Streamliner

I have a 2020 S560 sedan. It has under 16K miles and is due for the A-2 service. One dealer is telling me that a Fuel System Service is “recommended” at 3 years, to the tune of $338.00 just for that. Another dealer says the Fuel System Service is not needed until 12 years or 120K miles. Is either dealer telling me the truth? I know I can look this up somewhere, but since I trust you folks more than the dealers, I’m asking here. Thanks!

vincheung

Pass on it, you'll be paying them $338 to essentially put in a bottle of BG44k or its equivalent. Using quality fuel and your own use of jectron or fuel additive periodically will suffice. Note that MB at the manufactuer level does not recommend additives so its the dealer recommending you part with $300+.

Streamliner

I appreciate your response, but that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking what MB officially recommends.

S_W222

This is not even a part of the MB official recommendations. You don't need to ever do that. Dealer is trying to make more money selling a $10 bottle for $300+. The only service needed per MB official maintenance recommendations is replacing the fuel filter every 120K miles OR 12 years. You can check that your self by searching the service sheet for the W222 facelift. Fuel additives isn't required at all as long as you use good fuel, there is literally no benefit of doing it [other than feeling well mentally : )]

Streamliner

Much appreciated, thank you!

S_W222

No problem. And here is the W222 facelift "Service Sheet" if you need it (it shows 2018 but its the same for 2019 and 2020 since they carry the same exact powertrain).

Streamliner

WOW! I’ve never seen one of these before, thanks again.

The bottom line is that I have given the dealers way too much leeway and have blindly accepted many of their “recommendations,” thinking that it was a two-way street and that when I needed something, they would be there for me. That approach worked for decades, but over the past ten years or so, it has gotten more and more one-sided, to the point where I’ve had it. These days, with inflation raging and service fees skyrocketing, I am watching them like a hawk.

vincheung

See sentence 2 of my response - "Note that MB at the manufacturer level does not recommend additives so its the dealer recommending you part with $300+."

Streamliner

OK, but I would think that a “Fuel System Service” would be a bit different than adding a container of additive to the gas tank.

S_W222

Yup... am sure we all have faced similar experiences. I personally started to look at these service sheets myself more closely when I switched to a new Mbenz dealer after I moved to a new state, and got quoted $800+ for Service A or so. I immediately started to do research on what exactly do I really need.... Many of the items on their service quote were absolutely them trying to take advantage of me. Another example is the 30 USD they want to charge each time to replace the remote control batteries! Dealers are so creative finding opportunities to charge clients nowadays. Try to ask your dealer to show you a proof that the fuel additive is a recommended service formally by Mbenz and see what they say. SA will start mumbling. Even if they think it's needed, let him explain the 350 USD charge for a empty a 10-20 USD bottle into the fuel tank!

vincheung

Its their sales tactic essentially making it sound like something of substance, meanwhile its literally pulling a tab off of an can of additive and pouring it into your fuel tank. If you are interested in some of the fuel treatments available, you can look into jectron and techron which are some of the more popular ones. There are plenty of other brands also, not quite sure if it really does much though and you'll find mixed reviews the more you read about them.

Streamliner

How/where did you obtain these “service sheets?” I’d like to see them for our other two MB’s.

SW20S

Yep, no such thing. Dealer always tries to add things to my services too

ygmn

Whenever a dealer service department says you need something done ask them to show you where in your service booklet (in glovebox) it says that.
Anything not listed is not required for maintenance.
Also ask them EXACTLY what they will do - and again have them show you in writing.

Normally they push this type of crap because the vender (might be BG chemicals) is offering the service manager a gift card to his favorite steakhouse for $500 or something if he sells 20 if these a month.


For warranty you only have to follow maintenance book you get with car.

Service departments are so unethical today makes me sick to my stomach.

Tom in Austin

The great con of the dealer 'Service' is that they go around and do those inspections while your car is on the lift with the oil draining out ... for the specific purpose of selling you additional services. So you're paying for an exorbitantly expensive oil change in part to pay for the tech looking for additional services to sell you. What a deal

James S

That's why they're called stealerships.

fun33

I also would appreciate it if you could tell us where to get a "service sheet" for a 2017 SL550. Thank you for sharing the 2018 S560 sheet.

JohnLane

For most dealerships a ‘Fuel system service’ is much more than dumping a can of snake oil in the tank.

Injectors are cleaned by disabling the in tank fuel pump and running the engine on the cleaner.
The throttle body gets the crud cleaned from it that accumulates due to crankcase vapors.

Does performing this service help prevent injectors from failing later? Hard to say without real follow up over time.

When I cleaned K-Jet injectors (yes; dawn of time!) they would leak, make spray patterns referred to as peeing etc and clean up to spraying as new, not leaking. Today’s tech is much different. Higher pressures, pulsed injectors. But they fail with regularity and often with disastrous results for the engine.

Something I have not heard of is the dealerships offering a ‘Walnut shell blast’ or ‘Dry ice blast’ of the backside of intake valves. A LOT of carbon accumulates on the intake valves in direct injected gasoline powered engines. Removing this does good things for them.

dlafever

One I will add here, if you get to 100k miles on your W222 or any car with the in-tank fuel pump, you're living on borrowed time. Replace that fuel pump before it fails! I've had two do this now and my current W222 attempted to strand me recently via the fuel pump but I recognized the symptoms and replaced it.

My previous W221 was very kind to me, failing in the driveway when I was running errands and stopped at the house for a quick rehydration.

How can you tell if your fuel pump is original? On the steel ring that secures the pump to the tank there is a dot of paint (mine was orange), applied at the factory. If that paint is intact your pump is as old as the car.