Will fully synthetic oil be ok for 18,000k

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I have a new mercedes ,vito cd113cd with dpf I have done 8,000k mercedes say the oil is ok and doesn't need changing till 18,000k does anyone think I should change oil before this can you rely on oil to be ok for this long?
 
My friends' dad has a Merc and I recall their oil change regimen being terrifying. Some insane amount of KM for the first service which I just can't stomach, but I think it was even more than 18KM.

It's hard to not just listen to the MFR, I doubt they would intentionally try to make your car self destruct. Even though it's a tough amount of mileage to swallow.
 
I would, first of all make sure the oil being used is that required in your MB owner's manual, and then, change it as specified in the manual.

12,000 miles is a long OCI to most people, but not me. I began using Mobil 1 synthetic back around 1977, and have used it for a one year OCI ever since. Before I retired back in 2001, this was 18,000 to 20,000 miles per year. I, naturally, checked the oil level regularly and kept it full. Since 2001, the mileage has been about 9,000 miles per year.

Never any engine problem with any of my cars over the years. Of course, back in those pre 2001 years, Mobil 1 was a true synthetic. I don't know if that oil they call "Full Synthetic" today is as good as back in the day.
 
I use to change my conventional at 6,000 to 8,000 miles and now use Mobil 1 at 10,000 to 15,000 miles.
 
It's a brand new car, follow the recommendations of your dealership, you can never go wrong by shortening an OCI, but if you don't need to then don't. I have heard of brand new BMW's in Germany doing 30k km (18k+ miles) OCI's or 1 year.
 
Hi,
Gerald123 - You are well advised to follow the Manufacturer's recommendations.

They have had their own lubricant standards and approvals since the 1950s. Their Engineers know what they're doing
 
The 113cdi is the new Euro 5 spec of Vito.

If you want to do interim oil changes you will get a warning light on the dash which will need to be reset by the dealer.

I know of a taxi driver with the older 111cdi Vito that wanted to do interim oil chnges but found the resetting of the computer to make it financially non viable.

If the vehicle is leased and under warranty and you don't intend to own it past the warranty then stick with what they specify.

Any failures let them fix it.

I would personally stick to Mercedes dealers for servicing as if you go to the I dependant sector yes your warranty will probably still be valid but you need to be sure they use the proper oil, which isn't cheap, if they don't your warranty is void.

I think the Vito has a 150k miles warranty anyway, at least it does in the Vito Taxi.

18k mile service intervals are common these days in the UK.

My only caveat is with fuel contamination of the oil due to the DPF.

If you are in for the long haul then get your dealer to do an oil change at 9k miles.

You aren't a Taxi driver by any chance?

Just for those not familiar with the UK, we still work in good old miles, Europe uses kilometres.
 
Last edited:
Jake,
In London, they use Miles, not Kilometers. (the "k" Gerald used in his post means thousand, not km).

Gerald123 and everyone else,
Whenever I go to Europe, I lease (not rent) a car and I always thumb through the owners manual. The last two cars I leased said to change the oil and filter "every 30,000 km". Getting out my handy dandy calculator, I calculated that 30,000 km is 18,750 miles. This is with gasoline (petrol) engines. Don't know about Diesel engines.

Note that European Synthetic Oil (Group IV and/or Group V) is better and longer lasting than American Synthetics (Probably Group III) or even non synthetics.

I remember years ago, when Mobil-1 was the way to go in Synthetics, they advertised it would go 25,000 miles. I also remember that I worked for a Chemical Engineer who firmly believed in Mobil-1. He had a Honda Civic that he would changed the oil once a year, in the springtime. He normally put on about 22k miles a year. He would change the filter every 8k miles, and top off the engine oil to replace what he lost from the filter change. I know he did this for the entire four years I answered to him, and he never had any problems with that Civic. (Amsoil [at one time called AmzOil] also advertised 25k mile oil changes, but back then, like today, it was so much easier to buy Mobil-1 than to search out and buy Amsoil).
 
You will find that many diesels now have really long service intervals.

Is it due to low sulphur fuel, better quality oil filters, bigger sumps or better oil?

I think a bit of all those.

Though use of dino/conventional oil is pretty rare in Europe these days, unless the vehicle is relatively old or the owner doesn't know or care.

Was buying some Wynns injector cleaner on Monday and when making my selection a bloke walks up to the counter and asks for a litre of the cheapest oil they do.

He had to be quizzed about what car it was for!

It was a Golf incidentally, the counter bloke gave up and sold him some 10w40. Y Comma for £10.

He didn't say if it was petrol, diesel or what year or engine capacity it was.

The bloke didn't look that sharp to be honest.

The kind of owner that you hope you don't end up with their cast offs!
 
Just do exactly what the Merc manual and warranty terms list. 18K is no big deal if you use the right oil and filter, also I presume you have an oil condition or service light to remind you when to change if that occurs before the limit due to too much time in traffic. Just out of interest which oil is Merc using in the US ??
 
Originally Posted By: 1999nick
I would, first of all make sure the oil being used is that required in your MB owner's manual, and then, change it as specified in the manual.

12,000 miles is a long OCI to most people, but not me. I began using Mobil 1 synthetic back around 1977, and have used it for a one year OCI ever since. Before I retired back in 2001, this was 18,000 to 20,000 miles per year. I, naturally, checked the oil level regularly and kept it full. Since 2001, the mileage has been about 9,000 miles per year.

Never any engine problem with any of my cars over the years. Of course, back in those pre 2001 years, Mobil 1 was a true synthetic. I don't know if that oil they call "Full Synthetic" today is as good as back in the day.


1999nick,
I think you are the M1 champ(1977) for using M1 oils, and for long OCIs. 11k OCIs which are recommended by MB should be easy.
 
Your right there don't buy his car is that commer oil bad you ever used Morris oils bloke said it is quality oil old English company def worth using good quality oil where did your mate get his work done on his vito I had a few teething problems with mine don't think to much of kpm taxi garage where I purchased cab
 
My Jeep Liberty Diesel gets a couple of oil changes a year... at roughly 11,000 miles each. My Detroit Diesel in my truck gets 25,000 mile oil changes, which will be increased in the near future. Both using the same oil.... Chevron Delo 400 LE Full synthetic 5w40 CJ-4.

It all depends on how you use the engine. Stop and go little town trips, and you had better change it more frequently. None of my trips with the Jeep are less than 12 miles, so it gets good and warmed up each time.
 
How does the VM like the CJ-4 oil?

In the UK they spec that engine for CI-4.

Would I be correct in that the main difference between CI-4 and CJ-4 is the latter is low saps to protect DPF's etc?
 
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