Servicing Oddity...

[Burger]

I wonder if some of those who've owned a Mercedes for a few years could help me understand this please...

When I purchased my 2007 SL 350 in September last year I knew the last service had been in mid April 2010 and was an A service so the next would be a B service.

I also understand the interval is both time and distance related. When I first got the car it was telling me 14,500 miles to next service and this has counted down slowly over the months but even though I've covered some 3000 miles, was still not below 12,000. Now, this morning it tells me 29 days to next service and that's where I'm really confused as that will take me to 25th March.

The service history reads as follows:

1st Service (A) 15/5/08 (29 days late).
2nd Service (B) 30/4/09 (4 days late).
3rd Service (A) 19/4/10 (4 days early).

So if the 19/4 was 4 days early why isn't the next service due on 23/4 this year? and how can 19/4 be 4 days early and yet 30/4 be 4 days late when apparently 15/5 was 29 days late? It makes no sense either mileage based or annually?

Is this a case of a dealership short changing the customer by not adding a full 12 months to the indicator? I don't think my surprise 29 day countdown today can be because of the oil because prior to today it was telling me I had over 12,000 miles to go.

I'm confused.

Can someone explain this please?

Thanks,

 

[MOCAŠ]

Can't really help on solving your conundrum, as I tend to just follow what my service indicator says, without giving it too much thought.

However, common sense would at least dictate that if the time interval is a year (it's 2 years on mine, btw), the year would be counted from when the last service took place rather than from when it was due to have been done. Also, 29 days from today would be 28th March (or 27th if it's including today, but then the 27th is a Sunday).

 

[kit17]

Hi Burger

I dont Know whether this is relevant to your scenario but I recently read a reply by Honest John in the telegraph and he was saying cars that do very little mileage need more regular servicing, due to moisture levels in the oil, fluids etc that tend to build up when the car isn't used as much.

Could your SL be accounting for your low Mileage Maybe?

 

[Burger]

You're right on the 20/3 of course - not sure where my head was on that one. Never the less though there does seem to be a lack of logic/sense in the dates. I hope someone from 'the trade' might be able to cast some light.

Regards,

 

[Burger]

Hi Burger

I dont Know whether this is relevant to your scenario but I recently read a reply by Honest John in the telegraph and he was saying cars that do very little mileage need more regular servicing, due to moisture levels in the oil, fluids etc that tend to build up when the car isn't used as much.

Could your SL be accounting for your low Mileage Maybe?

I guess that's possible... I'm really not sure what the service indicator measures... but it would be very odd for it to go from 12,000 miles to just 29 days in one jump if it wasn't triggered by the calendar only. If it was something to do with the oil condition or other measurement then I would have expected the the 14,500 to 12,000 mile indication to be dropping much faster than it was.

Regards,

 

[Burger]

Guess I should have called this thread my worst weekend ever eh?

 

[Rory]

When I first got the car it was telling me 14,500 miles to next service and this has counted down slowly over the months but even though I've covered some 3000 miles, was still not below 12,000.

That's surprising - I would have assumed that, for the cars on fixed interval servicing, the mileage would drop linearly from the reset mileage.

I think there's officially a month/1000 miles leeway on servicing anyway (but please check that if you have a warranty that depends on it).

 

[GordonTarling]

My S211 did almost exactly the same thing - 11 months and 8000 miles between an A service and a C service! I still haven't worked out why it did that. Dealer wasn't much help either - said it was probably because the A had been done early - it wasn't! I think the dealer can only reset the service indicator and not influence mileage or time to next service, I think the car decides that somehow. I suppose it's just possible that lots of short journeys might shorten the time between services?

 

[Burger]

If the mileage to the next service had been dropping faster than it was then I could understand the car deciding it needed servicing sooner, but it wasn't, it was dropping slower than the actual mileage which indicates the time to the next service was getting further away not sooner - well at least that's what it would indicate to me.

I'd be surprised if the dealer can't set the date of the next service due... but who knows?

Regards,

 

[corned]

From reading the chicken entrails and various atmospheric conditions, I have divined that the service interval can 'float' both for distance AND time. As has been said, the mysterious service interval calculator (some random number generator in the dashboard somewhere) is rumoured to factor in things like journey distance, throttle inputs, etc, so will load short journeys and high speed/aggressive throttle, and mellow out a little for long steady journeys.

I guess it's possible that the time factor will still run down even though the mileage isn't, as the oil will be stood longer, although in reality I'm not sure what detriment this would have over the oil being mashed by the engine when in use.

