Any comments on this article? It appears to be extreme? What is typical for Mobile 1 in an E420?

Owners of Mercedes-Benz automobiles in the U.S. were recently awarded a $32-million settlement because they were not informed they should use synthetic motor oil. Mercedes utilized a system designed to help owners lower maintenance costs and reduce the adverse environmental impact of used motor oil. The system extends drain intervals to when the oil actually needs to be changed, rather than at a set predetermined intervals. They start with 10,000-mile drains and push them up to 20,000 miles, using synthetic motor oils!

The problem occured because these U.S. owners were told to use conventional motor oils, which could not stand up to those extended intervals. According to the suit, this promoted more engine wear than if they had been using the originally specified synthetic oil. Now if that isn't a testimonial as to the superior performance of synthetic motor oils, I don't know what is. Thirty-two million dollars is a tidy sum to pay for increasing engine wear, but the company did not dispute the fact that the drain intervals determined by their system were too long for conventional oils.

McFall's article singled out AMSOIL as the only oil company actually recommending extended drain intervals. He notes that the other oil companies either don't make drain recommendations or stick with their 3,000 mile recommendation. Consumers must refer to their owner's manuals, which almost always more miles between oil changes than 3,000 miles for normal operation, or they can listen to their car dealers or oil change specialists, who push frequent oil changes to keep their cash registers ringing.

Mercedes-Benz should be commended for specifying synthetic lubricants for their superior performance and for extending drains to minimize the adverse effects of used motor oil in the environment. As time goes on, there will be an increasing number of companies who will do the same. But that won't happen if the oil industry can help it. They are actively working to keep the status quo, promoting many more oil changes than necessary, wasting precious resources, and creating the need to dispose of more pollutants in form of used motor oil.

AMSOIL coined the term "extended drain intervals" back in the early days of the company. We were the pioneer in extending drains, producing synthetic lubricants that performed well beyond what anyone thought possible. Today, like in this article by McFall, we are recognized as the leaders in producing extended drain lubricants. Our success proves the world is ready for our products. There is no doubt they are needed more today than ever.

 

20K miles seems a bit extreme between changes. The synthetic oil will last, but what about contaminant build up? I've always been more concerned about that. I change mine at 5K-6K for my cars with synthetic. It still "looks" clean, but I know it isn't.

If you want to go that long, I would recommend testing the oil for contaminants after 10K and 20K miles. It should be done when the engine is new, broken-in, and worn. The results would all be different and therefore, the recommended change intervals should be different. I don't like the one-size-fits-all theory implied in the article since the point is pushing change intervals to extremes.

 

I agree with the new method of flexible services. I think the environment and driving habits should dictate the oil changes. But even then, 4-6 months or 5-6K miles I would be thinking is the outside limit. 20K miles for me is once a year. It has to have environmental crud build up by then. For some people, 20K miles might be several years. Doesn't oil degrade just as gas over time?

 

Synthetic doesn't degrade, or so the theory goes. Compared to dino oil it essentially doesn't. It won't turn to sludge either. It gets just as dirty and corrosive from contaminants, though. Still, I wouldn't wait 6 months or several years between changes, so you're right. You have to consider time as well as mileage. I think the average annual mileage is a about 15K miles, so time should be more important than mileage for most people.

 

I'm taking a risk responding ... I gave my two cents on synthetics on another post and a "know-it-all," just about took my head off -- virtually I mean. He is a hater of synthetics and pounded me on my support of synthetic virtues ... well here goes my humble thoughts ...

My experience is with an 98' ML320 I bought new, -- I found a mayonnaise like substance under the oil filler cap. I did some looking around in the net and found the stuff to be the product of "frothing." Supposedly the frothing is normal -- so said the MB dealer tech rep -- I was already using Mobil One 15W50 -- which was not supposed to froth. The dealer rep said the frothing occured with crude based oils .. but he clammed up when I told him that I had only used Mobil One since the first oil change. Not sure if the froth tends to form sludge, but the stuff looked awful scary to me. I sold the ML320 at 56k miles ... when the extended warranty ran out I got scared of owning it seeing big dollar repairs down the road for the 18V V-6 and the transmission (I had two replaced in the car by the dealer already).

In spite of the ML experience .. I believe that synthetics are better oils .. they don't break down as easily and when they do the don't leave as many detrimental by-products as dino based crude stock oils. I've also seen the synthetics flow better during start ups. From my old days in grad school organic chemistry I also know that "designer" long chain polymers perform better (viscosity, flow) than crude base stock oils -- that means that a 10W40 crude oil is not a good 10W nor a good 40W oil, but a 10W40 synthetic covers the spread better. I've also noticed that synthetics tend to keep engine internals cleaner .. they act almost like a flush on engines that have long use of crude based oils. Most techs will tell you that you can use just about any oil you want to under normal conditions as long as you replace/replenish at 3k mile intervals -- but if you are a normal human like most of us, 3k intervals are not practical ... I tend to go 6-8k miles and the synthetics give me a sense of security that the oil can stand the extra miles. Of course, no matter what you use ... all oil gets contaminated and is filtered by the same element.

I also rebuilt an AMG 3.6 liter (104 engine) and shoe horned it into a 190E 16V black market .. sold it after the local police zeroed in on me and I had to take the guilty driver's class to keep my points down. Currently I own a 96' E320 that I bought new and now has 52,0000. I also run a 2001 Miata that's been performanced modified ... I put synthetics into the engines, trannies and rear ends, I maintain my own cars .. but I am not an expert .. I'm not a "know-it-all," just a regular human being.

 

The computer on our 99 Ml320 lets us to drive about 13k between the oil changes. Seems, that towing and different speeds don't affect it.
So in 6 years we changed oil 4 times.
Good luck in finding how the oil is analyzed. I tried to call all possible in US numbers and all I've got was a lot of BS about sensors (what sensors) analyzing the oil. My guess is, that computer analyze the average speeds, or RPM and that is what is changing intervals.
Oil manufacturing is another story. 20 years ago in Europe I was using Castrol GT2, that on older engines did stay clear even after 15,000 km.
Have been looking for this oil in US, but is not to be found here.
Wonder why the good stuff (like 40 to 70 MPG diesels) "don't make" it here?

 

You can buy oil an analysis kit in most any auto parts store. You gather a sample and send it off to a lab that will test it and return the results to you. Who cares how they test it? I don't want to be a lab tech.

Remind me never to buy a used car from you.

 

My 95 E420 has 120K on it. I did notice when changing the oil(my first on this car which was bought in Nov04) that the internals through the filler cap and inside the oil filter housing looked very clean for 120k compared to my 2000 Chevy truck with 85k. The truck was changed every 4k with dino and the MB according to the original owner was changed every 8-10k with Mobile 1. The difference in the way the engine looks inside the filler hole is quite dramatic. 50% more miles, twice as long on change intervals yet looks cleaner inside the engine.