Engine Oil Sludge on a brand new 2018 c220d! HELP

[mioba]

The car has been serviced once in 41k and people are saying it shouldn't fail being 7k over the interval but they are forgetting what damage may have been done having the first service so late.

These long life service intervals are just bull. Great to the customers ears and ensuring engines fail earlier than expected = buy a new car.

I have never had a car go over 10k without an oil change. Its more at the 6k mark now.

Servicing is preventative maintenance. So people should take note. There is no thing as trouble free motoring unless you maintain.

Its an interesting thread and I am interested as to how it pans out. Not seen one like this before.

 

[Srdl]

Just checked the wording on my 2018 PCP Agreement from Mercedes Finance and it says "A full service history is required. The vehicle must be serviced and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's published service intervals within the Approved Workshop network".

 

[star]

The car might have a “marker” on it now it’s been to a dealer, and it might be difficult to have it repaired elsewhere or if you did mb might check engine numbers etc. Good luck.

 

[Botus]

The service interval is 15k miles or 1 year which ever comes first. So to have the first service in 2019 at 24k says you first went 9k miles over your service interval! Utter madness.
.

that's a very useful post 15k oil changes!

the trouble is so few people these days have any foundation in how a car works or basic maintenance its only going to get worse.
I was reading about some ill-informed idiot who thought the ONLY maintenance his Nissan leaf would need is a battery check at 7 years !

another huge thing is 15k isn't a good idea.... its stretching things to a limit to remain with others on competitive servicing costs. If you want to abuse the car and delay servicing further then it will significantly reduce life expectancy

You also need to run very high spec fluids to reach these ridiculous targets without wear, put in cheap oil, nasty fuel, drive short trips, and forget to check and top up and 10k intervals will be far too long.

if you love the car change it every 8k, as we have found out £80 quid twice as often as the designed to sell cars owners manual suggests or 13k for an engine every 4 years.

The other concern was did you damage an oil cooler piper or engine cooling rad in the crash and it ran out of a vital fluid - seems likely

 

[peterws1957]

trouble is so few people these days have any foundation in how a car works or basic maintenance its only going to get worse.
The other concern was did you damage an oil cooler piper or engine cooling rad in the crash and it ran out of a vital fluid - seems likely

Agreed . The trouble is that modern cars are delicate little things and over complex with it so they need to be pampered. Long gone are the days where you could run a car and if an engine went bang you got a scrapper for £25 and spent a couple of hours swapping them over! I'd also be looking to check pipework damage after the crash as well - does seem coincidental.

 

[pgh13]

I'd spotted the 'purely aesthetic' damage mentioned and couple that with ignoring the oil level warning for a week, maybe the sludge is a red herring and the real problem was no oil!

 

[mioba]

Service due in xxxx miles
Service due in xx days

Service overdue by xxxxx

One cannot simply pay no attention to such messages that are in your face when you turn on a car

 

[MBDevotee]

Just checked the wording on my 2018 PCP Agreement from Mercedes Finance and it says "A full service history is required. The vehicle must be serviced and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's published service intervals within the Approved Workshop network".

Sorry but I think a good lawyer would rip that apart in court.

The first part is probably legal, but the second is questionable. As far as I know they cannot lock you into where you have the car serviced in a PCP - Unless the "approved Workshop Network" includes Indies and various other NON MERC outlets, this would be viewed as restrictive practice and against free trade rules.

Our cars have to have FSH, if they don't and you just choose to hand them back you pay a fine for each missed service - however you can have them serviced at any VAT registered garage, however the onus is then on you to prove that the parts were OEM or at least as good.

In fairness, on a brand new car, most DO go to the main dealer for obvious reasons!

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

My 2019 C220CDI on a business lease stipulates that the maintenance must be performed by a main dealer. Much to my annoyance.

 

[bembo449]

My 2019 C220CDI on a business lease stipulates that the maintenance must be performed by a main dealer. Much to my annoyance.

yeah and do your local MB dealer know who you are steve ?? meh

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

yeah and do your local MB dealer know who you are steve ?? meh

It actually goes to either Taunton or Bath for warranty or service as quite frankly the after sales service at the 2 local dealers leave much to be desired, probably because of who I am!!

