Djackson13

Feedback is needed regarding periodic driving for my 2015 S-550. I am usually out of town for work for 11 consecutive days before returning home for 3 days. I make it a point to drive my S550 around town etc. during the 3 days I am back home. My question involves this periodic driving. I hardly ever drive this car on the highway, so my driving usually consists of in-town local speeds. Should I make it a point to get the car up to highway speeds regularly? I.e is it beneficial for the car for me to get it out onto the freeway every now and then instead of strictly driving in-town as I currently am. Ive heard both sides of this discussion for different cars, but am curious as to what all of you expert Benz owners have to say about this :-)
Any and all responses will be appreciated.
Thanx,
DJ

JohnLane

They like an 'Italian Tune-Up' with some regularity. Be sure engine oil and coolant temps are full warm. Yes; this happens on the freeway. Need some room to let them horses run.
Change the oil more often if all she gets are short trips.

Djackson13

Thanks for the response. How often would you say that the 'italian tune-up' would be needed? every week? every couple of weeks? once a month?

Tom in Austin

No expert, but I try to use my wife's Honda for errands and short trips as much as possible. Save wear and tear on the S550 and less maneuvering in and out of tight parking spaces.

A plug-in hybrid will be perfect for our next car as it's ideal for short trips on battery power.

TripleDown

I would say a monthly highway run would benefit the car in the long term. These cars like to stretch their legs on the open road periodically :-)

Mitch Alsup

Highway driving causes the least amount of wear per mile possible.
The oil and water are hot, the engine temperature stable, the drivetrain warmed up, and the tires at temperature.
Everything is in its optimal state (20 minutes after starting).

So, if you want to keep the vehicle for as many years as possible, only use the S-class on those 3 out of 15 days.
On the other hand,
If you want to keep the vehicle for as many miles as possible, use it for those 11 days, and some other car on the long weekend.

VII

The problem with short trips is oil degradation.
All you need to do is either:
- Make sure you get the engine oil into operating temperature occasionally (usually about 5 minutes after the coolant)
- Change the oil on a 6 month interval
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BenzV12

I have recently seen a discussion about carbon built up in Mercedes-Benz engines . In short, Mercedes-Benz engines are less prone to carbon built up given short distances and low performance drives (use less rpm ). Mercedes-Benz specified or approved oil for your engine should also cover oil degradation as well. Anyway, S Class is meant to be a highway cruiser and a go getter market shopping car but believe in me driving it to a market gives me a high pleasure as well

JohnLane

My 222 car makes all the trips to Costco... unless we are after something large enough to need 'Tiny' (The Kenworth Boxtruck).

Freeway is always close at hand. Long open stretch.... We know what happens to those.

HAILERS2

Just for y0ur mental health........take it out to a interstate hwy and 'get on it for miles and miles'. Just don't get a speeding ticket over 100 mph 'cause some cops may jail you for that alone.

mercedesbuff

@Djackson13 Your car just called me... It really wants to drive on the freeway. It told me it's even tried to steer itself onto the freeway a couple times, when you drove near the on-ramp, which you probably noted as "intermittent alignment issues."

And those little puddles in your garage after returning from just city driving, which you noted as "condensation from the compressor..." Nope, those are actual tears.

S_W222

That's why I love our Honda Accord Hybrid. It's the bonus and house-guest car, the Wamart/Costco/Groceries car, the airport parking car, the parks/dirty trips car. It's a hybrid, the engine can run on EV mode only for an appreciated amount of time for short trips and charges itself again VERY quickly.
If time goes back, based on current pricing, I wish we got a Tesla Model Y or Tesla Model 3 for this use. It would last longer, easier for quick trips (no keys) and will probably drive itself 100% now with FSD non-beta V12 released this month.

I don't feel like taking any of my German cars in-town for trips of that nature, and am super meticulous about the interior of our cars that many of these trips would include my kids and myself getting into the car and out and bringing too much mud/dust into the cabin especially for a short trip to a nearby beach/river or parks and kids play areas. If you paid near 100K for a car, I think having a bonus car for these trip is a peace of mind.

Our previous bonus car was also a honda accord and it lasted so many years with nearly zero maintenance cost needed for such uses cases and saved me every-year good amount of short trips mileage added to my main cars and same for my wife, which we trade in quite often and that certainly helped to get higher trades each time. Not to mention gas savings. Still more expensive to have a bonus car, but the ownership experience and peace of mind is what I mostly care about.