Do the new MBs have oil change indicators? Here's why I asked. My wife's Regal has one. It works on the principle of counting engine revolutions to determine oil change intervals. Think about this for a moment: you're on a twenty mile trip on the open road. At 2500 rpm X 20 minutes you used 50,000 rpm. On the same lenght trip in stop and go traffic you averaged 1500 rpm X 40 minutes for a total of 60,000 rpm. So, with that in mind, actual mileage is not a good indicator of when a change is needed. Clever idea I think! The "city" car actually worked harder.

Yes they do, it is called the FSS.

It measures the electrical conductivity of the engine oil as the basis of wheather the oil change interval should be increased or decreased.

__________________
Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

another, more low tech way to solve the city car-highway car mileage problem is to change the oil according to time intervals ie. every 3 months or what ever you like. so whether ou put on 2000, miles or 1000 miles change the oil.

The FSS not only checks the condition of the oil, it also monitors cold starts, stop and go driving, trips to redline, etc.

During long highway trips, my FSS counts down very slowly. A few weeks of stop-and-go city driving, and it's counting down fast!

Neat, but stupid when it comes to taking it to the dealer. They reward low-stress driving with MORE EXPENSIVE servicing. Huh?

Well, during normal servicing, intervals are 15,000 kilometers. And you go A, B, A, B and so on.

BUT!

If the interval increases to 22,000 kilometers, then you DON'T DO AN A! It goes B, B, B, B. So? Instead of a B every 30,000 kilometers (which is ridiculously frequent to drop $600-$1000 on servicing) it's every 22,000 kilometers.

I go on some long highway trips, which are very kind to my car, and MB says I need to give them just as much money!

The math:

15K, $200 A
15K, $500 B
15K, $200 A
15K, $500 B
60,000 kilometers = $1,400 labour (no parts) This is $.023 per kilometer.

22K = $500
22K = $500
22K = $500
66,000 kilometers = $1,500 labour (no parts) This is $.022 per kilometer.

So! Drive hard, or drive gently, MB wants the same moolah!

The FSS is a giant profit center for MB dealers. They don't do anything but "inspect" your car, and beat you over the head for $$$. Then, in your manual is the "grey" areas that explain "at additional cost to the customer." So, your "normal" services don't incluse stuff like filter or fluid changes. That's all extra!

The estimate for my ~100K service was about $1500.

I use the FSS. As it counts down each 5000 kilometers, I change the oil and filter. When it reaches zero, I do the A or B service, which are both pretty easy on your own. Does the horn work? Yup! Saved myself $50!

For some stuff, I take it to the dealer, and SPECIFY the work to be done. I NEVER allow them to do a "service." Big waste of money.

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Did not know that the dealer wants to do a B service every time if the intervals are extended.

My bimmer has a service reminder that takes cold starts, engine revs, etc into account. Me, I ignore the stupid little lights, do maintenace based on the mileage, and reset the thing whenever it lights up.

__________________
Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record