So my 2015 S550 finally went out of extended warranty and I took it to an independent shop for an Oil Change. Normally, I would be going to the Dealer for Service B for $650. Instead this independent shop charged me $160 for the oil change. They told me they used a Fram oil filter + full synthetic oil. But the guy said that i should get another oil change at 6 months/ 6,000 miles. With the dealer it would be 1 year/12,000 miles. when I told the independent shop that the dealer recommends 1 year/12,000 miles, the shop owner said that he recommends 6 mo/6,000 miles as "oil is very important and is the lifeblood of the car".

Realistically, what should I be doing? If i were to have to do 2 oil changes a year with the independent shop, that would be about $320/year vs $650/year with the dealership. I think I'd rather pay $650 and be assured that they are using good quality oil filter and oil.

Any opinions on this?

 

At minimum one oil change per year if below 10,000 miles, it might or might not be better to do more frequent oil changes, if you drive less (or frequent short trips that the engine never gets to operating temperature) then it is even more important to have the oil changed more frequently.

That said, I would buy the oil kit from FCPEuro and just DIY it, if you don't want to, you could always buy the oil filter from the dealership and the oil and then DIY it, if you don't want to DIY at all you could bring the OEM filter and oil to the independent and let them do it, if in doubt, watch them do it with the oil and filter you provided.

 

These cars and engines are so, so expensive. Dealer charges $650

My oil changes work out at around $75. Using Hengst filters with Mobile 1 0W40 or 5W40 229.5 ($26 per container). Hengst is around $13, OEM filter $20, plus drain plug
You can do an oil change every 1000 miles and it costs almost the same as what dealer charges.
Is 1000 miles too short? Maybe?

Its not a difficult job to do with some ramps, and again, these engines are so expensive to fix when issues show up.
Change the oil often. 2,000 miles, 3,000 miles, 6,000 miles. There are no downside having cleaner oil in your engine. None.
Fewer miles between oil changes is always better. If you do super short changes, say 2000 miles, you dont even have to change the filter every time.

If you change the oil every 10k miles and you get bore scoring or plugged oil passages or anything, Mercedes isn't going to say, hey man, you did good with 10k changes, here is a new engine.
They are going to tell you to get lost and so will anyone else who says you need longer oil intervals.

 

I'd say keep it every 5k or under. Always use a synth oil that meets the Mercedes Spec and don't use cheap (Fram) filters. I buy the filters from the local Mercedes parts counter as it's cheap insurance. If you drive very low miles then change it annually right before the "off season" so the car is sitting with the cleanest oil possible.

 

My routine is that I personally change my oil and then clean and recharge my air filters (K&N) each June. Then around October or November, I have the dealer conduct another oil change and any other maintenance issue that is due. Even though I use full synthetic oil and genuine OEM oil filters, I'll never let any of my cars reach 10K miles between oil changes.

 

I do my own oil changes.
i do them every 5-6k.
I use Mann or Hengst filters and mobil 1 esp, 5w-30.
keeps the car happy.

 

I owned a W204 with m272 engine that I personally put 175k miles on. It had 217k miles when it got totaled in an accident (rear ended). The engine was still perfect. Had no issues, not even a leak. I maintained that engine by the book, oil changes every 10K miles using OEM filter from FCP Euro. I changed engine air filters and wipers and cabin filter every oil change too since they were essentially free via FCP Euro.

I then picked up a W212 with m276 engine, also
maintained by the book (every 10k). Personally put 105K mikes on that vehicle before it was totaled. I serviced it just like the w204, 90% of the time using vacuum suction method to change the oil. That engine also didn’t have a single leak. When I bought the car it did have a leak at the two front cam covers, but that is common and once I re-sealed those, they never leaked again. That car has 201k when it was totaled. Engine was also perfectly fine until the accident.
Anyways, I always did my own oil changes with 10w-40 Mobil 1 from Walmart, costs about $55 for two 5L Jugs and filters from FCP.
In my personal experience, I never had an issue doing 10K mile changes, and I drove A LOT of miles. I averaged 25k a year and some years were 35K. It was only during the pandemic that my mileage went down.

Now I’m in a W222 with the m278 engine. I changed the oil as soon as I bought the car, even though the dealer said they just changed it. They had a cheap Fram filter in there, so I was glad I changed it out with OEM. I’m contemplating doing it every 5K for the m278 because of the turbos. That’s the real difference between the other engines I had. Also, I’m unable to use the vacuum suction method to change the oil (it doesn’t suck all the oil out) so it is a little more cumbersome to change, having to get underneath the car. Do I think 10K miles will be okay? I think it will be. But for turbo health and the fact that it’s a V8, oil quality is more crucial this time around. So I do plan to aim for 5K intervals for peace of mind. It will cost me twice the $ in maintenance vs the other Mercedes
I had owned, but the price is worth it for being the best car I’ve ever owned.

 

It depends on how the car is driven.

