I have a Mercedes E320 1996. I was just wondering what type of oil should be used for an oil change. The dealer last year indicated to use synthetic oil and that you did not need to bring it in until the dash indicated it was time for an oil change. Its been well over a year and 10,000+ miles and I still have not seen that message. We called an independant shop and he quoted $65 for oil change, when asked he didnt seem to know about the synthetic oil or the fact that this car senses when the oil needs to be changed and tells you.

I dont even know now if the car has an oil sensor that lets you know when to change the oil or if you should only use synthetic.

Any thoughts would be welcome. We love this car and want to take the best care of it we can. We stopped going to the dealer after they quoted us $1000+ to replace the fuel pump which seemed excessive.

__________________
1996 E320
2000 C230 Kompressor
1988 190e 2.3 - 225K miles, owned for 7 years. I cannot say enough good things about this car. Very well built, even at 225 it ran like new.

testing email

__________________
1996 E320
2000 C230 Kompressor
1988 190e 2.3 - 225K miles, owned for 7 years. I cannot say enough good things about this car. Very well built, even at 225 it ran like new.

does not have a sensor to tell you when the oil should be changed. That came in later models of the E class. I would change the oil right away since you probably don't know what kind of oil was in it when you got it. Unless the car has had synthetic oil used in it in the past, I would use a good quality 5W30 natural oil with new quality filter every 4000-5000 miles but at least twice per year. This is what I do for my 1997 E320 and it just crossed 125,000 miles and doesn't use any oil between changes.

Thank you for your reply. Last year the when the dealer mentioned that it had a sensor to tell you when to change the oil, we had them put in synthetic for $110 I think, so it has that in it now. I guess I would just assume keep using synthetic, but just count the miles and change it maybe every 7500 miles. The car has 175,000 miles on it now but runs and looks like new.

__________________
1996 E320
2000 C230 Kompressor
1988 190e 2.3 - 225K miles, owned for 7 years. I cannot say enough good things about this car. Very well built, even at 225 it ran like new.

I've got the same model year 1996 and never seen an indicator for oil change from the car. I have been using synthetic oil and change it every 5000 miles. Last time I sent a sample to Blackstone lab for analysis and they said I could extend the interval to 10K.

__________________
1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

---------------------------------------------------------
1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE

You can go 10K miles on synthetic assuming you don't drive under particularly severe conditions. 0W40 Mobil 1 is what the dealers use.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

As far as I know factory-fill for that vintage engine was 15W40 mineral oil. I run Mobil 1 15W50 in our MB automobiles with the I-6 engines. In our 1998 E320 with the V-6 I run Mobil 1 0W40. Oil and oil filter changes are done every 7,500 miles.

__________________
Fred Hoelzle

MB Oil Recommendations (http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html): For Vehicles Without Flexible Service System: USA vehicles MY 1997 and earlier
IMPORTANT: Engine oils are labelled on the container with various ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Européens d'Automobiles) and /or API (American Petroleum Institute) designations of quality. Mercedes-Benz recommends the use of MB approved engine oils listed in the Mercedes-Benz oil specification sheet 229.3 or 229.5 which also meet ACEA and/or API classifications listed on the chart below. If a MB approved or ACEA quality engine oil is not available, then an API quality engine oil meeting the below listed API classifications can be used. Only engine oils (including synthetic) with any of the following classification grades, or combinations thereof, are approved. Engine
MB Sheet
ACEA Classification1
API Classification1
Gasoline
229.3
229.5
A3
B3
SJ
SL
Diesel
229.3
229.5
B2
B3
B4
CF-4
CG-4


MB Sheet 229.3 and 229.5 specify mostly synthetic oils.

__________________
1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

---------------------------------------------------------
1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE

This is great information, thank you very much. Not that I do not trust mechanics, but has anyone ever taken thier car in, requested synthetic oil, then wondered if that was the oil that was put in? How do you verify this? Mobile 1 is very good I hear, but very expensive so I would want to be sure it was used if I pay for it. Our trusted mechanic of 15 years retired 3 years ago so we went to the dealer for a while. They did very good work, I trust them, but were nearly twice as expensive in some cases. We tried a few independants with bad results, (ie could not or did not diagnose the car, thowing parts at problems, taking an excessive amount of time to repair the car etc). I can and have changed my own oil for years but its not worth it to me for the mess and time anymore.

__________________
1996 E320
2000 C230 Kompressor
1988 190e 2.3 - 225K miles, owned for 7 years. I cannot say enough good things about this car. Very well built, even at 225 it ran like new.