 

[rf065]

another huge thing is 15k isn't a good idea.... its stretching things to a limit to remain with others on competitive servicing costs. If you want to abuse the car and delay servicing further then it will significantly reduce life expectancy

I don't agree, my CLK called for a service every 2 years or by ASSYST, based on mileage and how it was driven. This usually called for a service every 18 months at 17 or 18,000 miles.
From new, and using Mobil 1, it's now on 150,000 miles and still does not burn a drop of oil between services and has never broke down.

The OP's car has not only missed it's first sevice, it's only had one when as a three year old car it should have had three services.
The owner must have ignored the service warning on the dash all this time, how many other warnings have been ignored?
We don't know who carried out the ONLY service it's had in 3 years, and can only guess who carried it out and what oil was used, or was it even changed.

I'm guessing it's simply run out of oil over the last couple of years and no-one has bothered to ever check the oil level.

 

[Srdl]

Sorry but I think a good lawyer would rip that apart in court.

The first part is probably legal, but the second is questionable. As far as I know they cannot lock you into where you have the car serviced in a PCP - Unless the "approved Workshop Network" includes Indies and various other NON MERC outlets, this would be viewed as restrictive practice and against free trade rules.

Our cars have to have FSH, if they don't and you just choose to hand them back you pay a fine for each missed service - however you can have them serviced at any VAT registered garage, however the onus is then on you to prove that the parts were OEM or at least as good.

In fairness, on a brand new car, most DO go to the main dealer for obvious reasons!

Manufacturers are bound by the Block Exemption rules but are Finance Companies even if they are owned by the Manufacturer?

 

[Botus]

I don't agree, my CLK called for a service every 2 years or by ASSYST, based on mileage and how it was driven. This usually called for a service every 18 months at 17 or 18,000 miles.

anyone can reset the service light whenever they want, and anything may have happened to the car as it comes off the production line, how many cold starts do you think it gets between you picking it up from the showroom 40 or 50 cold starts and wheel spinning animals abused it already, or in the workshop during servicing with the animals smoking your pride and joy round the car park from stone cold

you can't make a bold statement on how long oil should last, its dependant upon use, age, materials, temperatures and wear and tear

if you car came out close to spec, you drive regularly in 15 to 25 C ambient conditions, doing >15 mile trips, warming up gently, in a low dust environment then it will likely do oil changes to time, flagging the need for a change as the age of engine oil additives is breaking down.

conversely, another owner might have one on the ragged edge of build quality for engine tolerances, if this car is run on cheap oil, cheap fuel, does 1.5 mile school runs through nasty winters in a cold climate area, potentially filling the air filter with salt, then the car will alter that interval drastically and even then it will die earlier than yours

 

[mioba]

Wonder if the OP has found a solution thats adequate for him or reading these posts has left him even more concerned.

 

[MBDevotee]

Also there are problems now with all the emissions equipment recycling polluted gasses back through the engine contaminating the oil, cars are needing very early oil changes

 

[MBDevotee]

Manufacturers are bound by the Block Exemption rules but are Finance Companies even if they are owned by the Manufacturer?

Not just block exemption - totally anti-competitive

 

[Gazwould]

Also there are problems now with all the emissions equipment recycling polluted gasses back through the engine contaminating the oil, cars are needing very early oil changes

Then there's the engine oil dilution issue from diesel fuel .

 

[MBDevotee]

My 2019 C220CDI on a business lease stipulates that the maintenance must be performed by a main dealer. Much to my annoyance.

But if its a business lease they own the car, its their property, so they might be able to get away with that requirement as there is no option to own at the end.

 

[rf065]

you can't make a bold statement on how long oil should last, its dependant upon use, age, materials, temperatures and wear and tear

I didn't, I said this has all the hallmarks of a car that no-one ever bothered to check the oil level over a long period.
You've misunderstood my reply.