C238 E400 - how to determine oil level without using the dip stick

[anyweb]

hi,
is it possible to determine the OIL level inside the car without pulling the dipstick, on one of my previous E class I got a notification on the display to add a half liter of oil at my next fill up, and today, my car had it's yearly service. The indy was very suprised to see the dipstick was mostly clean when he pulled it prior to the oil change.

Doesn't the car have some sensor to check oil level ?

failing that, shouldn't it notify me if it needs oil in the onscreen displays ? I can't believe a car this modern lacks that basic feature...

I'll have to start checking the dipstick myself every other month it seems now...

cheers
niall

 

[EmilysDad]

I'd imagine that your car has some kind of low oil level sensor, lots of cars, not just Mercs, do. My R Class used to go through phases of telling me to add oil at the next fill up even though the level wasn't far off being correct.

 

[Timeandleisure]

You should be able to access engine oil level through the service menu...

 

[Blobcat]

I'd imagine that your car has some kind of low oil level sensor, lots of cars, not just Mercs, do. My R Class used to go through phases of telling me to add oil at the next fill up even though the level wasn't far off being correct.

My SLK does the same, it’s actually a fault on the pressure sensor on mine. It’s a sump off replacement so it will wait until it’s due a service and it will be replaced then.

 

[EmilysDad]

My SLK does the same, it’s actually a fault on the pressure sensor on mine. It’s a sump off replacement so it will wait until it’s due a service and it will be replaced then.

I'd suggested to a local indie that the sensor could be replaced .... they advised that it wasn't a straight forward & therefore was expensive. I lived with it & it seemed to fix itself

 

[anyweb]

You should be able to access engine oil level through the service menu...

i dont see how, it's not listed there (it was on a previous W212)

 

[star]

Cars without a dipstick are a pita, later cars need a warm engine and bonnet closed, how do you know how much oil is in it before you start it to get it warm???
We have a stolen recovered a class in, oil dripping from oil level sensor, not much but we couldn’t start it as oil level was unknown.

 

[Timeandleisure]

i dont see how, it's not listed there (it was on a previous W212)

I have MBUX and access it from the menu on the steering wheel. I select home and then scroll to select services then down to Engine oil nearer the bottom of the menu. I had an older comand system previously and accessed it the same way....

 

[alexanderfoti]

Cars without a dipstick are a pita, later cars need a warm engine and bonnet closed, how do you know how much oil is in it before you start it to get it warm???
We have a stolen recovered a class in, oil dripping from oil level sensor, not much but we couldn’t start it as oil level was unknown.

Yes its a PITA. I wish they would make up their mind.

Dipstick tube and dipstick
Dipstick tube with no dipstick
No Dipstick at all
No DRAIN PLUG!!!(Smart!!)
Maybe next will be a hidden dipstick somwhere in the car, with no tube

At least its not like dry sump cars, that have to be run to get the correct level, but not for too long etc.

 

[EmilysDad]

.....
No DRAIN PLUG!!!(Smart!!)
....

Not all Smarts My 451 Turbo has a drain plug

 

[alexanderfoti]

Not all My 451 Turbo has a drain plug

Diesel one doesn't

 

[EmilysDad]

Diesel one doesn't

neither does my Roadster ..... but as above, 'no drain plug' doesn't apply to all Smarts

 

[alexanderfoti]

neither does my Roadster ..... but as above, 'no drain plug' doesn't apply to all Smarts

No indeed.

 

[anyweb]

I have MBUX and access it from the menu on the steering wheel. I select home and then scroll to select services then down to Engine oil nearer the bottom of the menu. I had an older comand system previously and accessed it the same way....

yeah, it's not there on mine, it was there on my W213 E220d but not on the C238 E400,
the C238 does have a dip stick so maybe that's why you cannot also see the oil level in the on screen menus

 

[Timeandleisure]

yeah, it's not there on mine, it was there on my W213 E220d but not on the C238 E400,
the C238 does have a dip stick so maybe that's why you cannot also see the oil level in the on screen menus

I'm not sure I have the right manual but it looks like it was only the E220d with that functionality at that time....

https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/owners-manuals/en-gb/pdf/mercedes-e-class-coupe-2017-c238-comand-owners-manual-01.pdf

 

[Bay Leaf]

hi,
is it possible to determine the OIL level inside the car without pulling the dipstick, on one of my previous E class I got a notification on the display to add a half liter of oil at my next fill up, and today, my car had it's yearly service. The indy was very suprised to see the dipstick was mostly clean when he pulled it prior to the oil change.

Doesn't the car have some sensor to check oil level ?

failing that, shouldn't it notify me if it needs oil in the onscreen displays ? I can't believe a car this modern lacks that basic feature...

I'll have to start checking the dipstick myself every other month it seems now...

cheers
niall

Am I missing something here, if you have a dipstick use it at least once a week or more if your doing high Miliage.

 

[ajlsl600]

hi,
is it possible to determine the OIL level inside the car without pulling the dipstick, on one of my previous E class I got a notification on the display to add a half liter of oil at my next fill up, and today, my car had it's yearly service. The indy was very suprised to see the dipstick was mostly clean when he pulled it prior to the oil change.

Doesn't the car have some sensor to check oil level ?

failing that, shouldn't it notify me if it needs oil in the onscreen displays ? I can't believe a car this modern lacks that basic feature...

I'll have to start checking the dipstick myself every other month it seems now...

cheers
niall

B. H. How hard is it to lift bonnet and pull cold stick in am. Been doin that 40 yr and prefer that over the electronic cxap that may, may not work. I pro b do it near every morning. Never thought it a hardship
Same on my rockwell commander , see believe.

 

[anyweb]

thanks for all the replies,
what i was really more interested in was understanding if the car would notify me IF it needed oil, just like my old W212 did,
but that doesn't seem to be the case, and that's crappy if you ask me !
I'll use the dipstick every few weeks

 

[EmilysDad]

.... if the car would notify me IF it needed oil, just like my old W212 did, ....

My 07 R Class (W251) did .... I assume my 14 plate ML will as it's basically the same engine.
My Senators & Omega had a low oil level sensor ....

You could always suck oil from your car until it registers a low oil level ..... obviously the engine doesn't have to be running if you run the oil all the way down the dipstick

 

[ajlsl600]

Keep all simple. Its, same with trans, bollocks and filling WOT was wrong with dip stick all this crap about temp, pumping oil up thru tube ect. Bullxhit aimed at directing us to dealers., dipstick with lo, hi has worked for 80 yrs, why f with wot works I am at 62k miles or close now so that's another f over complex drama to deal with, after I fix all the idiot lights.