w204_racing

sjc246

You cannot tell an oil's condition by its color. Oil turns dark for many reasons and most of them don't mean that the oil needs to be changed. You also cannot "feel" when oil needs to be changed. An engine will not run any better or worse whether the oil is new or far past its prime. If you really want to know the condition of your oil, sent out a sample to be analyzed.

As long as you use an MB 229.5 approved oil and a good (preferably OE) filter, changing the oil at 10k mile/1 year intervals is all you need to do (unless you have a sludge/deposit problem from someone using the wrong oil and/or not changing it).

Also, 7000 miles in 2-3 months... wow.

w204_racing

MACEDON

Oil will turn dark right after the first time you start up the car honestly.

If you care about your car you should be:
-Checking the level every 500 miles with a dipstick (trans dipstick works, measure out 168-170mm on it for E55 and fill it between the lines)
-Never overfill
-If you live in a hot *** state (Florida, Texas, Arizona, Cali) use 5w40 in the summer
-Change that oil every 3000 miles
OR
Change your filter every 3000 miles if you're going to keep the oil in there for 5-7k and beyond, yes you read that right, change the filter even if you're not doing oil. It's on top, it's cheap, and it will make a difference in the long run.

w204_racing

Das Geld 2

I used to do 5k and 1 year..then just did every 2 years 5k..made no noticable diff for the 500.

The SL my VMI showed every 10k miles from the dealer...

sjc246

How can you possibly tell the oil was "bad"? Even an expert couldn't make that determination without a lab analysis.

Don't waste your money... If your engine is in such bad shape that you actually have any significant deposits in it (only reason would be serious lack of proper maintenance) your best bet is to change the oil a few times in quick succession, but as far as we can tell, you have no reason to suspect any issues (and this is extremely rare in these engines, even without proper maintenance).

That's one option. Or you can just use the correct oil (229.3/229.5) and an OE or OE equivalent filter and change the oil and filter together at 10,000 miles or 1 year (whichever comes first) as MB intended. Any 229.5 certified oil and any OE equivalent (fleece) filter is more than fine for 10,000 miles (unless someone here knows more than the engineers that designed these cars...).

Changing the oil more often is fine, but you should still use the right oil and filter regardless, so there's no chance of saving money (good oil for 10,000 miles is better than cheap oil for 3,000 miles, and probably cheaper in the long run as well). If you want to use the right oil and change it more often, that's fine (certainly won't hurt anything), but there won't be any real benefits.

MACEDON

Not a chance I'm keeping the oil in there for 10,000 miles, that's insane. That specification has got to be created with environmental protection agencies in mind, to meet some weird standard that the company is faced with and most likely to show that they are doing something to reduce oil use and improving efficiency.

If you care about your engine, use some logic.

For filter use MANN, for oil use 229.5 like you said.

equitiesguy

Everything Macedon said is spot on advice, and correct. Recommending what Mercedes says about maintenance is absurd. Fleece filters do last longer, but Mace is correct about replacing the filter every 5k miles ... and I personally would recommend replacing the oil every 5k miles regardless. The main reason to change the oil is to get rid of the dirt and deposits that are in the oil. The synthetic oil starts to break down after 5k miles. My V12s wouldn't use any oil if I changed it at 5k. After 5k I noticed they would and this was in both my V12 BMWs which I drove collectively almost 250k miles. I stopped using the MANN filters aftermarket, only because my price on the dealer fleece filter is now the same (which is still MANN, just white instead of yellow).

The wonderful engineers of Mercedes told you that your transmission was "lifetime" fluid and changed their mind to 40k miles. The wonderful Mercedes engineers designed a 63AMG engine which has so many inherent flaws a class action lawsuit was brought against them. This is the engine they touted as "designed completely by AMG."

So - change your oil every 5k miles. Change your filter at 3500 if you plan on running the oil to 7000 miles. Don't use Mobil 1. Ignore everything SJC said entirely because Mercedes engineering is garbage.

Gazwould

Oil cheap , engines expensive .

You could upgrade your oil to VW 507.00 which often has the MB specs anyway .

Black oil contains soot and soot is an abrasive which the oil traps but they all have a certain loading . Soot is mostly down to the evil EGR which causes incomplete fuel molecule combustion .

If the fresh oil turns black straight away then some part of the engine is still holding some , this was the case with another car where the oil cooler held around 300ml , luckily I was able to suck this out with an extractor , coupled with a disabled egr the oil now takes months to even turn a darker colour .

