Assyst Service? What decides A or B - and what work's needed

[rick]

It would be better to set service intervals in terms of quantity of fuel used. This would then account for short journeys, hard driving etc and would be very simple to engineer.

 

[palcouk]

E220CDI auto (prev.mod)
Service intervals 13000mls, approx, primarily city usage, so far alternating A,B,A
I have however had it serviced in MB,France.
A service £105
B service £250 inc pads
French labour £34/hour, no oil disposal taxes!

 

[300TE Battle Wagon]

CDI Interval

My friend had an a170cdi that went 18000 before its first service, another 10,00 before is second and then just 6000 before its third. this all tied in with the type of motoring he was doing - altered by his change of address.

 

[joedignan]

I have been reading with interest the posting about ASSYST on the A class.I own an A class 140,new in September 03.I was intrigued to find that the service interval was counting down exactly from 10000 miles,even though I had done several long uninterrupted motorway journeys,and on the whole do not do much stop-start motoring.I had reached 4,500 miles indicated to next service,when suddenly the display switched to 29 DAYS! I have still done less than 6000 miles in total.
The attitude of my dealer is that you can't argue with ASSYST.Mercedes customer service seem to think the same.
Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[number_11]

Assyst

A Class ASSYST basic settings should be as follows

Petrol models

10000 miles or two years

unless the majority of trips are short ones where operating temp is not reached, then this is reduced to one year

Diesel models

13000 miles or two years

same time reductions as for petrol models

The ASSYST will count down silently in miles until a threshold of approx 1000 miles is reached, unless you get to within 30 days of its service, either at 1 or 2 years, then it will count down in days

Bonuses are given for driving style and also for oil replenishment

Generally services go A B A B but it could go A B B A with an increased mileage between the two B services

An A service should last approx 1 hour and a B service 3 hours

There are other factors that need to be addressed at a service, not just oil tyres etc. Every two years the brake fluid should be replaced, after three years the coolant should be replaced and at four years fuel and air filters should be replaced. There are other model specific items to be changed but you would need to check your owners manual for those items

 

[tgillespie]

I have a C270 CDI registered 11/03. It has currently covered 18,000 miles of mainly motorway work and service assist is showing a service required in 3,200 miles. I contacted my dealer and have been advised to book the car in immediately for service. Has anybody else experienced this excessive mileage before a first service? If so is this normal or will it have later implications on engine/gearbox life.

 

[jan]

I have a C270 CDI registered 11/03. It has currently covered 18,000 miles of mainly motorway work and service assist is showing a service required in 3,200 miles. I contacted my dealer and have been advised to book the car in immediately for service. Has anybody else experienced this excessive mileage before a first service? If so is this normal or will it have later implications on engine/gearbox life.

My C200 CDI registered 11/03 started off with 13000 miles to the first service.
My driving is a mixture of town, country and motorway but mostly country roads. The first service came up in June 04 at 16400 miles and 'Assyst' indicated that a 'B' service was required.
I was surprised at the longevity of the first service interval..considering that the car was new and had to be 'run in'
Querying this with the dealer...I was told it was not uncommon for diesel engined cars to exceed their initial service indicator mileage before a service became due. He also said it was not unknown for cars that do mostly motorway miles to reach as high a 20000 miles + before their first service.

 

[johnmc]

Don't tell 'em

A Merc service rep gave me a major hint that "if you're car developed
an oil leak and you had to top it up, the Assyt, which is based on
oil quality through a oil sensor, will be delayed kicking in as the oil is
being slowly renewed". Ultimately it will limit at 18,000miles and you'll need to take it in.

So, if you are upset with Merc, get your oil and filter changed elsewhere
with genuine Merc filter parts for a fraction of the price and elongate your
service interval. They'll never know.

But, don't be stupid, if your car needs attention get it to Merc. I'm a believer that cars oil should be changed ever 10k maximum, whatever some computer may think!

John

 

[99clk02Ebreak]

Assyst indications

I concur that adding oil will extend the Assyst limit. My E220Cdi recently begged for a litre of oil, which I topped it up, I noticed the Assyst indicated an increase of 2000 kms to the next service.

I was wondering if it was the mileage covered or months passing. My CLK spends 5 days a week in my garage unmoved. And the annual mileage is just about 8000. Of course this means a service regularity of about every 18-20 months. My dealer said it was okay like that, as long as I'm not doing 2 miles four times a day. Far better to do 80 miles twice a day for twice a week, is better than the small trip to the shop and back.

Incidently is it harmful for the engine to leave a car unnused for months on end ? Will the oil drip from the bits in the engine that count and be damaged on start up ?

Thanks

 

[jberks]

Hi all,
Just to add to the data. 2000 E240. 1100 miles to next service, begged for a litre of oil (down to min on the dipstick). Not wanting to risk waiting to the service in 2 weeks, given the heavy use it gets, I popped a litre of good stuff in last night. I monitored the indicator and 4 miles later it was still reading 1100 (so its not level dependant). This morning I have just driven the 60 miles to the office and it now reads 2600 !
I guess I'll have to move my service booking by 2 weeks.
Given this lesson, I would like to try changing the oil between services to eek out that elusive 18000 range. Anyone know the optimum time to do this (every 8000 ?). I do 600 motorway miles a week plus usual town stuff.
thanks,
Julian

 

[johnmc]

Maximum service interval

Hi Julian,
I can give you another data point. My car is mostly used for short trips during the week (10 under 2miles) then 80miles of motorway at the weekends, sometimes more at the weekends. It's an E200 Petrol, and the
service has been at 10,000mile intervals every time for three years. The short trips are hard on the car, and killed the battery in 3 years too!

