Oil change after 3K miles ???

[V6GBJ]

My 2016 R231 SL400 is due for a B5 service. For a variety of reasons it has done only 3K miles in the last 12 months. Both quotes from local Indies who have access to the car's history, include an oil and filter change. Is this necessary? I have queried this in the past with other cars and the Indie just said that they follow MB recommendations. My diesel BMW has oil change intervals of up to 18 months or 18K miles!!

 

[Deleted member 149005]

The service warning is triggered by the earliest of 12 months or 15500 miles from last service

The low use won't have helped... all others may disagree and argue oil has a longer life in the sump....


Tis a small price to pay for annual oil change and reducing chances of subsequent issues with MB....unless you are out of warranty and not bothered by main dealer history

 

[190]

Leaving aside the impact on service history and only addressing this from the view of will it harm the engine.

If the 3000 miles have not been severe use i.e. the car has always been used for trips that get the oil up to temperature, then the oil should be in good shape and there is no need to change it on a time basis. For vehicles that do even lower annual miles but no short trips, then the oil could be good for several years. If you were to send a sample of the used oil off for analysis it would most likely come back with a report that said it was good for many more miles.

 

[Gazwould]

18 months / 18k services are going to carnage for any car .

Only created to give the marketing illusion of cheaper servicing .

 

[markjay]

Mrs MJ's cars were doing 1,500 miles per year and I still had them serviced annually.

The issue with short journeys / cold engine is that it pollutes the engine oil (among other things).

That said, my W203 had the flexible ASSYST, and when I was doing low annual mileage the service indicator came-up every 15-18 months.

So I am guessing that the optimal interval for low mileage cars is a little longer than one year but probably not as long as two years.

With regards FSH... if you intend to keep the car for several years, no problem, but if you are thinking of selling it, beware, dealers and traders will look for any excuse as to why your car is worth (well) bellow book.

 

[Will]

I would just get it done. Buy the oil yourself to supply for the service if your dealer will allow it and save ££s (MB charge upwards of £10/L, you can buy it for half that amount or less). Not sure on indi rates but an A-service isn’t expensive even at a main dealer.

FWIW, I owned an E63 AMG with just 11k miles that had been serviced every year. One service interval was less than a hundred miles in between. Cars that have missing services sometimes are worth less and harder to sell in future. From a buyer’s perspective you wonder what else they have skimped on, or what went wrong etc. Just my own thoughts

Not worth the hassle on a 2016 car of skipping a service IMO.

I don’t think my 2013 GL had much more than 3k miles since the previous service but I still had it done on time.

 

[Teego]

Oil changes, and ATFs and Diffs are the cheapest way to preserve your mechanicals.

 

[Tonygw]

In the words of Scotty Kilmer (youtube) Oils cheap engines are not.

I'm in the same situation, but think I will get it done for peace of mind.

 

[Gazwould]

It only aids to get the internals incredibly clean , I've changed 6 monthly before and with new oil filter with as little as 1300 miles covered , the oil a 20k LongLife oil too .

Now that there's two now , one might be 6 months and keep existing filter and the other annualy and change filter .

Sub £5 for filters and always sub £20 for 5L oil .

 

[E55BOF]

To answer the OP's question, it's very unlikely it's actually necessary in mechanical terms, but if it's only a small part of the overall bill you might as well have it done anyway. If it was the only thing that was going to be done, if the car was a long-term keeper I'd not bother.

 

[Muckypaps]

Tight

 

[BlackC55]

My 2016 R231 SL400 is due for a B5 service. For a variety of reasons it has done only 3K miles in the last 12 months. Both quotes from local Indies who have access to the car's history, include an oil and filter change. Is this necessary? I have queried this in the past with other cars and the Indie just said that they follow MB recommendations. My diesel BMW has oil change intervals of up to 18 months or 18K miles!!

Long life servicing is not good in our experience. There is a VAG specilaist near us that sees regular engine failure and serious wear on cams etc and he put it down to th elong service intervals. For the small cost an oil and filter is going to be, i'd just do it.

 

[V6GBJ]

Thanks for your contributions folks. FYI the car has only been used for trips, except for occasionally moving it during a lockdown SORN. I have a chemistry degree but would not profess to be an oil expert. However, I would guess that oil is chemically inert when in the sump for the 1-2 years talked about. The car is out of warranty and as in the past, I shall use Indies rather than dealerships. When selling previous cars when 5 or more years old I have found that a service record including Indies is taken perfectly seriously by prospective buyers. Just for the record, I shall get the oil changed when it is serviced next week but the discussion has been fun. Cheers, Gareth

 

[french]

My service 12 month service light popped up, I've travelled 1868 miles in the past year...its been in & had the service...why buy a nice car & then skimp on maintenance ???