Oil Consumption after Highway Driving
 

What a great forum. I've learned so much and hope to learn why my '03 E320 Wagon purchased used with 80,000 miles keeps telling me I'm low on oil only after highway driving.

I took it to Brumos in Jacksonville, FL. Paid $400 for an oil test. They told me to come back in 1,000 miles. I did. No leaking. But I had only driven the car locally.

A week or two later I drive five hours on the highway. And I'm low on oil again.

I this a common occurence? If so, that's okay. I love the car and besides...I owned a 67 MGB and am accustomed to carrying quarts of oil in the trunk.

Well I don't know if it is the oil level or the sensor. In my 2000 W220 S430 with 123,000 miles I have just started getting a low oil warning.

It occurs only after about an hour of highway driving. Stop with car off for over an hour and then on restart it warns me to go to workshop due to low oil.

If I do the electronic oil check (turning the key without starting and watching the display on the dash) at that time it will tell me it is a quart and 1/2 low.

However the dipstick tells me the oil level is in the middle of high/low range.

When I am bck to local driving no more warning of low oil level. However if I take another road trip I go back to the warnings.

Mobil 1 synthetic 0w-40 is the fill. I have owned the car for the last 115,000 miles but this just started 6 months ago. Regular oil changes between 5K and 10K miles.

Any ideas?

Yes. Stupid electronics. :mad:
Who do you believe, the almighty computer or the good old dipstick ? ;)
If you really want to spend some money on a new oil level sensor, go ahead.
Here you go:
http://catalog.worldpac.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1XC0ZKQX925D174TLW&year=2000&make=MB&model=S-430-001&category=A&part=Oil+Level+Sender

If don’t know if this is true of the newer cars but the older cars’ engines – the 103 in particular – were designed to use oil at sustained highway speeds. In the Florida summer heat at 80 MPH with the AC on it’s not unusual for me to add a quart after 900 miles.

Like you I love my car and also keep a few quarts of good oil in the trunk. Although the low oil light is accurate I still check the dipstick at every fill up.