How has this happened?

[CycleSi]

Bought a SL55 AMG (2004) from a MB dealer last November.

The car 'told me' it was 5000 miles until the next service - less than 4 months on and 1800 miles later, it has gone from last week saying 3800 miles until the next service to today when it says a service is due in 29 days !!!

Despite it being a SL55, it isn't driven that hard so why does it suddenly think it almost needs a service especially when l figured l had a year's motoring ahead of me before the next service.

ls this normal or should l be taking it up with MB?

Not happy.....

 

[television]

I think that it has been set to the 12 monthly thing, and not the count down from the quality of the oil, they did they same to my SL on the last service,and that is why I will not go back any, more for MB service

 

[PeterCLK]

I just posted about mine in the service sticky.
For the first 3 years it was set to 10,000m set services.
Now I'm on service plus it's been changed to assyst.
Why can't the motor trade be straight?

 

[television]

I just posted about mine in the service sticky.
For the first 3 years it was set to 10,000m set services.
Now I'm on service plus it's been changed to assyst.
Why can't the motor trade be straight?

Times are hard, they are clever the way they change the rules to stay within the law

 

[CycleSi]

Can you explain what you mean by 'service plus' and 'assyst' please.

 

[PeterCLK]

Assyst is the system used by your car to calculate when your service is due.
It is assyst that told you 5,000 miles then changed to 29 days.
It's a complicated subject and others on here can explain the details better than me.
Service plus is a warranty and service schedule whereby I pay a set monthly fee (depending on mileage) and all repairs and servicing are covered (glass and rubber excepted). However, it was generally thought to be such a good deal for owners (and not for Mercedes) that it's been pulled so only lesser warranties are now available.

 

[CycleSi]

Thanks for explaining that.

Presumably someone knows how to reset 'Assyst' bearing in mind l've only had it less than 4 months.

How will that affect my MB warranty if l reset it.

All l'm really looking for is to have it serviced every 1 to 1.5 years.

 

[television]

If it was serviced and Mobil 1 was used they have set it wrong, I had the same dreams on my SL, but they set that wrong too, ask them to change it

 

[mercglas]

Bought a SL55 AMG (2004) from a MB dealer last November.

The car 'told me' it was 5000 miles until the next service - less than 4 months on and 1800 miles later, it has gone from last week saying 3800 miles until the next service to today when it says a service is due in 29 days !!!

Not happy.....

What was the mileage and date of the last service that was carried out?

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

You need to return to the dealer and make sure they fit engine oil with 229.51 rating, i'e Mobil One or Castrol Edge 0W-30. They need to alter the oil grade in the instrument cluster to this spec. and then you should get 15000 miles between services depending on how its driven.

 

[CycleSi]

l've discovered more info. The car was serviced at:

15/7/05
31/08/06
3/10/07

The MB dealer had the car in stock from around August/Sept last year and l bought it on November 17th, 2008. l was told the car had a full MBSH but seeing as they didn't have/had lost the service booklet l couldn't check.

They have subsequently sent me a duplicate service booklet and now the 'issue' has cropped up.

l believe they should have serviced it before l bought it and that is exactly what l am taking up with them.

What do you all think?

 

[mercglas]

You need to return to the dealer and make sure they fit engine oil with 229.51 rating, i'e Mobil One or Castrol Edge 0W-30. They need to alter the oil grade in the instrument cluster to this spec. and then you should get 15000 miles between services depending on how its driven.

To be picky - it doesn't need 229.51 (that is a low ash oil for use in a car with a diesel particulate filter) it needs 229.5 which Mobil One is.

We still need the date and mileage of the last service to really understand the situation

 

[mercglas]

l've discovered more info. The car was serviced at:

15/7/05
31/08/06
3/10/07

The MB dealer had the car in stock from around August/Sept last year and l bought it on November 17th, 2008. l was told the car had a full MBSH but seeing as they didn't have/had lost the service booklet l couldn't check.

They have subsequently sent me a duplicate service booklet and now the 'issue' has cropped up.

l believe they should have serviced it before l bought it and that is exactly what l am taking up with them.

What do you all think?

As your car was registered in 2004 it has a variable service system (rather than the fixed service interval) which means it will vary the mileage between services according to driving conditions up to a max of 2 years - but as it is an AMG the distance part of the calculation will be restricted to a fairly low maximum perhaps of 12,500. The Fixed interval cars are actually set to 9,000 miles NOT the 15,500 of the non AMG models.

The system is always balancing between time and mileage - if you do a fairly low mileage it is typical that the system will switch to talking about time as opposed to distance.

Looking at the pattern of service it seems to be coming in every 13/14 months and on the previous pattern it looks likely that if it had continued to have been driven in the same style and conditions it would have asked for a service in December 2008. Being "off the road" whilst it was in stock has probably meant it wasn't doing the miles and effectively added a couple of months to the calculation.

Mercedes Dealers normally service a car before sale if it will require a service within the next 3 months or 3,000 miles

So you can try talking to them and see what they say - bearing in mind you bought it halfway through November they might see it your way

 

[CycleSi]

The latest update is that the MB dealer has now agreed to do the 'B' service + the expensive extra work (spark plugs, poly belt, diff oil, gearbox oil, brake fluid, air filter, fuel filter) at a reduced rate which although l'm not happy about l think l have to accept.

The total price WAS going to be approx. £1918 - l NOW have to pay £913.

What l'd like to know now is what do l need to ask for/insist on in terms of them setting the next service interval, bearing in mind l shall request Mobil One oil is used again - i.e. what is the longest interval l can expect? What is the correct terminology?

The car will do approx. 5 to 6k miles a year.

Thank you for your advice.....

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

Wow, they knocked £1005 off the bill just like that??? I'm surprised. Things like that never happen to me! Which dealer was this? Could you PM me if you dont want to make it public...

 

[CycleSi]

lt's not as straightforward as that - l bought a £37k car only to find it hadn't been serviced as promised even though it didn't specifically need it until now according to the car's computer.

The supplying MB dealer are a round trip of 240 miles away so they have come to an arrangement with my local MB dealer to do the 'B' service plus all the extra (expensive) work. I guess this is probably a one off so won't make it public knowledge.

Anyway, going back to my last question:

"What l'd like to know now is what do l need to ask for/insist on in terms of them setting the next service interval, bearing in mind l shall request Mobil One oil is used again - i.e. what is the longest interval l can expect? What is the correct terminology?"

The reason l'm asking is that seems you have to tell/specify exactly what oil you want and that they should set the service interval accordingly otherwise they use crap oil and 'make sure' the next service comes around again sooner than ideal !!!

 

[television]

With Mobil 1 you should get 13k to 17k miles depending on your driving habits

 

[Alex M Grieve]

With Mobil 1 you should get 13k to 17k miles depending on your driving habits

Spot on, Malcolm. Our C Class (May 2007 build) is now 4,400 since last service and ASSYST says 13,100 until next service. Sadly, due to the change in the rules (annual or every 15,500) it will ask for its next service in May of this year (perhaps 10 weeks and 1,000 from now)!

What a waste of the technology, and the Mobil1!!

 

[CycleSi]

So are you saying there is no way in reality l'll see 13 to 17k before the next service as the car's computer will just say it needs a service every year irrespective of mileage?

 

[Alex M Grieve]

So are you saying there is no way in reality l'll see 13 to 17k before the next service as the car's computer will just say it needs a service every year irrespective of mileage?

No, as your car was built pre-2007 (the year they "revised the system" to annual or 15,000, IIRC), you should be able to enjoy the true benefit of ASSYST as it was intended to work - 13,000 to 17,000 depending on type of use.