Is it easy to replace oil on this car? I thought it would be difficult due to the shape/place of the engine... On all of my previous cars i replaced oil much earlier than the main services.. You are right Devours. Also.. another problem .. where to dispose the used oil?? I think its pretty bad for the environment..

 

In the UK the recommended oil is Shell Helix AX5W30 and is extremly expensive especially when supplied by Mercedes costing about £80 (roughly 150 Canadian Dollars C$) for the amount required on an oil change, that figure is the oil only & does not include the labour or a filter.
The cheapest I have seen it is about £10 per litre (20 C$).

I agree about the lengthy oil change period I used to have a Renault Scenic Diesel & I used to like to change that every 6,000 miles. But with oil at these prices that is not a viable option.

In the UK our recycling centres will take the oil & I gather it is recycled & probably ends up back in my sump after processing.

Do you guys use the Dip Stick or the Electronic dashboard indication for checking the level of your oil ??

 

Hello again my helpful friend "gsp1". Changing the oil is one of the easiest jobs to do on a car. The filter on our 'B' class is a cartridge type and this is better enviromentaly but a little different from what we're used to. Oil recycling is very easy in Canada due to the many local recycling centers, and car service centers will also accept used oil, sometimes with a small drop off fee. Large department stores often have specials and sell synthetic oil at $ 19 to $25 for a 4.4 liter jug of Valvoline or Quaker State or Mobil 1 . A really good price compared to what many of you have to pay, so it makes it easier to change our oil more often. Our MB dealer uses Quaker State synthetic oil on our 'B' class and Mobil 1 on the more expensive models and a past history of working with "NHRA" drag racers shows that Mobil 1 keeps their motors together longer. But I'll try to find out more about the Shell Helix oils, because I'm always interested in better products. I always rely on the dipstick. If I saw a light come on showing low oil I'd probably think I've cooked the motor. In the good old days, if you saw a low oil light, it was already too late and the motor was fried.

 

Mercedes actually state that you should use the dashboard method which relies on oil temperature being at a certain value for accurate readings. Personally I think the dipstick method is safer & more accurate. Sensors can go wrong 2 marks on a dipstick cannot. Also on the B class you have to go into the correct mode to get the oil level electronically with the Scenic it automatically showed the level prior to startup which was a much better method as you could see before each journey if the oil level was low.

 

If you google "synthetic oil comparison", you can see a little info on oils.

 

Interesting article "oil against oils" I did note,however, that they were using the Shell 15 w 50 & not the 5 w 30 as recommended by Mercedes. The 5 w 30 should have come higher up in the results tables I would have thought.
Perhaps Mercedes are recommending it for some financial reason !!
It is surprising how different brands & viscosities alter the BHP performance.

 

According to MB, their OE oil filters are required for the extended drain intervals of our vehicles.
But, to be safe, replacement of the oil filter between oil changes would be good practice.
By the way, i use Amsoil european formula 5W40 and OE filters.
Cheers!

 

Hi again Devours, thank you and the other guys for useful info. Mine is still new for replacing oil (just 3200km) and i don't know what oil is inside... I must go and get some tool stuff to start replacing them on my own... Mine also HAS NOT dashboard info about oil so i have to check manually but more surely(!)...

Cheers!

 

...................... Mine also HAS NOT dashboard info about oil so i have to check manually but more surely(!)...

Cheers!

Just found out Its only available on diesel versions of the B class

 

I think most race cars use a thinner oil to develope more HP. The thinner oil (with less viscosity)has less drag on the spinning parts. This lets the revolving parts spin easier and make more HP. The down side is they have to rebuild their motors more often due to high operating temps and more wear from the thinner oil. The last thing we want is more motor repairs,right !

 

My Audi could go 50.000 or two years between oilchanges. And not only in the manual. It service indicator made me go to the garage regulary between 45.000 and 50.000 km depending on driving.

