CLS 55 AMG Recommended Oil Level (currently 5.7 liters)

[szucchet]

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all enjoying the great weather!

Have a question regarding what reading I should have on my oil level and what the recommended oil level should be? Tried searching the forum for a definitive answer but havent found any.

How I checked the oil Level:
As per the many resources online for the M113K platform, I first let the car warm up though normal use and parked it on a flat surface. I then switched of the beauty and waited 15-20 minutes before reading the oil using the dashboard method by pressing the service button 3 times, switching ignition to the next position and waiting for an oil level reading to appear. It currently shows 5.7 liters which seems a bit low to me, but without a reference point I am unsure of it if actually is.

I don't have any warnings on the dash, just like keeping on top of things like this

Any comments/help or pointers to resources would be very much appreciated!

Kind Regards

Simone

 

[Deleted member 149005]

what does the manual say the sump capacity is?

 

[szucchet]

8.5 liters, but unsure if this is the same reading I am expecting to get on the display as I would imagine the 8.5 is net from empty during a service. New to the car/engine hence my question on if it should read close to 8 or a number that's usually higher or lower than this.

 

[Will]

You can buy a dipstick or use a universal one and measure the level in mm - the figures should be out there somewhere

 

[szucchet]

Thank you very much Will and Greenmasnslk! Really appreciate it.

I have read the manual and searched online. Found quite a few related threads but the ones I have found all stop short of giving an actual figure for comparison, understand that these will vary based on use before test and vehicle idiosyncrasies but just looking to see if anyone has real life examples

Will great idea on the dipstick, will look online for one of these but I believe you are advised not to drive with these installed so I would like a reference for when I might be without one in the future too.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

4:10 in on my video:

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You can check the oil level via the cluster on a CLS55 AMG

(Apologies for the quality of the video, it was from 2 years ago)

 

[szucchet]

Hi KillerHERTZ,

Funnily enough I did see your video, firstly awesome video! But like your video my car shows closer to 5 liters than the 8-8.5 I would expect, I assume from the lack of panic in your video that this is normal?

Kind Regards

 

[whitenemesis]

KH, That's what the OP did? What he wants know is what is the correct amount?

Isn't there a simple in cluster display of oil level, without using the service button? Simply states Oil Level OK.. or Add 1/2ltre etc..

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Sorry, im on a conference call at work and not really paying attention to either the meeting or what was written on this thread

After a couple of mins it went low, then up again.

 

[mbzclk]

Yes in the dashboard scroll the page that has service in xyz miles with ignition in position 2 with engine off. Will say OK or add 1l oil.

 

[mbzclk]

If you have moody valve cover seals or rear main seal then you will need to top up every so often.

 

[Petrol Pete]

OP, just bang a litre of oil in the engine , run it for a few minutes , switch it off , if you do not get a high oil level alarm be happy, if you do have 'high level' vacuum a bit out. I too am a bit peed off that MB think we are too stupid to check the oil level on our M113 engines - despite the fact that we could counter that they were too stupid to install any kind of oil pressure monitoring on the same engine-. But I digress.
I bought a oil dipstick off ebay and ended up giving it away , you get all sorts of 'advice' on what mm level you should be seeing. My M113 has 147K miles on it, when it says 'add one litre'...thats what I do, sometimes 1.5 litres. never had a problem.

 

[Petrol Pete]

If you have moody valve cover seals or rear main seal then you will need to top up every so often.

Nothing to do with oil leaks. An AMG V8 M113(K) can burn a litre of oil every 1000 miles and still be deemed to be 'in spec' by Mercedes Benz. Mine drinks a litre around every 2500 - 3000 miles. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Will]

There’s a correct oil level spec (in mm) in the MB workshop manuals (WIS). That’s what I would do - check using a dipstick against the reading on the cluster (in litres) and at least you’ve got something to work with.

