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Oil level warning

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  keyhole 
#1 ·
A warning message came on today telling me to check the engine oil level. I am 1.5 litres short. My car is due for a service in 1400 kilometres. I have not detected any oil stains on the garage floor or obvious oil leaks in the engine.
That being the case, where has the oil gone?

Curious to hear the thoughts of forum members.

Car has done 120,000 kilometres.
 
#2 ·
Under the varied conditions within which the I/C engine operates, some oil can be lost to combustion, both from the breather system (highly atomized droplets) as well as getting past the rings.

Assuming you are using the proper spec oil and filter and observing service intervals properly, I would simply top-up and not worry about it. (I'm assuming this doesn't happen all the time based on your post; if so, you may have a consumption problem that usually is tied to poor maintenance practices.)

That said, I would also regularly check the oil instead of waiting for it to get so low that the systems bark at you. ;)

Good luck.
 
#3 ·
MBZ's official oil consumption test is crazy - something like 1 liter every 1,000 miles. Losing 1.5 quarts between 13,000 mile change intervals is not too bad. When my CLK550 get about half a quart low (usually right around 12K miles after a change) if I take an aggressive curve, I get a message "Top off oil at next workstation visit". At that pint, it's about 1/2 a quart low. I have a leak on the lower oil pan "gasket" as well as the oil cooler, so I suspect that's half the loss.
 
#4 ·
Have you done a longer,faster trip than normal? Do you normally do a lot of short trips?
If so you can have oil level drop due to volatile fluids burning off.
I would suggest you add 1.0 litre and then monitor it after you have the next oil change.
Use the operating system display to get an exact reading of the amount of oil in the engine.
 
#5 ·
Thanks

Thanks for your input members. Much appreciated. Trip usually a mixture of long and short. Car gets serviced as prescribed by computer. Oil has been topped up. Mechanics could not find a leak anywhere. Will keep an eye on oil levels.
 
#7 ·
Car has done 120,000 kilometres.
I consider that is a high-'ish' mileage. Not that your engine will die on you soon - but you must be getting some wear on piston rings, valve gear, etc.

If there are no leaks anywhere the engine oil can only be 'consumed'. Do you ever notice blue smoke coming from your exhaust? Try checking the exhaust gases with a white cloth held over the pipe when the engine has done a run - not just after a cold start, when visible water vapour is generally present.

For interest, I have never needed to top up my oil level between changes, which I do about every 10k miles.
 
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