 

Hi deheld, My Audi A6 also recommends extended service intervals just like my B200 but I don't trust them. The really best way to know the condition of your oil (and your motor) is to keep a sample of the old oil at changout time and take it to a lab that can accurately evaluate the minerals and deposits in the old oil. These labs are easily available in North America and I suspect the same for Europe and the cost of such a test is very low. If you test your oil after 50,000 kms, you might not be happy with what they show you is in that old oil. I find the B200 OE filter with it's single fine membrane lacking, so I change it more often than recommended along with the oil. It's a lot cheaper than rebuilding the motor.

 

So has anyone else purchased an OE oil filter for their petrol B class or done their own oil change besides myself? I'm asking because I don't think that the oil filter is good enough for approx. 23,000 kms as indicated on my B. Cheers

 

Haven't done it my myself, but I took it into the dealer at around 12,000km and they were surprised. I think they called it an "in between service". Regardless, changing the oil came to around $120.00 CAD with taxes if I remember correctly.

Jeff

 

^ Were they surprised by the good or the bad? I have 6000km. Is it too early?

 

Remember, you can't hurt your motor by changing the oil more often. I would like some of you to buy an OE oil filter at the dealer( approx: 11$ CAD) and tell me what you think of its quality compared to many of the other oil filters we've seen in the past 20 years at auto parts stores. You can always give it back to the dealer for your next oil change. Cheers

 

My twopenny worth

When I first started motoring some 40 years ago we couldn't afford new cars (ooh) so we were constantly rebuilding old cars and engines. It was recommended that after a rebuild (or on a new engine) that the engine oil was drained (and flushed) after about 500 miles. It was amazing the amount of metallic fillings and stuff that came out in these oil changes. They don't seem to bother now. I think I will have my filter & oil changed at about 6,000 miles as a precaution.

About 20 years ago I had bought a second hand VW Passat with low mileage on & as part of the warranty conditions you had to have the oil & filter changed every 3,000 miles that engine did many tens of thousands of trouble free miles.

In the UK apparently you can have the car serviced at a non Mercedes garage and you would not lose your warranty, provided that you use Mercedes parts and oil to recommended standards. (You will ,however, more than likely lose the mobolife recovery warranty as I think that is dependant on the car being serviced by Mercedes).

The trouble in the UK is that the recommended oil costs a fortune about £ 10 a litre which makes you wonder if it is worth changing it every few thousand miles.

 

Hi Keith, My first car was an old 59 Beetle (Bug) and yes Keith, I think we are older than the 'parents' of most of the people in these B forums and I glad they still let us post considering our ages! But the oils are a lot better now but not "that" good(23,000 kms between changes,I don't think so). You do pay too much for oil( and everything else unfortunately). I do still think Mobil 1 full synthetic is the best that's locally available and as the MB dealer uses it on there better models. It's 27$ CAD for a 4.4 liter jug at our super stores when on special. For oil, we really have it good. Cheers.......... ps: we've both been driving for 40 years!

 

Hi Keith, My first car was an old 59 Beetle (Bug) and yes Keith, I think we are older than the 'parents' of most of the people in these B forums and I glad they still let us post considering our ages! But the oils are a lot better now but not "that" good(23,000 kms between changes,I don't think so). You do pay too much for oil( and everything else unfortunately). I do still think Mobil 1 full synthetic is the best that's locally available and as the MB dealer uses it on there better models. It's 27$ CAD for a 4.4 liter jug at our super stores when on special. For oil, we really have it good. Cheers 👍 ps: we've both been driving for 40 years!

Hi Keith and Devours My first car was a 54 Pontiac and first new car was a 67 Rambler. Maybe older than 'parents' of some of the people in forum:thumbsup:
Phoned local auto parts store today (not a big box) and was quoted $7.99 CAD for Mobil 1 0W - 40 per liter. under 4 British pounds( my keyboard does not have that little wiggly L ). Factory filter $10.25 It seems that someone is getting ripped off. But we also can get a fish and chip dinner for under $10. I think shipping oil to England might be more profitable than selling drugs. Planning a trip to Jolly Old next year, might just fill the suitcase with cans of oil.