I'm not surprised that your assyst mileage increased when you added oil then drove the car. The sensor measures the quality of the oil, not the level. So as the oil gets knackered by driving and loses viscosity the gauge counts down the miles. By adding fresh oil you improved the overall quality of the mix for a while.

I suspect that your optimum point is to change the oil about 1000miles before the Assyt would normally kick in. That would give you a week or two change it!

Cheers!
John

 

[jberks]

Hi all,
On the same vein, everyone tells me that Mobil1 is the best oil on the market - it certainly seems to be the most expensive!. It even appears to be Merc spec, though I suspect thats more to do with sponsorship than engineering. Looking at the service book, the dealer uses Castrol. I am intending to use a specialist for the next service (1/2 the price) and going by the rack of Mobil in their reception, I presume that's what I'll get. Nurdy question but anyone any experience of getting more or less out of the assyst based on oil type/grade ?

 

[herbie]

MIDLANDS MB SPECIALIST REQUIRED

I live in Leicester and read this post with much interest as I have recently acquired a 2001 w210 e240. Can anyone advise me of any local specialist garages so that I too can save money by not lining the pockets of the main MB dealer??? This infow ould be ideal for servicing and non-key work, can anyone help me please?

 

[BawBagg]

Re: MIDLANDS MB SPECIALIST REQUIRED

I live in Leicester and read this post with much interest as I have recently acquired a 2001 w210 e240. Can anyone advise me of any local specialist garages so that I too can save money by not lining the pockets of the main MB dealer??? This infow ould be ideal for servicing and non-key work, can anyone help me please?

Here's my top tip. If you want to keep your warranty intact, then you'll need to use an MB dealer for services. If you are a new owner of a W210, then I suggest you read through the thread "E-Class rust - how bad does it get??". If you ever have any future bodywork issues, and you don't have a FDSH then you're stuffed for any warranty claim.

Cut costs at your own risk.

R

 

[OlafMaxwell]

If you just acquired a W210 here are a few tips....

Pull back the seals at the tops of the doors, all the way, check for rust. Do the same all round the seals, pull them right back and look for rust.

Check your windows operate properly, that they dont stick or jam half way.

Get the car up in a friendly garage and inspect underneath, particularly the front ball joints, drop links etc.

Make sure all of the bulbs are intact, particularly the ones in the dash, replacing bulbs can be difficult.

Check the air condtioning is working properly, its a known weakness. Put on full cold and check it cools quickly without making any wrong sounding noises. If not working this is an expensive repair.

Look closely at the bakes, ABS pump etc, another trouble spot, look for leaks.

Check the windscreen wiper operation, the motor is expensive too.

As for keeping MB warranty intact, you will need to do that. I had two breakdowns in 6 months, one of them abroad. I also had to chase MB over quality issues which they paid out on. All in all it probably was cheaper than using independents and no warranty. Chances are you will need the Mobilo breakdown service at some time and you need the full service history for that and also for the inevitable rust repairs.

 

[jberks]

I agree with Olaf. On an E of the vintage of ours, the FMBSH pays for itself on the corrosion warranty plus the Mobilio (not that I've used the mobilio). These are 'goodwill' warranties so are not subject to EU rules. The 2 minor bits of paintwork done on mine (1 door and boot lid) would have cost far more than the difference in the cost of the service (£100-200 per time). I use an independent for everything else (brakes, misfires etc). I try to have the car pre-checked by an indie before putting it into the dealer, that way they can't pick up on anything and just change the oil (for £400 :evil: ). Also, as stated above, keep the oil in good condition and stave off the dealer visits. 5 weeks down the line from my original note (at 700+ miles per week) and I am still 2000 miles off the visit.

 

[AKM]

A point worth remembering. If you break down, dont drive your car to the dealer in emergency mode, call out a recovery truck. I drove my car approx 100 miles to the dealers when the tansmission packed up thinking i would be doing sameone a favour, and was told i wasnt entitled to a replacement vehicle because i hadn't broken down. apparently you have to be towed in for this entitlement!!

 

[Birdman]

Had the same 'Mobilio' experience in France this summer when the ABS started to cut in during ordinary town driving while the traction control switched off entirely, with some curious results. I phoned my UK dealer from the roadside and they suggested I drive slowly to the nearest M-B dealer. The problem was fixed for 150 Euros (replaced a relay of some kind) but on my return to the UK I couldn't claim against Mobilio as it covers roadside repairs only. You don't need the car to be recovered to claim, but you can't claim unless you receive roadside attention. It seems a reasonable distinction having thought about it.

On the A/B service indicator thread, had a B service on Monday and because my 'spanners' are out of sync (don't ask!) it indicates the next service is also a B service. I mentioned this to my dealer before the work was done. Now, each time I cycle the 'reset' function hoping to see one spanner displayed to indicate the A service is due next, the mileage indication for 'distance to next service' remains at 10,000 while the number of spanners (two for the B service) remains the same (ie wrong). :?

 

[twomercs]

My spanners are also out of sync with the service book (CLK 230) - anyone know what buttons to press to get them back into sync and keep the mileage to the next service intact?

 

[jimsinessex]

Twomercs, what year is your CLK?

My 1999 CLK230K has only ever shown a single spanner since new, until I saw your posting I assumed this was normal and have just alternated the A and B services. Never had any comment from the dealers, they just did the service I specified when booking it in.