Add 1L Oil at next fuel stop

[renault12ts]

it could also be in 10 miles time - why gamble?

Do you honestly think that if he doesn't put a litre in in the next 10 miles he risks anything? As has been said the next fuel stop could be more than 300 miles.

It would be crass in the extreme if a warning of the nature came on and the car was in any danger whatsoever if oil wasn't topped up immediately. There is no manual dipstick, there will be a considerable margin of safety, there will absolutely be no danger. Advice on this forum is good and reasonable and not usually given lightly.

 

[wemorgan]

Do you honestly think that if he doesn't put a litre in in the next 10 miles he risks anything? As has been said the next fuel stop could be more than 300 miles.

It would be crass in the extreme if a warning of the nature came on and the car was in any danger whatsoever if oil wasn't topped up immediately. There is no manual dipstick, there will be a considerable margin of safety, there will absolutely be no danger. Advice on this forum is good and reasonable and not usually given lightly.

I see your view and you're most likely correct but can't help but feel that the best course of action is to either have the car serviced early or top up the oil. Why buy a car with an automatic oil level sensor, have that sensor tell you the oil is low, then ignore it? Would the same advice be issued if the tyre pressure gauge was warning of low pressue?

 

[Rovinghawk]

I see your view and you're most likely correct but can't help but feel that the best course of action is to either have the car serviced early or top up the oil. Why buy a car with an automatic oil level sensor, have that sensor tell you the oil is low, then ignore it?

I agree.

It says top up the oil.
Obviously, the correct course of action is to not do so. You (without seeing or knowing the oil level) know more than the machine designed to check such things; either that or you don't care what it says.
I'd not want to buy a car owned by anyone with that attitude.

RH

 

[EDZ649]

Manufacturer oil levels are there for a reason, like Andy says, it shouldn't even be up for debate, get it topped up!

 

[SL300-24]

After reading all this I thought for a moment that I had stubled into the wrong place.....maybe the Reliant Robin Club

 

[andy_k]

Fair call but based on that you'd be checking your dipstick every trip (and removing oil at the same time).

I check the oil level weekly (just how much oil do you think that removes?) and top it up if required - surely that is the best way to do it?

I don't drive the car until a warning light comes on then think 'oh well, it will easily last another 300 miles' and carry on driving.

The difference between max and minimum on most cars is usually about a litre of oil - would you happily drive around knowing your car's oil level was on minimum?

To me it's a no brainer - put some oil in

 

[timk]

Had the same message as the OP pop up on the trip computer of my W203 C55 yesterday. Am away for the weekend and only have access to the half a litre of Mobil 1 which I carry in the car. Stuck this in at the next available opportunity, and did the electronic oil level check which says that to reach max I still need to add 1.5 litres!! I know it's got a big capacity (i.e. takes a lot of oil) but that seems a lot. I'm under the impression that running it at half a litre above the min (which is where it must be now) will be fine until I get home (150 miles) and have access to the rest of my stock of Mobil 1. If it was likely to cause any additional engine wear, I think the warning would be more severe than that, i.e. do not drive any further, add oil immediately. This is a german car after all...

 

[renault12ts]

Agreed. I doubt that the difference between put in a litre of oil now or in 300 miles so critical that it would/could do any damage.

Think about it. You are on a long journey, in the middle of the night, the next garage isn't for 300 miles...what do you do? Will, tyre pressure is a different and more immediate need.

 

[crankiejohn]

Did you check the actual oil level using the dipstick?

Having said that, I did not know that the 180k had an oil level check thingy - my w203 2006 c180k definitely doesn't have it (just the low oil level warning). I though that only the diesel engines had this feature... is yours a w203 or w204?

my 2002 w203 has a dipstick and a oil level read out

 

[andy_k]

You are on a long journey, in the middle of the night, the next garage isn't for 300 miles...what do you do?

you check the oil BEFORE you set out

Just out of interest, how many 300 mile journeys have you made without passing a single garage?

It's also worth considering that the oil level (which is already low) will be even lower in 300 miles - this also makes the assumprion that the OP is going to get his car in for a service in exactly 300 miles - what if he has to go a few days over? Does the oil top up then wait even longer?

I find it unbelievable that people are happy to suggest ignoring warnings for the sake of a few quid.

 

[merc180k]

Hang on a minute here -To clarify - My question was not should I ignore the warning, but could I get away with adding 1 of the 3 litres I have in the garage for the wifes c max rather than going out to buy premium oil that in 300 miles is about to get flushed away.

If the answer to this is no, then I obviously have no choice but to add premium oil however I can't see any obvious reason why the oil wouldn't be suitable - am I wrong in my presumption?

Simon

 

[renault12ts]

No, you're ok Simon, no harm will be done.

 

[merc180k]

No, you're ok Simon, no harm will be done.

Thank-you.

 

[markjay]

Another interesting point... my local MB dealer fills-up to the min line, not the max line, a good 2 litres does from full.... they claim that this is how they do it - though I was furious and will not go there again (I also posted a separate thread about this last year). And any rate they charged for 5.5 litres of oil at 14.95 per litre, and refused to refund the cost of the 2 litres that the wouldn't add... so for what it's worth my local MB dealer things that MB cars should be driven with the oil only up to the min level.

 

[LTD]

Can we clarify that the original post suggested that he was going to use oil from the C-Max ?

Is the Halfords oil you have to MB spec ?

 

[renault12ts]

Can we clarify that the original post suggested that he was going to use oil from the C-Max ?

Is the Halfords oil you have to MB spec ?[/QUOTE


You didn't think he was going to take oil from the C-Max???

 

[LTD]

You didn't think he was going to take oil from the C-Max???

Re-read the first post

 

[renault12ts]

I did...I know what it said...but I didn't actually think he meant it that way.

 

[DRBC43AMG]

Your lucky!!!! my AMG asks for this every 1000km....... and its normal apparently!!!

My C43 has used around 0,75 litres oil over the last 5'000 km and it has over 200K on the clock.....

 

[Soltan]

Erm, if I could offer an alternate solution, bearing in mind the costs.....
Perhaps if the OP bought the oil for the service (cheaper than at the dealers) and used 1 litre of that to top up.

Right oil, buy from Cost Co if possible so not too expensive (relatively speaking), cheaper service - Winner all round :bannana: