service countdown indicator

[mhb]

hi
does anyone know how the service interval countdown works,
does it count down to the service 1 mile for every road mile travelled, or does it take road milage and what sort of miles ie motorway cruising or town mileage, after a visit to the dealer mine has gained 600 miles ie went from 6000 to service to 6900 to service
mike
moderator-this is the wrong thread ,but i cant recall it -sorry

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

The ASSYST system you are refering to has been the subject of much discussion on this forum. Many people seem to experience a mile by mile countdown and only acheive the original predicted service interval while others (myself included) seem to stretch out a few thousand miles more than the early predictions. My van starts with only 20k but ends up lasting to 23-24k. It appears that oil top ups make the biggest change and in my case adding a litre of oil when the level gets low will add at least a further 1000 miles to the indicated interval.

While your car was at the dealers did they top up the oil by any chance? It usually takes a few miles for the sensors to notice the additional fresh oil so the display may not change for 10-20 miles after the top up.

Do a search on this forum for ASSYST and you should get plenty of info and advice about the service indicator.

 

[mhb]

thanks steve
thats excactly what happened , in for MOT , they topped it up just about a pint,

and it changed the service by 600 miles
thanks again
mike

 

[davidC200K]

I was also doutful about the ASSYST system as it just appeared to countdown from 10000. Most of my driving is town/urban but following my last service I have had to do a number of long unbroken journeys. Indicator changed from 9900 to 10800. So it does what it claims.

 

[Blobcat]

It depends upon the model and age as to what the ASSYST does, older vehicles can vary service intervals depending upon which oil is used and how it is driven, also with the occasional oil top up the ASSYST will add miles to the countdown. Newer cars (W211's in particular) do not always vary the countdown. According to the dealers they should, however there are a couple of members on here where the ASSYST only counts mile for mile.
My ASSYST starts at 13,000 to next service (as it has fully synth mobile 1 oil) and generally counts to 17,000-19,000 miles for a service.
One other thing to be aware of is that if you go over around 13,000 miles before a service the ASSYST can switch from a small 'A' service to the large 'B' service.