Just had car serviced and they used..

[timwood2000]

That's kind of reassuring to hear - glad that I'm not alone in having the same symptoms.

Cheers

 

[alexander patie]

anyone mention the difference between fully and semi-synthetic oil regarding service interval? that 10w-40 oil will be a shorter service life and the car will call for a service earlier than with fully synth.

eg w211 e320 cdi. with semi = 15,000km basic interval.
with fully = 20,000km basic interval.

obviously these distances are altered by the instrument cluster according to nature of use, but the difference will still be there!

 

[LTD]

My last service (MB Dealer) was marked up as Castrol 0w30

 

[wemorgan]

anyone mention the difference between fully and semi-synthetic oil regarding service interval? that 10w-40 oil will be a shorter service life and the car will call for a service earlier than with fully synth.

eg w211 e320 cdi. with semi = 15,000km basic interval.
with fully = 20,000km basic interval.

obviously these distances are altered by the instrument cluster according to nature of use, but the difference will still be there!

Can the car monitor whether semi or fully synth oil has been used, or is this something the mechanic enters via the STAR machine?

 

[unitfreebie]

We are very **** about our Oil on this side of the Pond.... Think you should be using 229.51 for Diesel engine.

Check out this thread... Synthetic Oil Change - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

:bannana:

 

[grober]

I called MB Head Office customer services (who were very helpful and friendly). They called me back in about an hour and said that having checked with their technicians, that the Shell 10w40 was indeed suitable for my car and was 228.3 compliant. In explanation as to why I thought my car wasn't running as smoothly as it was before the service, they said that it was possible that they had not programmed the car for that oil.

Frankly anyone who tells you that an engine can be programmed (performance-wise as opposed to merely changing the service regime) to take account of the type of oil its using is capable of telling you everything. In terms of your enquiry to MB headquarters did they ask for the chassis number of your car to check if it has a diesel particulate filter? It is the most important thing to check IMHO. That and the possibility they overfilled it?

 

[Roger Jones]

"They seemed more concerned that I hadn't had a response to 2 emails and were going to get onto the dealer about their lack of response."

Good. I recall mailing dozens of dealers a few years ago in search of a rare part and I received not one response. The e-mail addresses were all from the MB corporate site.

"anyone mention the difference between fully and semi-synthetic oil regarding service interval?"

Take a look at:

Honestjohn: Frequently Asked Questions

 

[timwood2000]

Another update - despite MB Head Office telling me the Shell 10w40 was fine, I still went ahead at great expense (£200) and had a new filter and oil done at my usual dealer. They used Mobil 1 and I could instantly tell the difference - quieter, smoother and just felt better all round. Glad I did it and consider it an expensive lesson learned on my part.

Interestingly, the service indicator was showing 15,750 miles to next (D) service when I got it back and didn't change at all after this weekend, apart from the 500 or so miles that I've driven since the original service. The car has 18,000 miles on it, so the next service at 32,000 miles doesn't seem all bad to me.

Thanks again for everyone's help

 

[timwood2000]

"They seemed more concerned that I hadn't had a response to 2 emails and were going to get onto the dealer about their lack of response."

Good. I recall mailing dozens of dealers a few years ago in search of a rare part and I received not one response. The e-mail addresses were all from the MB corporate site.

Interestingly, despite my call to head office - never heard from MB Canterbury. Never mind - they will never hear from me again either.

 

[Smiley]

why not drop a line to the dealer that performed the service with the "wrong" oil; enclose the receipt for the latest service; tell them that as you did not get any comms from then that you went ahead with a fresh oil change - let them know that the car is running fine now and cheekily ask them either to pay the new invoice or refund theirs.
Worth the time for a letter; they can only say no, and it will make you grin dropping it into the letter box.

 

[Rory]

They called me back in about an hour and said that having checked with their technicians, that the Shell 10w40 was indeed suitable for my car and was 228.3 compliant. In explanation as to why I thought my car wasn't running as smoothly as it was before the service, they said that it was possible that they had not programmed the car for that oil (?).

