Oil change Frequency

[dkarius]

OK I know the owners manual says to change the oil at every 10k and I recognize it is more costly to change more frequently but for some reason this just seems to go against my grain. The 2013 Solera replaces my 2004 Dodge Cummins Diesel which got a oil change every 3k but did not use synthetic oil. Do the majority of Mercedes Sprinter Diesel owners pretty much stick to 10k oil changes?

[reinerka]

At least I do. Coming up to the 30K mile service in the near term now. Maintenance "by the book" for all of my vehicles. None of them ever gave trouble (>250K miles on one of them without a hitch).

Engineers at MB spend lots of time figuring out the right balance on the maintenance pieces - why not trust them instead of somebody wanting to sell you spare parts and/or oil.

Reiner

[RVing555]

DKarius, I'll be watching the reponse recieved on your question. I've had the same concern. Thanks. Longtimers to this forum will most likely tell us that there is an existing thread available with the information. I'll check on this, and will post a link if I find one.

[RVing555]

dkarius, There is lots of information on oil changes on the Sprinter-Souce.com website. Membership is free. Owning a Sprinter, you may want to join that website as well. Lots of great info specific to Sprinters.

[papap]

Change mine every 10k. Change it myself. Have about 25k on it now. Plan to change fuel filter this time.

[JLeising]

Papap - be careful changing the fuel filter. It is under a large air hose on our 2012 Solera. That air hose feeds the turbo. There is a "compensating ring" (part #A000 094 00 51) at the turbo inside that air hose. Mercedes says to replace that "compensating ring" whenever the hose is disturbed (which is necessary to replace the fuel filter). Mercedes has issued a Service Bulletin on this issue specifying how to replace the "Compensating Ring" and air hose - down to giving torque specs for the hose clamps! Service bulletin warns that failure to follow can result inn turbo failure or worse. My local Ford dealer - who claimed to be qualified to perform Sprinter maintenance - did not replace the "compensating ring". 8,000 miles later I had a turbo failure - sucked the compensating ring into the turbo - stranding me in Oklahoma City and costing over $3K not covered by warranty. Still battling Ford for reimbursement.

[papap]

Guess I'll let MB change fuel filter

[Still Kickin]

I agree, changing it every 10K is fine. Its important to replace the oil with the exact same amount you drain out. MB Sprinter can sense any overfill situation, give you a display in the instrument cluster, and then you would need to drain off the excess. Been there done that.

And your right, there are several threads, good ones I might add, that discuss changing the oil, along with code reset procedures.

[knutter]

Our MB Sprinter manual (2015 Solera 24R) says to change the oil every 15K miles. My VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI is every 10K miles. I always changed the oil in my gas engines every 3K, but diesels are less frequent.

[hkreck]

Change my at about 9000 and am now getting ready to change it again. I'm right at the 100 mile mark for the engine service light to come on. Like Papa I've been kick it around about doing the fuel filter change but something keeps telling me to take that part to Mercedes.

[RamblerGuy]

If you want to extend your oil change intervals you can have the oil analyzed. The lab can tell you if you need to or not, and will tell you if there are excessive contaminants or wear particles in the oil. Years ago it wasn't worth it for cars, but the cost of synthetic oils and very expensive filters for diesels may make it worthwhile. Many small airplane owners do this to watch for unusual wear, not to extend oil change intervals.

I don't know of a lab but you could find some on the internet.

[hkreck]

Checked with the local MB dealer a full service runs about $1100, Changing out the fuel filter runs $349. Think I'll let them do the fuel filter and take care of the rest myself.

[Mikegjax]

X2

[hkreck]

Got the 20K oil change done today, have to make an appointment for the fuel filter this coming week.

[Madelyn]

How often should I change the oil for an FR3, 25 Foot, V-10

[Jnkier]

I talked with the Sprinter truck dealer and he said the first service was 10k and it had to be done by 12k or MB would void the warranty.

[Madelyn]

Thanks for the info.

[JLeising]

Originally Posted by Madelyn

How often should I change the oil for an FR3, 25 Foot, V-10

Note: an FR3 V-10 is not a Mercedes Sprinter. Maybe post your question in the FR3 section?

[CaptDan]

I changed my oil at 5,000 miles due to the engine being new and the More frequent oil changes are a good idea as a new engine will shed a little bit of metal at first. After that, I will follow the recommended oil change intervals in the manual.
CaptDan
2013 Solera "S"

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by Jnkier

I talked with the Sprinter truck dealer and he said the first service was 10k and it had to be done by 12k or MB would void the warranty.

Not entirely true. A quick search on the unrelated Sprinter forums doesn't indicate that has ever been an issue to have a warranty claim denied for missing the recommended change interval by a mere 2K.

If you change your own oil (on any vehicle for that matter), you must keep complete and accurate records. It generally means; log, with mileage when oil was changed. I also suggest you keep the receipts showing type, quantity and brand of oil and filter purchased. Make special notes if you had difficuty in doing the warning light reset, ( i.e. you did it at a later mileage) as it may keep in memory, when the system was reset.

There was a seperate thread some time back, on the proper way to reset the maint. Indicator on the Sprinter.