One of my friends brought his 100k mile 2001 E320 over and asked if I could check the oil (only has the little stopper in place of a standard stick). Using a service dipstick, I checked it and found it to be slightly low - maybe 1/2 quart. The oil cap was VERY tight requiring channel locks to remove it. All over the underside of the cap and in the area in the valve cover where the oil is poured into looked very bad (see pics). Engine oil smelled normal as did the coolant and trans fluid. Those were also at acceptable levels. The car doesn't overheat

When trying to read the oil level from the instrument cluster, a message saying "MEASURING NOT POSSIBLE" shows up.

Before digging into this, does anyone have an idea of what to look into first? Thanks.

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__________________
Lance Allison
Lance@LanceAllison.com

Current:
11 MB S550 4Matic, 55k miles, Designo Black/Black
14 Ford F150 XLT Lariat Crew, 73k miles, 5.0
Coyote V8 4x4. Black/tan.
09 GMC Envoy Denali, 5.3 V8, 4x4 SWB. 38k miles,
Jewel Red/Med Gray.

Gone:
87 MB 300SDL, 320k miles, Astral Silver/Blue.
98 VW Jetta TDI, 488k miles, Classic Green/Gray.
85 Olds 98 Brougham FWD, 4.3 DIESEL V6, 80k
miles, 3x Gray.

MBCA Member, Chicago Region