Bill F

 

So you can get about a UK gallon oil (4.4L) for just over the amount we pay for a Quart / litre.

You certainly do have it good (I'm emigrating)

Keith

 

So has anyone else purchased an OE oil filter for their petrol B class or done their own oil change besides myself? I'm asking because I don't think that the oil filter is good enough for approx. 23,000 kms as indicated on my B. Cheers.. 👍

I'm dragging this post back to the top because of the new oil posting. As I've noted before, there is no service 'A' in the CDN B class of Dec.05. After my 2nd oil change and gentle driving, my service B is now indicating my first official oil change to be done at more than 25,000kms. I'm still not sure how this oil change is calculated. Is it simply counting the accumulative RPM from the beginning or is it reading the oil or both? Anyway, for all of you, please buy the OE oil filter from the dealer and look at it. Do you think this filter will protect your engine for 20,000 kms and very old oil? I don't!! But I'm sure your dealer will be very happy to rebuild your engine in approx. 6 years at a reasonable price.

 

I'll pick a filter and a few other things up for 20% off in 2 weeks (the dealer is having a "garage" sale Oct 20th) and let you know then.

I know the oil filter cartridge on my smart is MUCH smaller than the gasoline filter on my 1966 Peugeot 404 Coupé Injection!

My smart cdi uses maybe 0.2 or 0.3 L of oil every ten thousand km. It is amazingly low! I never have to top it up between services.

 

On some MB models the oil contamination state is sampled by a sensor in the sump. Not sure that this applies to the B but I think there is a fair chance.

With modern synthetic oils, say Mobil 1, if you were able to filter out all contamination they would have indefinite life. The oil itself doesn't "age" it becomes useless because of the combustion particles held in suspension within it.

MB trucks have 100,000km oil intervals admittedly with large oil tanks and filters.

In the UK Mobil 1 is retail £12 per litre. At that price I am in no hurry to change more often than the Assyst message. I do, however, top up to the maximum mark frequently to keep oil condition and therefore oil change interval as long as possible. It will be a dead heat between the mileage message and the two year default for service.

My car skipped the A service and went straight to indicating a B service from new, I thought this was odd but now read above that this maybe programmed in.

 

Watch that level

Make sure you don't go too near that upper level mark as overfilling can cause oil seals to go & also problems with the catalytic convertor.
When I had my last service the car came back with the oil just past the half way mark on the dipstick, I complained saying it should have been topped right up. The car went in again and they actually drained some oil OUT. I complained again and they stated about the problems due to overfilling. They did give me a 1 litre top up bottle of oil however.
Either they are making a bit by not filling right up (at about £10-£12 a litre it soon mounts up ) or M/B are **** scared about damage being done to the engine. Work out your own conclusion.

 

Check your service booklet under ‘regular checks’. It’s recommended that you check the oil, coolant, brake fluid and windshield washing system levels regularly…i.e., weekly, when refueling or before any long journey. It is also recommended that you check the tire pressure every other week.

The FSS PLUS service indicator informs the driver when the next vehicle maintenance service is due. It evaluates engine temp, oil level, vehicle speed, distance driven and the time elapsed since the last service.

When I bought my car I was told that the time between oil changes is about 10,000 miles (16,093 km) or one year. I purchased my car with 8,013 miles (12,896 km) on it. We had the dealer do the A service (that is what they called it) at that time. And now almost a year to date I did the B service at 19,332 miles (31,112 km) that means I went 11,319 miles (18,216 km) before it needed the oil changed.

And yes it is a teeny tiny filter; I really thought that I had been sold the wrong part because it is so small.

 

After completing my service B, I was informed that the next services, "D" will now be calculated on distance only. ( ie: 15,000 kms ) If I went by the on board computer, it had calculated my service at 25,000 kms and that's crazy!!