Sedate cruising at constant speed on interstates:: go the full 12,000 miles.
Driving as fast as you can get away with:: Change oil at 8,000 miles.
Stop and Go City traffic:: change oil at 6,000.
Dusty unpaved roads:: Change oil at 6,000 and air filter at same time).
Track driving: Chang oil before track event (and brake fluid,...)

 

Pretty much sums it up!

 

In the northeast there are interstates everywhere but we do get stop-n-go situations especially on i95, what should we do here?

 

Thanks, What if I use the car only 4,000 a year or less and mostly in stop and go city traffic, will the same rules apply or regards of the mileage I should change oil / filter every year or even more frequent ?

 

Mercedes recommends at least once a year, regardless of miles. So if you don’t put the amount of miles a year, then change it annually. Oil “goes bad” over time.

 

If you are getting less than 5 minutes at a time at posted speed, use 6,000 miles.
If you are getting less than 20 minutes at a time at posted speed, use 8,000 miles.
If you are getting more than 20 minutes use the full 12,000 miles.

 

It is not that the polyolefins go bad, it is that the additive package is consumed.
The corrosion package is consumed while the car is sitting in the garage,
The anti-wear package is consumed while driving.

If you could run the oil through a 0.05 micron filter, everything that comes through is the oil that still remains good.

 

[


I used to be in the camp of assuming shorter oil change intervals were just a shop wanting more money. But I just have seen so many horror stories. There's a great channel on YouTube, The Car Care Nut where a mechanic breaks down why he thinks these extended oil change intervals are ruining engines. With owners just doing what the manufacturer tells them. And the getting surprised when they're told the engine needs to be replaced.






Seeing how these Mercedes V8 engines are supposedly scoring cylinders, I'm in the camp on this engine of maybe 6k - 8k miles per oil change. I also think car companies are being forced to put ultra thin oil in cars that are made to hit a specific efficiency standard and that is also effecting the amount of protection the oil offers.

FWIW, I think a simple, proven engine design without turbos, you could do 10-12k mile oil changes with quality oil and a filter and be fine. This engine doesn't qualify imo.

 

Buy your filters, Mann, Hengst or Febi/Bilstein (what I use) in bulk online. Get your oil from Walmart or wherever it's on sale, I personally use Shell Rotella T6 5w40 year round, it's a HD truck oil but I've seen it used in boats, sandrails rockcrawling jeeps and even motorcycles. Never liked Mobile 1 as it seemed to thin out over time. Change your oil every 5kmi, my 1997 Silverado went 367kmi without any oil related issues doing this and using Walmart Supertech full synthetic, it's better to change your oil more frequently even using cheaper oil than to go 10kmi on expensive oil.

 

Can you post where you purchase Filters and BulkCost... I always change Oil minimum 2x a year. Every 5K or at begining of spring. Car sits most of the time over the winter.

Thanks

 

Rock Auto has them a bit cheaper. FCP Euro too.
I don't know about other places, but that's about what I found.

If you get a place that sells them for $2 a filter, they might be fake.

 

FCP Euro has Febi/Bilstein for $6.gonna get 10 myself.
Some words on oil and mileage, it's not the chemical package breaking breaking down thats an issue, all name brands perform well based on if they carry the most current SAE rating. The issue is how much dirt the oil carries. No oil filter captures all the dirt, the only thing that can eliminate that bypassed dirt is an oil change. I change mine every 4kmi in my S63, that's my preference, but if Walmart ever makes a Supertech 0/5w40 synthetic, I'll be doing what the chief engineer of the GTR VR38DETT recommends
3kmi oil changes
6kmi filter changes

 

Rock Auto has 5% off right now, not sure when it expires:
RockAuto offers 5% Off Your Entire Auto Parts Order when you apply coupon code 244069773218681049 in the 'How Did You Hear About Us?' box at checkout.

 

Rock Auto always has 5% off. Just need to get a code from somewhere. Its a good company, never had issues with them.

 

Rock Auto also wants you to SHARE this 5% off "HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US" discount code.
HEck I have seen some forums with sticky thread and members just keep adding them with the expiration date which is usually 30-60 days

 

FCP will give you FREE replacement Oil, just return your old oil. But, you must purchase oil from them first. Dont take my word for it, call them or go online to check the offer....

 

FCP will give you FREE replacement Oil, just return your old oil. But, you must purchase oil from them first. Dont take my word for it, call them or go online to check the offer....

 

You can take my word for it. I’ve had my oil refunded through their lifetime replacement policy a few times. I did this with the Genuine Mercedes branded oil they offer. Of course you must keep the oil cartons to refill with old oil to return to them (on your second order). Anyways, it costs a lot to ship from California to Connecticut. Cheapest route I found was USPS Large flat rate box and that was barely enough to fit 9 cartons. Nearly $40 at the time to ship? So I saved only roughly $30 to have Mercedes Benz oil. Did it twice and figured it’s not worth the hassle. Rather just spend the $60 at Walmart and not need to deal with shipping oil back (the hassle of refilling each 1 qt carton). For Transmission fluid I would do it again and again though, since it’s $30 a quart for MB fluid.