so, i own a cl55amg and a cl500[both with approx 53,000 miles].

neither car has ever needed an oil top-off between service intervals.

but two weeks ago, running at about 100mph on the hardy toll road, the instrument panel delivered a message. to paraphrase, "needs 1 litre, stop at next filling station".

now, the last change/replenishment of 0/40 mobil one occurred approximately 6,000 miles ago.

i have never seen this message before. and i was curious by the measurement of oil in a european system for a u.s. market car.

and this message would appear routinely over the next 50 miles.

putting the car back in the barn, i let is sit for about 15 minutes, then deployed the electronic oil level sensor. display read "perf".

just to verify that, i thought i might check the dipstick. but i discovered that there is no dipstick. oh, there is a cap on what would be a dipstick receiver, but there is no mechanical method for checking oil level. how odd, i thought.

so i consulted the manual. actually, it shows a dipstick constructed like a string of beads. and what pulled out appears as if the top end of that string. so, i wondered, did all those beads fall into the sump?

then i consulted the manual again, and though a dipstick measurement is referenced, the manual advises that the electronic measurement is more accurate[really?].

putting the car in the barn, leaving it with the electronics that the oil level was "perf", i decided to examine my cl500 to see if it had a dipstick. it did.

i assumed that this was a difference between the cl500 engine and the cl55 affalterbach engine.

on monday, with the cl55 engine cold after sitting for two weeks, i checked the oil level through the electronic measurement system. displayed, "perf".

took it out, then, for a high speed run. below 70, no warning messages. but, during a 70-100 burst, the add 1 litre oil message appeared. hmm.

arriving at my destination, waiting for 5-10 minutes, the electronic sensor reported "perf".

now, i really wanted a dipstick. were the electronics going screwy?

so, i telephoned my dealer's techs. all of whom i have known for decades - the only mechanics that work on my sacco collection vehicles.

while i waited for them, i did the electronic sensor oil level menu again. now it told me that the sump was 1 quart low.

eventually, my tech guru answered his phone and we discussed this issue. though he agreed with me that a dipstick would have been a good idea, one was never fitted by benz for the 2006 cl55.

then he said, in fact none of your 2006 215 series should have a dipstick.

then i said, but you must be wrong, my cl500 has one. so, he said that i must be looking at the transmission dipstick instead of the oil dipstick.

so, i had to remind him that over the years, i have rebuilt many benz engines, and though never a 215 engine, i do know a dipstick tube from a tranny tube.

so then he said a peculiar thing, he said that for the cl500 engine, for $125 a dipstick was available. its level markings were in millimeters, not ozs. and that when fitted by an owner, there was a conversion chart for millimeters to ozs.

i haven't checked out the marking designation for that cl500 dipstick yet.

still would any gurus here care to comment.

all ears

If an M113 is like an M112, and it probably is... Your car has an engine oil tube and a transmission tube. Your car had a dipstick in neither the day it was built. The transmission dipstick and engine oil dipstick are considered factory tools. You aren't supposed to operate the car with the transmission dipstick in, not sure about running the car with the engine dipstick in, since you've been doing it for years I gather it hasn't hurt anything.

However the tech wasn't lying to you when he said you don't have a dipstick.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

missing it, i think.

2006 cl500 has an oil dipstick. and has always had a dipstick. tranny has always had a dipstick. and it is impossible to mis-identify the two.

2006 cl55 has a tranny dipstick. over 53,000 miles, i have never received any msg that oil sump needs some refill. until now. and the msgs have been contradictory[still don't get a us market car calling for a litre].

personally, i think engines that rely solely on electronics are a mistaken engineering idea.

a better idea, my 2008 porsche cayenne turbo has an electronic sensor and a dipstick.

my question, if no dipstick was fitted, why was an oil dipstick tube fitted to the allfalterbach engine?

It sounds like you have the answers to all your own questions.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

Your cars transmission has a dipstick that is way too long to be left in place. Your engine does have a tube for the dipstick but not a dipstick, However MB have it as a tool.

I dont know if its the same as the old V6 and V8 dipsticks which is a length of cable with a plastic piece on the end.

But you can always find out at the dealership.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

The oil dipstick tube is for sucking out crankcase oil and insertion of special measuring tool in the event of excess oil consumption. Like all recent Mercedes, my 06 ML500 also has the dipstick tube sans dipstick. Since I, like you, prefer the manual measurement method, I ordered a dipstick for the W163 ML500 thinking it would work. Alas, Mercedes has lengthened the dipstick tube on the W164 ML500 so the W163 dipstick is now too short and does not reach the oil level even when properly filled. Viagra might be in order. Mark

The most likely explanation is that your CL55 does indeed require addition of oil. Given that you seem to use a fair bit of its performance capability, this doesn't surprise me.

That said, the electronic sensors do go wonky on occasion, so it may be worth checking the oil level with the dipstick tool to verify the sensor is correct. As others have said, the dipstick is a service tool which cannot be left in place during engine operation. On the 55K engine in my w211 the oil measures 168mm depth when full. I am not certain the same number is valid for your 215, as there is the possibility it utilizes a different sump design.

The factory seemed to frequently alter their view on whether to fit a dipstick or pan sensor, or both, over the last dozen years. The only combination I am aware they did not use was to fit neither.

The 722.6 automatic transmission includes a dipstick tube, but again, the dipstick itself is a service tool. They went so far as to include a red locking pin in the cap in an attempt to avoid the introduction of incorrect fluids.