FWIW, I sold my last M113K engined car last year, a 2004 E55 with over 150k miles - and it never used any noticeable amount of oil between services

 

[mbzclk]

Nothing to do with oil leaks. An AMG V8 M113(K) can burn a litre of oil every 1000 miles and still be deemed to be 'in spec' by Mercedes Benz. Mine drinks a litre around every 2500 - 3000 miles. Nothing to worry about.

And that too, but combined with the fact some also have the leaks and burn it you could find yourself topping up a little more frequently, lastly, if the engine isn’t healthy it’ll burn a bit more still!

 

[merc85]

Rear main seals are also common to leak so could be losing a little from there.

 

[szucchet]

Thanks everyone for chipping in! I really appreciate it

@Petrol Pete I think I will go with this strategy too and just add a liter and see what happens. I too am wary about dipsticks because I see as many conflicting readings on the net for these than I do for the incluster reading. Also a bit wary of trusting a dipstick that I will most probably be buying off ebay (unless someone knows a link to a reasonably price OEM one). I didnt know they dont have an oil pressure sensor?! Surely that's just madness!!! Makes me even more on edge now to figure it out! Used to run a formula student race team in University and know first hand what low oil pressure can do to your engine

@Petrol Pete do you have any helpful guides/tips on how I can vacuum out the oil if I do indeed over fill it and any tools needed?

@merc85, @Will & @mbzclk thanks for the advice regarding seal leaks! The previous owner took good care of the car and replaced the valve cover gasket not long before I purchased. Cant speak for the rear main seal but the parts of the underside of the I could see were bone dry when I checked.

Haven't had the car long enough to be able to monitor the oil consumption but will start doing so as soon as I figure out what good looks like

Kind Regards,


Simone Zucchet

 

[Petrol Pete]

Thanks everyone for chipping in! I really appreciate it

@Petrol Pete I think I will go with this strategy too and just add a liter and see what happens. I too am wary about dipsticks because I see as many conflicting readings on the net for these than I do for the incluster reading. Also a bit wary of trusting a dipstick that I will most probably be buying off ebay (unless someone knows a link to a reasonably price OEM one). I didnt know they dont have an oil pressure sensor?! Surely that's just madness!!! Makes me even more on edge now to figure it out! Used to run a formula student race team in University and know first hand what low oil pressure can do to your engine

@Petrol Pete do you have any helpful guides/tips on how I can vacuum out the oil if I do indeed over fill it and any tools needed?

@merc85, @Will & @mbzclk thanks for the advice regarding seal leaks! The previous owner took good care of the car and replaced the valve cover gasket not long before I purchased. Cant speak for the rear main seal but the parts of the underside of the I could see were bone dry when I checked.

Haven't had the car long enough to be able to monitor the oil consumption but will start doing so as soon as I figure out what good looks like

Kind Regards,


Simone Zucchet

Not having any way of knowing what the oil pressure is on a M113 engine is stupid, but failures due to low oil pressure are very rare despite the fact that virtually all M113 engines have a habit of seeing the oil pump drive chain eat into a web cast inside the engine is seen as 'normal' . M113 engines with saddle sumps have a pick up carry over pipe that (under extreme conditions) sees an 'o' ring go hard and fail resulting in oil bypass and engine failure without warning ( very rare) , in fact the 'o' ring is now made out of a different material.

Oil pressure monitoring kits are available on line and MB have thoughtfully provided a very convenient threaded hole to screw it into . Why the F they didn't do it themselves is anyone's guess.

 

[GT3RS]

Can’t believe nobody has suggested the obvious lol - the CLS55 pops up a message on the display when it needs a litre of oil, and it ask you to top it up You don’t need any fancy tools or need to guess and potentially overfill it...

For reference mine needs a litre a month (300 or so miles) - there are no leaks, I just use mine as it was intended

 

[E55BOF]

For reference mine needs a litre a month (300 or so miles) - there are no leaks, I just use mine as it was intended

If you're using a litre of oil every 300 miles, there's something wrong.