hawk20
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 27, 2006
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- Your Mercedes
- ML250 BlueTEC Sport
SERVICING PROBLEMS: IMPORTANT.
It is clear from various threads, here and elsewhere, that many members are having their servicing costs needlessly increased by errors at MB dealers. Below I set out the main problems.
ON OLDER CARS WITH VARIABLE SERVICE INTERVALS VIA ASSYST.
If you use relatively cheap oil while being serviced then ASSYST will count down from 10,000 and that is what it should do.
If, however, you use high quality synthetic oil as recommended in the handbook, when being serviced, then ASSYST will vary the interval between services depending on many factors (short runs, motorway cruising, driving hard, topping up the oil etc -all affect the miles between services) and you may get as much as 15k to 18k between services. (Even more in rare cases)
BUT N.B., ASSYST will only go to variable service intervals if the dealer resets to show that synthetic oil has been used. If they forget, it won't.
If you have been serviced with synthetic oils check that the distance to next service is varying and not just counting down from 10,000. Even ask the dealer to make sure they reset for synthetic oils.
NEWER CARS WITH FIXED SERVICE INTERVALS.
There are some important problems emerging on newer cars with fixed service intervals. Here are the main ones: -
1. Higher Costs for Some: The newer cars like mine, sadly, have gone to fixed one year service intervals or 15,500 miles whichever comes soonest. This is expensive if you are a low mileage driver.
.
For example: - if you do 7,500 miles per year on the car, under the old system you would need probably two services in 30,000 miles. Under the new system you will need a service every year, and will need 4 services in the first 30,000 miles. That is double the cost of servicing
2. The Build Date problem: All the new cars in the showrooms or on order will be 1 year or 15, 500 miles between services, as are all cars like mine which were bought in the last few months.
Please read this. You may be able to help others.
Somewhere there is a thread where a guy recently bought new, an old model C class. It had been in stock for some while. It seems that the build date was about 10 months prior to the date he bought it. The 'one year to service' started ticking from the date of build.
Two months after he bought it, after I think only a couple of thousand miles, it says Service Due. Ouch.
I have talked to a high level technical person at MB who says that the dealer should set the service clock to count down from the first registration date (not leave it ticking from build date). THIS PROBLEM applies to all new cars –not just those that have been in stock for a long while. My car was built only two months before I bought it. BUT it will need servicing in only 10 months if the dealer, when doing the PDI, does not reset so it counts the service from date of first registration, instead of leaving it ticking away from date when first built.
You can always ask a dealer for the build date BTW. And if buying new, ask them to be sure to set it so the service is counted from first registration. Recently large notices have gone up in some dealer workshops to remind staff about these problems.
Usually Mercedes manage small gaps between build date and sale date, BUT some cars stick and when new models come out they often build for stock and then shut the line.
So back to the C class, bought 10 months after the build date, after the oil has been in the car for 10 months, and the filter, you might prefer to have the service done, even if it is only after two months of ownership but then the dealer should make a hefty contribution IMO if the car has been in stock for so long.
3. The A or B service problem: when they do the PDI on a new car they need to ensure that they do not convince the electronics that a service has been done as then it will call for a B service when the first service is due. Expensive. So check that when you drive away it is saying A service due in 15,500 miles and not B service due in 15,500 miles. One of my two has this problem and goes in next week to be reset.
4. The pre registered car problem:
Here is a question from one member: we have just bought a pre-registered MB from a main dealer; the car was first registered in June last year but has only done 150 miles. Am I right in assuming it will be due for it's first service this June even though it's hardly done any miles? My partner seems to think it's okay to leave it but I don't want to invalidate the manufacturers warranty.
The answer is that it will need to be serviced in June. And although it will keep on showing that no service is due until 15,500 miles are completed, it will suddenly change nearer the date and say service due in so many days time.
And if the car is not serviced in June, when called for, then the warranty will be null and void.
Sorry for the long post; but hope it helps some members.
It is clear from various threads, here and elsewhere, that many members are having their servicing costs needlessly increased by errors at MB dealers. Below I set out the main problems.
ON OLDER CARS WITH VARIABLE SERVICE INTERVALS VIA ASSYST.
If you use relatively cheap oil while being serviced then ASSYST will count down from 10,000 and that is what it should do.
If, however, you use high quality synthetic oil as recommended in the handbook, when being serviced, then ASSYST will vary the interval between services depending on many factors (short runs, motorway cruising, driving hard, topping up the oil etc -all affect the miles between services) and you may get as much as 15k to 18k between services. (Even more in rare cases)
BUT N.B., ASSYST will only go to variable service intervals if the dealer resets to show that synthetic oil has been used. If they forget, it won't.
If you have been serviced with synthetic oils check that the distance to next service is varying and not just counting down from 10,000. Even ask the dealer to make sure they reset for synthetic oils.
NEWER CARS WITH FIXED SERVICE INTERVALS.
There are some important problems emerging on newer cars with fixed service intervals. Here are the main ones: -
1. Higher Costs for Some: The newer cars like mine, sadly, have gone to fixed one year service intervals or 15,500 miles whichever comes soonest. This is expensive if you are a low mileage driver.
.
For example: - if you do 7,500 miles per year on the car, under the old system you would need probably two services in 30,000 miles. Under the new system you will need a service every year, and will need 4 services in the first 30,000 miles. That is double the cost of servicing
2. The Build Date problem: All the new cars in the showrooms or on order will be 1 year or 15, 500 miles between services, as are all cars like mine which were bought in the last few months.
Please read this. You may be able to help others.
Somewhere there is a thread where a guy recently bought new, an old model C class. It had been in stock for some while. It seems that the build date was about 10 months prior to the date he bought it. The 'one year to service' started ticking from the date of build.
Two months after he bought it, after I think only a couple of thousand miles, it says Service Due. Ouch.
I have talked to a high level technical person at MB who says that the dealer should set the service clock to count down from the first registration date (not leave it ticking from build date). THIS PROBLEM applies to all new cars –not just those that have been in stock for a long while. My car was built only two months before I bought it. BUT it will need servicing in only 10 months if the dealer, when doing the PDI, does not reset so it counts the service from date of first registration, instead of leaving it ticking away from date when first built.
You can always ask a dealer for the build date BTW. And if buying new, ask them to be sure to set it so the service is counted from first registration. Recently large notices have gone up in some dealer workshops to remind staff about these problems.
Usually Mercedes manage small gaps between build date and sale date, BUT some cars stick and when new models come out they often build for stock and then shut the line.
So back to the C class, bought 10 months after the build date, after the oil has been in the car for 10 months, and the filter, you might prefer to have the service done, even if it is only after two months of ownership but then the dealer should make a hefty contribution IMO if the car has been in stock for so long.
3. The A or B service problem: when they do the PDI on a new car they need to ensure that they do not convince the electronics that a service has been done as then it will call for a B service when the first service is due. Expensive. So check that when you drive away it is saying A service due in 15,500 miles and not B service due in 15,500 miles. One of my two has this problem and goes in next week to be reset.
4. The pre registered car problem:
Here is a question from one member: we have just bought a pre-registered MB from a main dealer; the car was first registered in June last year but has only done 150 miles. Am I right in assuming it will be due for it's first service this June even though it's hardly done any miles? My partner seems to think it's okay to leave it but I don't want to invalidate the manufacturers warranty.
The answer is that it will need to be serviced in June. And although it will keep on showing that no service is due until 15,500 miles are completed, it will suddenly change nearer the date and say service due in so many days time.
And if the car is not serviced in June, when called for, then the warranty will be null and void.
Sorry for the long post; but hope it helps some members.
