Connecticut Roy

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How often do you change oil? I drive pretty hard most of the time and I think 13000 is a long way between changes but I don't have anything to back up my fear. How many miles do you go between changes?

Woolly

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I do mine every 2 years, because I don't do the mileage. Lets have some photos of your Everest Green!!

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2005 BMW LT - 16 countries, 2 CONTINENTS & counting
2004 MB SLK 350 Andradite Green (6 speed manual]
1999 Ducati ST2
2003 Vauxhaul Vectra
1974 Triumph Bonneville 750 T140V
1937 Norton 500 single
(all still current)

WhiteRabbit

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For the 09 models M-B now recommends 10,000 miles between oil changes instead of 13,000. I Changed mine at 10,000 on my previous 06 SLK 280.

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2009 SLK 350, Arctic White, Gullwing Red, 7G Automatic, Premium PKG I, Lighting, Heating packages, Auto Climate Control, smartTop roof module v3.22, Clear side-marker lenses.

rlbawk

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I do 10000 miles or once a year. Seems it's gonna be the once a year I avg about 6500 miles a year.

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Randy B

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Black - Black/Ash, PII pkg, Airscarf, Green Filters, Clear side markers, chrome turn signal bulbs,
Smarttop module, 19" TSW Snetterton Wheels, Chrome fins, Custom Windrestrictor.

Ynot

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Once a year, I avg about 3,500 miles a year.

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06' SLK 350, Iridium/Ash all pkgs. 6-spd, 19" DCR.


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Duo-Art

I also drive around 3,500 miles per year. I have my oil changed in November each year before I put it away for the winter.

SLKCop

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Wow, I add about 3500 miles every month and a half!

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Mike

2002 Black SLK-230


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Ynot

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Nice , I wish I could do the same.

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06' SLK 350, Iridium/Ash all pkgs. 6-spd, 19" DCR.


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Duo-Art

Mike, If I lived in Texas, I'm sure I'd be driving more.

mtiede

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I'll put more than that on on my next trip And I'll be smiling all the way...

I follow the manufacturer's instructions. That synthetic oil is pretty good.

UK-C200

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Been involved in discussions regarding change intervals with synthetics many times over the last few years of MB ownership.

Seems like the general rule of thumb is that as long as you are running the car hard, you are good to go for more miles and more time. Lots of short duration runs where the engine does not get "hot" enough for long enough to help cook any moisture out of the oil is what can cause it to break down faster.

I've always intended to take advantage of a lab here in London to have my oil tested after a change, and simply have never managed to pull it off. My C (daily driver), does about 40 miles a week in typical bumper to bumper London traffic, so I usually try and change the oil once a year - but the oil has "looked" pretty good when I do change it, hence the desire to actually have it tested.

If you want to read a *really* good description about synthetics, take a gander at http://www.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=243867, specifically Glyn M Ruck's excellent post.

Oh, and yes, in the "weekend" SLK I did 1,322 miles in the first 20 days of ownership, and I feel confident that I managed to get the oil and engine up to and sustaining proper operating temperatures each and every time I got behind the wheel! I forgot to check before I left what the average mileage was - today when I was tooling back across London (~50 mile trip to see a friend up north with almost no traffic?!), I noticed that I was getting 37mpg and checked the average - over 25 since last reset (~1000 miles). Gotta love a 4 cylinder w/supercharger, eh?! ;P

Next time I'm over at the dealership, I think I'm going to talk my salesguy into a test drive of an SLK200k - I'm really curious now just how fun it would be after the 350....

Dolebludger

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We have discussed this a lot in our Mercedes Benz Club of America section (chapter) meetings. And we've got the general manager and the service manager of our local dealership in attendance, along with a lot of other experienced techs.

The consensus? While manufacturer's recommendations are OK for cars designated for high mileage oil change intervals, we enthusiasts might just want to change our oil at 1/2 the mileage so recommended. For newer, synthetic oil Mercedes, this usually means an oil change every 5000 to 6000 miles. For older Mercedes and for any other cars that we may own that use "dino oil" the recommendation is a change about 3500 miles.

SLKCop

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Yeah, the weather is usually pretty good here. Where are you?

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Mike

2002 Black SLK-230


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Duo-Art

I'm in Skokie, Illinois a suburb of Chicago.

mtiede

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Why?

Glyn said:

Stick to MBs maintenance schedule.

Dolebludger

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I will tell you what the techs said, but that doesn't mean I understand it. They said that the oil, whether synthetic or not, accumulates some "blow by" gasoline from the combustion chamber, regardless of how new and "tight" the pistons and rings fit in the cylinders. This gasoline (or diesel fuel, if that be the case) accumulates more and more in the oil with mileage, regardless of type, and reduces its lubricating ability.

I will confess that the topic of this discussion was "how to get your engine to last 300,000 miles", so "abundance of caution" was followed in the advice given. Probably, an owner who wants to trade in his car at 60K to 75K miles or so could go with the owners manual high mileage oil change intervals with no problems at all.

I frankly don't know how long I will keep my cars. That all depends on how well they age. But on the chance that one or more may be a long term "keeper" I change at 5K to 7K miles, regardless of longer interval in the owners' manual.

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mtiede

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FWIW, I have an uncle who has always been a hell-raising, non-conformist. He bought Japanese cars long before they were popular because he saw them as tough, well built, durable vehicles. So he had a little Datsun pickup and he decided to test out the oil change theory. He NEVER changed the oil in that truck. He got 240,000 tough miles out of it that I remember and I think he kept it going after that.

What he DID do however, was change the filter religiously. And of course after the filter change and whenever it needed it, he ADDED oil, but NEVER changed it.

Now, of course, your mileage may vary, as the expression goes. But I suspect that changing the oil isn't as critical as most of us have been led to believe.

And then, on the flip side, I never heard of anyone who had some kind of trouble from changing the oil too much.

Dolebludger

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I have not heard the theory before that one need NEVER change oil if one changes the filter. Just changing the filter would protect against gritty contaminants, but not against gasoline "blow by".

That being said, a very qualified tech who is a professional restorer of vintage Mercedes argued that only the filter needs to be changed mid way in the manufacturer's recommended interval. And with Mercedes top-mounted filter, it is easy to do this, without getting oil in the face!

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mtiede

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I'm not recommending to NEVER change the oil! I'm just saying I think he proved that the change interval isn't critical for long engine life. At least on that vehicle.

Duo-Art

Once your oil reaches its full operating temperature, the gasoline and water vapor that blow past the piston rings is vaporized (boiled away) and is removed by the crank case ventilating system. That's why short trips are not good for an engine, the oil doesn't get hot enough so sludge developes.