said, "the 2 biggest factors regarding engine health and longevity are unfiltered contamination in engine oil, and warmup habits. " that's what you're fighting against. Because you're going to be on long relaxing highway drives most of the time, you would probably be ok with 15K-20K oil changes. But why take a chance? Go with 10K OCI and you'll be fine, just use the right oil and filter. If you went with 5K OCI you wouldn't harm the car in any way, just be wasting some oil but buying peace of mind, and that's what I do. I'll be under my next weekend I'm home. Brand is not as important as proper additives. There are tons of motor oils that meet the certifications. It's not like it was 20 years ago when there were only 2 or 3 for MB turbo charged cars. This is not a something that should cause any stress.

And I say yes to ramps; that's the easiest way to do oil changes. However, you might want to consider some "quick jacks" or similar low rise garage lifts and you can do a lot more than oil changes if you like.

 

Everyone has their opinions - you can brush your teeth 6 times a day and some will still get cavities. The same engine built by a dozen factory techs will have some parts under torqued, others over torqued and yet some plain by the book. Crank bearings, rings, contamination in castings, not enough assembly lube, independent ideas on substations, I can go on for another hour.

Unfortunately EV cars will be the norm before engineers perfect the ICE. Until then Engine oils will get contaminated, collect in undesirable ways on different parts in different passages
as human hands and minds have inconsistent quality control. That and regional conditions, different drivers etc etc.
All you can do is use the factory guidelines as a minimum, common sense and hope you didn’t get Friday’s motor built by a person that couldn’t care less.

Can I get an amen?

 

Subscribed! Thanks.

 

Yeah - I think I will do more myself because of peace of mind but also I’m wanting to show my boys something. Before this car we just went to Midas. That’s not a good example. So this will be good for them to see and help do at their ages. One has his own car so we will knock his out as well. The other (19yo) doesn’t drive yet. That entire generation is in a rush to drive. Hard to understand. This might help that as well - who knows?

 

This sounds like reasonable advice. I will start to remember to do this and had my wife read it as well. Thank you.

 

I don’t think you are wrong in your reasoning or that prediction but you AIN’T getting any amen from me! 🤠

 

Thats what I think I'm going to do, let MB or my Mechanic do the regular A and B services and then the in between oil change my son and I can do at home...

 

Just so you don't think you're alone with this curiosity: Both a co-worker and I had to stand over our sons and force them to get a driver's license, neither had any interest to do it on their own.

I guess our fathers found us just as weird, but for different oddities....

 

this question is filled with needless fear and anxiety that no answer will appease!

 

I use Motul in all my cars. There is an Oil Adviser on their site, or pick the viscosity you want with the right OEM ratings.

https://www.motul.com/en-US

I then buy it on Amazon. I have their 5w-30 ready for a spring oil change, and I change it yearly or somewhat close.

Get the filters and drain plugs from FCPeuro.

 

This is an interesting topic. I can add to it:

I purchased my car at 30k miles 4 years ago. 2 months after I purchased it, I noticed a strong burning oil smell. Took it to local MB dealer and it turned out it had a valve cover leak that was dripping onto the exhaust and also a right cam magnet & cover leak that was repaired under my after-market warranty. Fast forward to this week and I notice the same kind of smell on the engine that now has 51k miles. It turns out it has the exact same leaks from the same places along one more cam magnet leaking. The trans pan also appears to be seeping. So now it's in at my local mechanic to have 40+ hours of work done to repair the leaks. Fortunately the car is still under warranty for another 3 years through Endurance, who my mechanic has lots of experience with and knows how to negotiate with them.

Now I've consistently been putting on 5k miles per year with 1 annual oil change, with the majority of those miles during the warmer months. I'm in the Chicago area where we can have some pretty extreme temperature swings. Most of my mileage is local driving with occasional highway jaunts. I thought that at just 5k miles per year, the once a year oil change would be more than sufficient. What I learned from my mechanic is that with shorter trips and major temperature swings, gas will tend to mix with the oil (all cars do this through blow-by past the rings), but with lots of local driving the gas is remaining in the oil & not burning off, which causes the gaskets to wear out much sooner, especially in areas where gassed up oil is just sitting against the gaskets while the car is parked. MB doesn't use traditional gaskets for valve covers and cam covers, instead opting for a paste seal, which is more prone to failure with the described conditions. So even though I don't put many miles on my car, he said I should be changing the oil every 6 months, especially with the major temp swings and the car sitting more in the winter to avoid this situation from returning. He also mentioned that the 1 yr/ 10k oil change intervals are horrible for the car, especially as you get past the original warranty period where things start to fail. It's also the time where 2nd owners buy these cars and why they can be so expensive to maintain. More frequent oil changes seems to be the fix for many of the issues these cars experience.

 

This is exactly what I was told...just via mileage since I drive ~ 15k miles a year. As my mechanic said to me "If you want one of these to last, the single biggest thing you can do is change the oil every 6 months or 5k miles".

Mechanics don't make money off oil changes so thats not what drives that. In fact he'd be better off if he had to keep doing all your repairs...

 

Engines wear out from cylinder wear, and piston ring wear. The most wear on those components is when the engine is cold. Cold engine revving is the worst. Multiple cold starts before the engine has warmed is the next worst. Extended idling after a cold start is the next worse. Unfiltered contaminants in oil, is worse than not having regular oil changes. Exceeding recommended oil change recommendations has a negligible impact on engine wear comparably. Avoid the major engine wear causes first and foremost.

 

But that doesn't negate the suggestion that the oil be changed sooner than what MB recommends. Those use scenarios just further reinforce that more frequent oil changes are better than less frequent oil changes. We're not talking about "engines wearing out" or piston ring wear, we are talking about avoiding gasket failures that require huge repair jobs very early in an engines life

Oil changes are cheap. Mercedes charged me $180 to change the oil. Whats the big deal about spending $180 halfway between the MB recommended service intervals? I can't even get out of a restaurant for less than $180.

 

I am glad you interpreted past my typo. They are NOT in a rush to drive. But once they do they are always driving. I think it’s the coddling of the American youth personally, but I won’t dive into that here. Glad to know we aren’t alone.

 

This makes a lot of sense to me. I’m going to change every six months which should be around $3k miles for us.

Now here’s a question. Why should I NOT use Liqui Moly? I see that a lot. Here’s a video about it from FCPEuro:


Everyone seems to love this stuff, but is it worth it, or only for older cars or if you are having leaks?

 

My opinion: if it meets MB229.5 or 229.6 (as recommended in the manual) and is API SP, then there’s no reason not to.