Pmarino

It's all conjecture without an OA

lseguy

Agreed on an Oil Analysis (blackstone labs is one) being the main factor. I've literally (different car, BMW 540) had an OA done after the oil/filter was in the car for 15k miles. Dont have it in front of me, but in short, the oil still had all of its protective qualities. (I think the main reason was that almost all of my trips were at least 10 miles and 30 mins long, which allows the oil to warm up fully and burn off any condensation. Also, I dont live in a dusty area, dont tow anything, dont live in mountain area, etc).

Those thinking that 10k miles is "insane" are most likely thinking back to the 80's, when engines werent as efficient at keeping fuel out of the oil, and when oils themselves werent as advanced as they are today in allowing the longer intervals recommended by most all car manufacturers these days.

Yuille36

Today's modern oils are better engineered, last longer and better lubricate your engine. So you can go 10000 miles between oil changes.

lseguy

tlambert

equitiesguy

For Manufacturers like BMW, Ford and Mercedes that offer pre-paid scheduled maintenance services, it makes financial sense for them to push out the intervals as long as possible so they have to pay for as few oil changes as possible. Less labor, less parts, and the lifts aren't tied up when they could be used for real repair work. While today’s oils are dramatically improved over the oil products of just a decade ago – with some even "guaranteed" for 15,000 miles, there are so many variables to wear and the contaminants that can end up in your oil that such a recommendation could be causing a lot of premature wear and gunking up the inside of your motor. After the warranty period is up, the manufacturer is totally off the hook for your engine, but the thing is, the long term harm of these short intervals probably won’t rear its ugly head till after 60,000 miles – at which point you might need an engine or a very expensive repair service. It’s almost planned obsolescence in action through mechanical failure by deliberate design of a 7 year lifecycle, in part due to the current types of loans most people have on their cars.

In July 2013, BMW (and Mini) sent out a letter notifying owners that their oil change intervals were being shortened from every 15,000 miles to every 10,000 miles, without really addressing why the interval was set too long in the first place – and neglecting to mention any damage/sludging incurred by engines that had been running the 15,000 mile intervals in the interim.

And BMW‘s not the only one. In fact, General Motors recently had to issue a recall for more than 800,000 vehicles to shorten their oil change interval from what their oil change monitors had been indicating, due to a high failure rate of mechanical parts at low mileage. So while yes, today’s oils will happily go much longer than 3,000 miles, a 10,000 or 15,000 mile interval is really pushing the limits. Remember, that most Oil Life Monitors algorithms in the cars aren’t actually checking your oil --- and that many variables from outside air quality to how hard you’re working your engine contribute to the rate your oil gets “dirty” or contaminated with particulate matter.

If you're too stupid or lazy to change your oil every 5,000 miles don't tell others to follow you off the cliff like a lemming.

lseguy

I disagree that every car requires 5,000 mile oil changes to get longer than 60k miles on the engine. That's absurd with zero evidence to back it up. As several(including me) have stated above, the best thing to do is to get an oil analysis done as it will tell the condition of oil based on your individual driving habits/conditions, based on your engines state of "tune", based on quality of oil used. Bobistheoilguy.com is a great place to see results of many OA reports of users of various vehicles, various oils, various driving habits. Someone with a 2 mile commute each day will most likely have more severe oil degradation than someone driving 50 highway miles on cruise control on flat land in 70 degree weather each day.

For myself, I've been using 10k intervals on a variety of cars using everything from Walmart Supertech full synth (hint: WalMart doesnt make oil) to Mobil 1. My driving habits are mixed...some city some highway, average work commute is around 10 miles each way. (for years now). And I've been easily able to get anywhere from 120k to 155k on my cars (at which point, I've usually sold them..with engines still running in top condition, no smoke on startup, still at or near factory compression numbers for each cylinder).

So for me..my experience, my cars, 10k intervals with high quality filters and full synth oils, have been working fine for me since at least 1995 or so. (At that time I had a 1992 318is BMW, and I went by the oil indicator service lights, which on average, would indicate oil change needed right at 9700 to 9800 miles).

lseguy

For a sampling of oil analysis reports, check here
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...lysis-gasoline

Yuille36

This is insulting at best! So don't antagonize. It's not about being lazy or stupid.
I've been following this procedure for 11 yrs without any issues whatsoever.
So your more than welcome to follow your own recommendations.
I'm going to continue doing what works best for me.

lseguy

6 cylinder BMW engine, car ran hard, mostly short trips/city driving. 10k miles on the oil when tested....you tell me the results based on scientific facts (vs 1970's guidelines)

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...52#Post4861948


Ford V6 Duratec..10k miles...Lab recommending 12.5k oil change interval based on scientific factual evidence:

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...ci#Post4855347