SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: Service frequency in low milage
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 1
From: San Francisco
'05 SL65
Service frequency in low milage
I tend to drive about 5K miles/yr, which would put my scheduled maintenance around once in two years.
Did a B service in Jan just after buying the car and few months ago when IC pump went bad my SA discouraged me from doing an early service.
Would you the 10K miles service once a year? just an oil change? or wait?
I don't mind dropping $1k/yr if it would make the car last longer. I plan on keeping it indefinitely
Did a B service in Jan just after buying the car and few months ago when IC pump went bad my SA discouraged me from doing an early service.
Would you the 10K miles service once a year? just an oil change? or wait?
I don't mind dropping $1k/yr if it would make the car last longer. I plan on keeping it indefinitely
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,838
Likes: 7
G55, SLS, smart eq
I thought that an oil change once a year is advisable. The rest of the service can wait for the required miles.
It also depends on how you drive those 5000 miles. Driving 'hard' (high revs) and for longer trips seems to be better than constantly driving like an old lady going grocery shopping, on the short term (between service).
It also depends on how you drive those 5000 miles. Driving 'hard' (high revs) and for longer trips seems to be better than constantly driving like an old lady going grocery shopping, on the short term (between service).
Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 244
Likes: 1
From: Louisiana
2005 SL500
Just do it once a year. Even though my SL500 is my daily driver, I don't hit the service interval due to mileage. I just get the service done at the beginning of the month in which my birthday occurs. With some things, better to do it too often than not often enough. Also, the maintenance guide states "every 7500 miles or 1 year". Still far better than the "every 3 months" bs that mechanics and oil change places peddle to the masses.
-ROOK
-ROOK
Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 187
Likes: 3
From: Bay Area, CA
05 E55, 07 SL65, 06 S4
In case you want to keep the car in good condition and a keeper, the yearly oil change is mandatory - synthetic oil notwithstanding, chiefly because e.g. the additives the oil needs to neutralize acids will deteriorate over time and you could get less than ideal lubrication conditions.
I also depends strongly on your driving habits - if you mostly drive the car to full warm-up (20 miles!) and than some, the moisture in the oil can evaporate, keeping the oil from forming sludge. Also remember that in your car the two snails attached to the exhaust manifolds add considerably more stress to the oil compared to non-turbo engines, here it is the question of frequent shut-down that matters (oil gets cooked in the bearing housings
)
I also depends strongly on your driving habits - if you mostly drive the car to full warm-up (20 miles!) and than some, the moisture in the oil can evaporate, keeping the oil from forming sludge. Also remember that in your car the two snails attached to the exhaust manifolds add considerably more stress to the oil compared to non-turbo engines, here it is the question of frequent shut-down that matters (oil gets cooked in the bearing housings
)I tend to drive about 5K miles/yr, which would put my scheduled maintenance around once in two years.
Did a B service in Jan just after buying the car and few months ago when IC pump went bad my SA discouraged me from doing an early service.
Would you the 10K miles service once a year? just an oil change? or wait?
I don't mind dropping $1k/yr if it would make the car last longer. I plan on keeping it indefinitely
Did a B service in Jan just after buying the car and few months ago when IC pump went bad my SA discouraged me from doing an early service.
Would you the 10K miles service once a year? just an oil change? or wait?
I don't mind dropping $1k/yr if it would make the car last longer. I plan on keeping it indefinitely
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 1
From: San Francisco
'05 SL65
Thanks for all the responses so far. I'll probably do an oil change soon, especially given that I had to add a quart after 3.5K miles.
In terms of driving habits, I try to drive few (2-4) times a month to work (100 miles round trip), interleaved with some shot trips inside the city. I only push hard after the engine warmed up nicely and try to minimize shut downs.
On that note, would you rather let the engine idle 5 minutes waiting for a quick errand to finish or shut it down and restart?
In terms of driving habits, I try to drive few (2-4) times a month to work (100 miles round trip), interleaved with some shot trips inside the city. I only push hard after the engine warmed up nicely and try to minimize shut downs.
On that note, would you rather let the engine idle 5 minutes waiting for a quick errand to finish or shut it down and restart?
