DIY oil change info? - 2004 ML350

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wavinwayne

wavinwayne

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My wife & I just purchased an '04 ML350. As a fairly hard-core DIYer, I plan on doing the basic maintenance myself on the Mercedes, just as I do for my other vehicles.

From what I can gather, the OEM fleece oil filter is recommended, as well as Mobil 1 0w40 oil, with other "equivalent" oil & filter choices being acceptable.

The Benz didn't come with an owner's manual (no clue why). I plan to buy a factory or equivalent service manual for it(if I can find one), but until I can do that, I have a few questions for you guys:

Are there any special tips, tricks, warnings, etc. that I need to be aware of when changing the oil & filter on this vehicle? I don't want to screw anything up.

What is the recommended OCI for the '04 ML350?

How much oil does this MB 3.7L V6 engine hold?

Do any of you own this, or a similar model Mercedes M-Class SUV? If so, what type of oil & filter are you using, and what is your OCI?

Is there any type of service-indicator light that needs to be reset when I change the oil? How is this accomplished?

The dealer I purchased it from said they changed the oil whn they got the vehicle in late May. It has only a few hundred miles on it since then. None of the sales guys knew which type of oil was used, but my guess is bulk dino 10w30. Looking at the oil on the dipstick shows light-colored oil. If it were you, would you go ahead & change the oil now, or leave it in for 3k-ish miles?

I guess that's all for now. Thanks in advance for you guys' help.

wavinwayne
 
A quick check on eBay shows a owner's manual for this vehicle for $35 buy it now. Check out auction 140135337199.
Probably not a bad idea to have, especially if you are going to do your own maintenance.
 
I signed up on Mercedes' Owners Site. They provide a complete .pdf copy of the owners manual. Thanks again for suggesting it, shanneba.
 
The Mercedes online owners manual even tells how to reset the Service Reminder light.
smile.gif
That surprised me. I figured they would just say take it to a MB dealer to have the light reset. It is a convoluted little procedure, that would never be done by accident. Gotta love German engineering.

The OCI was a little surprising. Mercedes' owners website states: "Generally, you can expect to drive your Mercedes approximately 10,000 miles between services — and as many as 20,000 miles — depending on which model you drive, how you drive it and the severity of your driving conditions. Most people average around 12,000 miles between service visits."

The oil capacity is 8.5 quarts. Using GC, or Syntec 5w40, or M1 0w40, 10k mile OCI's should be a walk in the park. I doubt my wife will even put that many miles on it each year.

It looks like my oil changes just became simpler & fewer. I also like how the ML350 uses a cartridge oil filter. Since I won't be going longer than 10k miles between oil changes, I plan to use the standard paper type Wix cartridge oil filters. Less time under the vehilce is a good thing in my book. I may buy an oil extractor, too, to eliminate getting underneath the vehicle completely.
 
Try to get the service records from the dealership. Sounds like this vehicle has the FSS system so M1 0W40 or an equivalent 229.5 type oil was used from the start.
 
Quote:

I would change the oil & tranny fluid now. Trusting the dealer is like trusting the devil, oh wait, it's the same thing.

Click to expand...


I'll change the oil this week. The tranny is one of those sealed jobs with no dipstick. I probably won't do anything with it, at least not for a while.
 
Quote:

Try to get the service records from the dealership. Sounds like this vehicle has the FSS system so M1 0W40 or an equivalent 229.5 type oil was used from the start.

Click to expand...


I purchased this Mercedes from a Suzuki dealer's used lot. The vehicle was purchased by the Suzuki dealer from an auto auction. The vehicle came with no service records, and it didn't come with an owners manual, either. I doubt that all Mercedes dealers service dept's are linked together, so being able to obtain service history is unlikely.

You can tell that it was very well cared for by whoever owned it originally. Internal visible engine parts are squeaky clean, and so is the rest of the vehicle.
 
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