Help. Nearly new 2019 e220 estate. Reduce engine oil level message

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Margaret

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Jun 26, 2006
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109
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E220d premium estate
Hi all. Just looking for some advice. Driving home my second hand nearly new ( March 2019) reg E220 estate today when the above message appeared 20 mins into my second part of the journey. Vehicle was serviced on 17th June. I had also heard a few slight popping sounds under the bonnet. When I looked at the engine oil level under the menu on the dash it shows the oil in the red zone with a temp which gradually increased from 129 to 133 deg C. But now after the car has cooled it's back in the grey zone. I got as far as my local mechanic who looked for a dipstick but there is none. He served that the coolant fluid felt too hot and observed it making a popping sound and there are droplets of it on the outside of the coolant tank ? I called Mercedes assist and they will arrange to look at it. It had been sitting on the garage forecourt since Feb owing to Covid. How worried should I be ? Really fed up as love the car. There is only 11000 km on it.
 
Ok. I will do that. When I let the car cool for 30 mins the oil temp has dropped to 70 rising to 82 after i let it idle for 10 mins. It is now well within the grey zone only about a third a way up the oil temp scale and there is no message on the dash re oil level, but I have not driven it again as advised by merc mechanic. They are taking a look in the garage in the morning. Temp on coolant gauge now reading about 80 deg c. The mechanics comment about the coolant feeling too hot is a worry. Will update.
 
Spoke to mechanic I met earlier he says he is certain it it throwing coolant out of the expansion vessel. Any thoughts from the experts on here. Coolant temp has dropped below 60 now on idle.
 
Spoke to mechanic I met earlier he says he is certain it it throwing coolant out of the expansion vessel. Any thoughts from the experts on here. Coolant temp has dropped below 60 now on idle.
Is this all being done by Mercedes MaIn Dealers ?
 
Firstly I would contact the seller/servicing garage as suggested. Don't let your mechanic tinker with it, the seller may object to it. If it was Mercedes Dealer, take it back and let them sort it.

You do have another option of taking it to your local dealer (if not the seller) and let them look at the expansion tank under warranty. The low oil level can also be looked at by them but make sure it is at the correct level by the seller (if different).
 
If the oil level is in the red zone, I’d be asking MB to collect it on a trailer.
 
Mechanic is just a friend who looked under bonnet but didn’t touch anything, his comment about coolant in expansion vessel is a worry. Oil not in red Temp zone now and no error messages on dash once car has cooled down. It going to a Mercedes garage tomorrow. Fingers crossed I will get a logical explanation.
 
Oil being above max is not good , but they can just siphon a little out . Your car has an oil temp gauge as well as coolant temp ? Mercs normally have water temperature and oil pressure gauges .

Normal coolant temp is around 80 deg C , above that is abnormal , but can rise to 120 or so if stuck in traffic on a hot day .

Spillage around the expansion tank may indicate either a leaking hose or a duff radiator cap - can you see if the coolant level is between max and min level marks on the side of the expansion tank ?

If your coolant level is low ( due to a leak ) there could be air in the system and , if not cooling efficiently the popping noises could be coolant boiling - this should not happen in a pressurised system where the boiling point can be well above 100 deg C ( water becomes superheated , this is OK ) .

However , since you haven’t had the car long , take it back to the seller and ask them to fix it .
 
Hi there. I had a look at the coolant tank and I can't see where the level is, even with a torch. However there is definitely a leak of pink coloured fluid around and below the tank. I'm gutted. Spoke again to Mercedes and they are collecting the car in the morning. The mechanic says I shouldn't worry. Did not expect this with only 11k on the clock. Due to go camping next week. Holidays could be cancelled, again. This is my third merc and I have never had anything like this. A few punctures yes, but not this. On my first day !
 
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Oh , under no circumstances remove the radiator cap when the engine is other than cold - danger of scalding .
 
The only cap I touch is the windscreen wash. I would not have the knowledge to touch anything else. I forgot to ad that before I purchased the vehicle i asked about the service history and was sent proof that it was serviced with oil / oil filter replacement (oddly dated the same day of my inquiry ie 17th June last) . Is it possible that this problem could not have been spotted that day ? Today was its first day of the car being driven at least since March when I first saw it online. The mileage was identical when I picked it up to what I saw in the pictures on the ad.
 
You have a few question that need a answer,tell MB you need a loan car,you want to go on holiday,come back on here when you get the MB saying what has gone wrong,it should be interesting.
 
Being towed away now. A new yellow warning light is on the dash now re coolant needing a top up. I didn't ask for loan car yet. Might do later depending on their findings.
 
From what you say , the car has a coolant leak somewhere.

Was there any steam visible ?

It is just possible that a stone or some other object has punctured the radiator , other than a mishap like that , I wouldn’t expect anything wrong with a car that has done less than 7000 miles .

It is also just possible someone at the service disturbed a hose , causing a leak , or overtightened a drive belt , thus damaging the water pump .

Any of the above ‘minor’ things can be rectified without cause for further worry , and I would be happy if any of these repairs were carried out .

However , the last thing that can cause coolant loss is cylinder head gasket failure ; if this turns out to be the issue , I would seriously consider rejecting the car as this is not acceptable given the age and mileage of the vehicle ; even more so since you state above you have only had the car one day ! I would not be happy with a vehicle that required a major engine repair so early in its life and so soon after purchase . I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask them to replace the vehicle with something similar in that event .

No point speculating further until we hear what’s wrong .
 
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Thank you all for assistance. This is such a helpful forum. I hope they do a thorough check on everything mentioned here. No steam from the engine, but it was only driven around 40 k before all this happened. As you said if it's a major engine problem I will be looking to return it.
 
Ok. I will do that. When I let the car cool for 30 mins the oil temp has dropped to 70 rising to 82 after i let it idle for 10 mins. It is now well within the grey zone only about a third a way up the oil temp scale and there is no message on the dash re oil level, but I have not driven it again as advised by merc mechanic. They are taking a look in the garage in the morning. Temp on coolant gauge now reading about 80 deg c. The mechanics comment about the coolant feeling too hot is a worry. Will update.
When you say "oil temp" is that what you mean? In other words do you have an oil temp gauge and a water temp gauge?
 
The oil temp gauge is visible on the left side of the cockpit display under the engine menu (at least I think it's a temp gauge). I saw the temp of the oil creeping up just after the oil message appeared on the main dash behind the steering. The oil temp reached 133 (into the red zone) . If I'm correct the coolant reading is on the right side of the dash but this did not give a high reading yesterday, even though the coolant tank felt very hot ? Normal . There is clearly leak of pink fluid on top of the coolant tank and below it. When I look at the tank from the side I can't see any pink fluid in the tank through the white plastic, not sure if it should be visible ? I did not remove the lid to look inside.
 
You should be able to see coolant through the opaque plastic tank when the engine is both ice cold and at running temperature, just at different levels.

'High' and 'Low' ate usually moulded into the side of the tank, but not always.
 
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