What complete nonsense. And did they really say 228?

 

[timwood2000]

Rory - yes that's right. I must say that I know when I am being fobbed off and that was another example. Sometimes, you just know your car isn't running right.

 

[alexander patie]

Can the car monitor whether semi or fully synth oil has been used, or is this something the mechanic enters via the STAR machine?

no, the engine cannot tell, it is entered in the dash when resetting the service interval.

 

[haggettd]

Just my 2 penn'orth.

Found out I had a dpf (wasn't yold when I bought it) and got interested in oil etc and DPF function.

Due to odd fuel consumption behaviour had my DPF checked on star and lo and behold it was full of ASH!

I made detailed enquiries and it turns out My C220CDI 2005 was serviced with 229.5 oil at 18K 34K and 51K instead of 229.51 oil.

I purchased it at 67K (MB Direct Balsall Common) and had the free service before I took delivery as part of the sales process.

I had them change the oil too because they used according to them --- 229.1 oil!!!

They are now having to pay for a new DPF and Catalyst assembly. Serves MB right for not being careful i'd say.

 

[wemorgan]

Just my 2 penn'orth.

Found out I had a dpf (wasn't yold when I bought it) and got interested in oil etc and DPF function.

Due to odd fuel consumption behaviour had my DPF checked on star and lo and behold it was full of ASH!

I made detailed enquiries and it turns out My C220CDI 2005 was serviced with 229.5 oil at 18K 34K and 51K instead of 229.51 oil.

I purchased it at 67K (MB Direct Balsall Common) and had the free service before I took delivery as part of the sales process.

I had them change the oil too because they used according to them --- 229.1 oil!!!

They are now having to pay for a new DPF and Catalyst assembly. Serves MB right for not being careful i'd say.

Interesting account. I had previously wondered whether there was much difference between 229.5 and 229.51. I guess I now know.

 

[Satch]

They could have properly used a 10w 40 Shell oil but only if it was this, which is primarily a commercial oil

Shell Rimula Signia 10W-40

Rimula Siginia is a fully synthetic heavy-duty diesel engine oil providing the highest levels of protection and performance. Made for Euro 4 and 5 engines, meets Mercedes Benz 228.51, 228.5 and 226.9. Can offer potential fuel savings of 2%. Mercedes Sprinter van engine oil recommended.

Specs listed :-
Specifications & approvals
ACEA E4 E6 E7
API CI-4 CH-4 CG-4 CF-4
Mercedes Benz 228.51, 228.5 and 226.9
MAN M3477, 3277-CRT and 3271-1
DAF ACEA E4 and E6
Deutz DQC IV-05
Scania ACEA E7
MTU type 3
Volvo VDS-2 CNG Engines
Cummins CES 20077
MACK EO-M+
CAT ECF-1
JASO DH-2 (engine requirements)

If so, my guess would be this is the "default" oil they use for everything.

(Cynics might suggest that this could be something to do with it being about 40% cheaper to source than the Shell 229.31 and 229.51 versions with the volume discount but I am sure that could not possibly be true....)

Sadly, there is in places a stuning lack of understanding of just how critical a low SAPS oil is for EU4 & 5 vehicles: with full synthetics do not sweat differences like 0w40, 5w40 or 5w30, the SAPS content is the critical one.

http://www.engine-expo.com/05engine_conf/pres/day1/burnett.pdf

Setting the engine management system for the various oil types does matter up to a point because anything with .31 or .51 on the end will tend to have a lower service life tham the .3 or .5 versions because of the different additive package. But on an EU4 or EU5 car you should be using them anyway......

 

[Rory]

Found out I had a dpf (wasn't yold when I bought it)

Never seen one myself but I understood that there's supposed to be an orange warning sticker under the bonnet to say the car needs LA oil.

Serves MB right for not being careful i'd say.

This has come up a few times with dealers apparently being completely unaware of the need to use LA oil.

Many can't even reset the service indicators to the right oil quality so this shouldn't be a surprise.