A service in 9000 miles...or 30....

[JasonIFA]

My car was showing 9000 till the next A service when I bought it a month ago there was service history but not for the last one! Garage said they would get oil and filter change anyway.

Last couple of days it has changed to A service in 30 days! Can they just re set the service system and not do the service or is it likely something else has triggered it?

Any ideas?

Cheers

Jason

 

[markjay]

ASSYST calculates when the next service is due based on a combination of miles and time.

If the car does very low annual mileage then ASSYST will change from miles interval to time interval, and this is precisely what happened here.

So the short answer is that if ASSYST says a service is needed in 30 days, then yes it is needs doing.

Said that, keep in mind though that the basic version of ASSYST does not actually check engine oil quality, instead it assumes that the oil has last been changed at same last time when ASSYST was last reset, and thrn works-out the next service based on that.

So if the garage you bought the car from say they serviced the car, then it is possible that they simply forgot to reset ASSYST, and this is why you are getting this message.

 

[JasonIFA]

ASSYST calculates when the next service is due based on a combination of miles and time.

If the car does very low annual mileage then ASSYST will change from miles interval to time interval, and this is precisely what happened here.

So the short answer is that if ASSYST says a service is needed in 30 days, then yes it is needs doing.

Said that, keep in mind though that the basic version of ASSYST does not actually check engine oil quality, instead it assumes that the oil has last been changed at same last time when ASSYST was last reset, and thrn works-out the next service based on that.

So if the garage you bought the car from say they serviced the car, then it is possible that they simply forgot to reset ASSYST, and this is why you are getting this message.

Thanks Mark. They had reset the assyst as it showed over 9k till next service, I checked. It has moved from that to 30 days in last few weeks. I'll get the service done anyway but just seems odd, Especially as no papers for the last service.
Didn't think A service consisted of much more than oil and filter which they said they changed. Be interesting to hear what my indie says.

 

[markjay]

Indeed the only parts changed as matter of course on an A Service are engine oil and filter, but the A Service itself includes several other checks (e.g. ATF level, Diff oil level, condition of belts, STAR fault codes reading etc) which may reveal other items that need doing, and which won't be picked-up during a basic Kwik-Fit £30 (or similar) oil change.

As for ASSYST, post-2006 cars need to be serviced at least every 12 months even if the specified service mileage for that model has not been reached.

That's when ASSYST dumps the mileage countdown and reverts to a 30-day countdown, which is what ASSYST did in your case.

But of course if the garage somehow messed-up ASSYST while incorrectly resetting it then there is no telling what the message actually means...

 

[markjay]

Also.... please be aware that the items listed below are not included in the A and B service schedules, instead you will be notified by the garage that they are due (based on mileage and years) at the time of the next service, and these will then be charged in addition to what you have been quoted for the A or B service itself.

This is unlike most other marques where the cost of an annual service includes all the filters and fluids that need to be changed and not just the cost of the engine oil and filter.


Air filter

Fuel filter

Pollen/Cabin filter (on some models)

Automatic Transmission Fluid or Manual Gearbox oil

Coolant (unless long life coolant)

Spark plugs (if Petrol engine)


See also:

http://lite.servicemercedes.co.uk/pc/pc_start.asp

 

[JasonIFA]

Indeed the only parts changed as matter of course on an A Service are engine oil and filter, but the A Service itself includes several other checks which may reveal other items that need doing, and which won't be picked-up during a Kwik-Fit £30 (or similar) oil change.

As for ASSYST, post-2006 cars need to be serviced at least every 12 months even if the specified service mileage for that model has not been reached.

That's when ASSYST dumps the mileage countdown and reverts to a 30-day countdown, which is what ASSYST did in your case.

But of course if the garage somehow messed-up ASSYST while incorrectly resetting it then there is no telling what the message actually means...

Ok, thanks for taking the time to explain. I guess I will find out soon enough!