Would welcome perspectives on MB GLC 300 maintenance - says our first oil change does not need to happen until 20K kms.
Is metal shavings/small pieces still a thing when breaking in engines (feel like i'm dating myself here)....
Thinking of having an oil change done at 5k km and then going with the regular/suggested maintenance schedule
What are your experiences/thoughts with waiting 20k km between oil changes?
Thanks in advance for your perspective!
Personally, I am of the opinion long change intervals have nothing to do with customer satisfaction (ie longevity).Quote:
Originally Posted by Axe
The maintenance schedule has been designed to be as cheap and unintrusive to new buyers. As the manufacturers don't care about the vehicle after warranty, they design the schedules accordingly.
I suppose it really depends on how long you keep the vehicle (or if you are leasing it). If you get rid of vehicles under 150k kms or lease them, follow the suggested intervals. If you want to drive the vehicle into the ground... I'd do it every 10k kms or once a year.
Thanks for that perspective; we are not leasing and intend to keep the vehicle; I would rather spend time and money on preventative maintenance up front...
Early chance cannot hurt, and yeah, if you are already worried about it, maybe get that first one done soon. I assume you run full synthetic, so once it's "broken in" I'd be fine with the longer intervals. My wifes Odyssey, which also run full synthetic, gets one oil change per year.
This for sure. If you’re gonna replace it in a couple years, follow the schedule. If you’re gonna keep it for 5-10 years, change it way more often.Quote:
Originally Posted by zechs
I don't really think thats a concern anymore. Most engines are broken in at factory. I think the "break-in" period the dealerships suggest is more so that you drive the car easier to understand it and as a safety thing, rather than a break-in period. That being said, do what you're comfortable with. If you want to change it early, theres no real negative effect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Axe
I would never wait 20,000km for an oil change it just seems crazy to me. For my cars I’d change it every 6,000km. Same goes for “lifetime” transmission and differential fluid, those need to be serviced too.
Thank you for the perspectives; makes me feel like i'm not off in wanting to change the oil more frequently and thanks for the heads up re the tranny and diff. fluid changes - will have to build that into the maint. schedule.
Will you take it back to Mercedes for your early fluids change? I am also on the fence where to take mine for early fluids change.Quote:
Originally Posted by Axe
I'll be the odd man out and disagree with a number of the above recommendations.
Follow the maintenance guidelines from the factory as per the owners manual. They were put in place for a reason and anymore is a waste of money, any less will void warranty. Dealers or third party will often recommend higher intervals at their advantage to make more money. If it was a high performance vehicle that you were racing at the track or regularly abusing, maybe the higher intervals could be justified but for a regular daily driver it's not worth it, you'd be throwing money away with no long term benefit.
The manufacturer isn't going to risk a higher number of potential warranty claims by stretching out their recommended maintenance intervals which could potentially damage the drivetrain.
90_Shelby's post beat me to it and I agree.
It depends on how you are driving it but stick with the manufacturers guidelines in the owners manual.
The oil change per 5km is a old rule of thumb for older vehicles. I don't think that applies to modern vehicles, especially German.
To give a perspective. So I came to Canada in 2007. I was bemused by the high oil changes here. I dont know anyone that changes their oil every 5km back in London or the UK. It was always around the 20km mark or once a year. Even on shiity Euro cars like Peugoet. The wear is higher there as the diving is mostly start stop.
Here in Canada you have open roads with gentle accelerations from the lights. The only harshness you get are extreme temperature variations in winter, higher altitude and possibly driving more km. So why more oil changes, I do not know.
That being said.....I change mine every 5km( ive gone longer). I change it often not because I want to, its because Im driving a 18 year old vehicle and it is mainly so my mechanic can keep a eye on the the engine and the parts around it. That has paid itself off quite a lot as he has spotted stuff before it got worse. Also I do a lot of highway miles.
Your vehicle is new. You dont have to do the 5km and have your mechanic give it a once over like I do. So stick with the 20km or what it says in the Manual and you will be fine.
Re taking to Mercedes: if I end up doing it earlier I'll go there and avoid any potential warranty issues.
I hear you re manufacturer claims - I am planning on keeping the vehicle beyond the warranty period and looking to mitigate potential issues as much as possible (although with the German cars you just never know it seems...)
I drive two "high performance" vehicles, one with ~600hp and one with 700hp, I drive them hard, I'll own them long term and rack up the miles on them. One of them has been out of warranty for several years and I still simply follow the manufacturer recommendations on maintenance. The only exception is that I will change the oil once a year if I don't put enough miles on it over the same time frame.Quote:
Originally Posted by Axe
If I get to the point where I'm concerned about anything related to oil changes, I'd send off samples to blackstone for lab analysis before I simply increase oil change frequency expecting this to save an engine.
On that note, I could be completely wrong. If anyone has proof or documentation showing that increased oil changes would reduce the probability of rod bearings failing in an E9X M3, or lifters failing in an SRT Hemi powered car or Subaru engines from catastrophically failing, I'd love to read about it.
What are all the car guys obsessed with engine oil going to do when we go all EV? I have never understood why so many owners obsess about engine oil. So many people waste money and good oil changing it at short intervals. Just follow the manufacturer maintenance schedule with approved oils and your engine should last as long as possible.
Oil changes are cheap, if it makes you feel better feel free to do them more often.
However I wouldn’t lose sleep over not changing your oil more than once a year or 10/15/20k km whatever the manufacturer is recommending. I would definitely change annually personally, that’s my standard frequency.
Again, oil changes are cheap.
That's not an exception that's a rule. Most manufacturers oil change period is x number of kms OR 1 year.Quote:
Originally Posted by 90_Shelby
Fair. I can't recall the exact time frame specified in my owners manual so I couldn't quote if I was following exactly their recommendations or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by rage2
Edit: My Trackhawk is 10,000km or 6 months, CTS-V is 12,000km and unknown timeframe. The computer calculates the % of oil life remaining based on some formula i haven’t bothered to look up.
Yea MB is def 1 year. The car reminds me and counts down by days left instead of kms left.Quote:
Originally Posted by 90_Shelby
I change my Corvette oil every 3-5 track days and 2500-3000km, it regularly sees 130-140°C oil temps and 115-122°C water temps at the track with aftermarket coolers. Lots of guys would say I’m wasting money, lots would say I’m risking my motor. Just do whatever you feel comfortable with imo.
Audi is 1 year as well. Mine counts down both though. I'll def reach 1 year before I reach the km limit.Quote:
Originally Posted by rage2