 

[goldestate]

My opinion is that the service indicator is controlled remotely by the Dealer Principals wife and is directly related to her desire for new release handbags.

 

[Alps]

service indicator takes alot of things into consideration, including factors from other sensors, driving style, amount you drive, how many times car is switched on/off, so it will vary slightly everytime you start it essentially.

 

[corned]

Is it possible to start a car non-essentially?

 

[Burger]

service indicator takes alot of things into consideration, including factors from other sensors, driving style, amount you drive, how many times car is switched on/off, so it will vary slightly everytime you start it essentially.

So sitting in the car in my garage making brum brum brummmmmmm noises is not a good idea?

 

[Alps]

So sitting in the car in my garage making brum brum brummmmmmm noises is not a good idea?

for the sake of your mental state, id say not a good idea.... but it wont effect the service indicator

 

[Rory]

service indicator takes alot of things into consideration, including factors from other sensors, driving style, amount you drive, how many times car is switched on/off, so it will vary slightly everytime you start it essentially.

That's on the cars with variable servicing though - I would have thought the car in question here would be on fixed interval servicing, which should be 12mths or 15,500 miles, whichever is first.

There was a changeover period and the OPs car might be on the cusp of that, but the fact that it was displaying 14K miles makes me think it must be fixed - as far as I'm aware the highest the variable service will reset to is 13K miles and, although it can decrease at a lower rate than mile for mile, the displayed mileage to service never goes up.

The car must surely be on fixed service - if not then its previous services are astonishingly consistent.

 

[markjay]

I do very little mileage, around 4k a year, and the service indicator does not come up at regular intervals - last time it was after 1y 9m, now after 1y 4m. As said, I guess it works out the number of engine starts, engine running temp, etc, to decide when the next service is due in cases where the full mileage has not been reached.

 

[Burger]

Just had an interesting conversation with my dealer who cannot explain why the car has decided it needs a service a month early. However, the chap I was speaking to was absolutely insistent that the ONLY thing that can affect the interval is the quality of the oil. I asked him about other sensors that affect the interval and he stated categorically there are none. He laughed when I asked if it was measuring the number of times the cars started. He said it was possible that the wrong weight oil had been used at the last service although when this has happened in the past it usually knocks about 6 months off the date not just a month. Both he and the service rep I then spoke to said it was fine to leave the car until the correct due date of 23rd April.

However, they then decided to give me the news that at this service it will also require air and fuel filters, brake fluid and spark plugs and that it will cost me £1080.00 something. I should be relieved apparently that it includes VAT

In all the years I owned a brand new Jaguar XJ8 and had it serviced religiously on schedule at a main dealers I never once paid over £600.00 for a service and it was more usually in the £200 to £300 range.

It is what it is of course and I'm not complaining, but something doesn't feel right about it all.

Regards,

 

[camerafodder]

Just had an interesting conversation with my dealer who cannot explain why the car has decided it needs a service a month early. However, the chap I was speaking to was absolutely insistent that the ONLY thing that can affect the interval is the quality of the oil. I asked him about other sensors that affect the interval and he stated categorically there are none. He laughed when I asked if it was measuring the number of times the cars started. He said it was possible that the wrong weight oil had been used at the last service although when this has happened in the past it usually knocks about 6 months off the date not just a month. Both he and the service rep I then spoke to said it was fine to leave the car until the correct due date of 23rd April.

However, they then decided to give me the news that at this service it will also require air and fuel filters, brake fluid and spark plugs and that it will cost me £1080.00 something. I should be relieved apparently that it includes VAT

In all the years I owned a brand new Jaguar XJ8 and had it serviced religiously on schedule at a main dealers I never once paid over £600.00 for a service and it was more usually in the £200 to £300 range.

It is what it is of course and I'm not complaining, but something doesn't feel right about it all.

Regards,

Take it to an indy Dave, I haven't looked back since. Better service half the price!

 

[Rory]

However, they then decided to give me the news that at this service it will also require air and fuel filters, brake fluid and spark plugs and that it will cost me £1080.00 something. I should be relieved apparently that it includes VAT

There's little difference in scope or cost between an A & B service - they're pretty well an oil and filter change and some checks. They should change the pollen filter on a B service.

Most other things will only need doing every 4 years (brake fluid every 2) so you should only get a chunky bill every 4 years. Did they mention changing the ATF too? Including that, then £1000 or so, is, unfortunately, in the right ball-park for a dealer. Without it then it sounds expensive. If you don't want to use an indie then get prices from other dealers and play yours off against them.