7.0 quarts instead of 5.8 quarts?

[rojeda562]

Hello everyone. This is my very first post but I have done hours of reading on this website. I will try to make this brief. My brother purchased a used 2014 Mercedes Benz CLA 250 base model with 39,000 miles. We did the first oil change at 45,000 mi. This is my main concern. The MB 2.0 turbo engine oil capacity says 5.8 quart, we added 5.8 quarts and it barely marked on the tip of the dipstick, not even on the low mark. In the end we added oil until we were at the full mark and in total, we ended up putting 7.0 quarts of motor oil in. We were on ground level and we already turned the engine on to circulate the engine, turbo and oil filter. The car currently has around 52-53 thousand miles and it has ran perfectly fine with zero issues with the 7 quarts of oil. I guess my question is if anyone has experience the same thing I'm going through, I always try to do stuff correctly and precise but it seemed really wrong to have the correct amount of oil but it barely showed oil on the dipstick. I'm thinking of joining a CLA 250 forum just to ask this same question. Hope you guys come with welcoming information, not just for me but for everyone else. EXTRA INFO: We used 5 liter(~5.5 quarts) jug of Motul X-Cess 5W-40 and the rest of motor oil used was Mobil 1 European Formula 0W-40. I know mixng oils is not recommended but Motul is not readily available and I have never had any negative effects mixing oils. 5.5 quarts of Motul +1.5 quarts of Mobil 1 European Formula is our mixture using the Original Mercedes Benz filter made by Mann. P.S. this Motul/Mobil 1 mixture is insanely smoother, quieter and you can feel the difference compared to Mobil 1 alone. Here is a link to my YouTube video I made of my oil change.
https://youtu.be/NIotcadLpZ0

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

You may not have the correct dip stick.
BTW Nice video.

 

[rojeda562]

Thank you for replying, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I will look into the dipstick situation. I was thinking that might be the issue. Nice to see you use 50/50 of Quaker State Ultimate Durability and Quaker State High Mileage. You get a true 50/50 synthetic blend plus the high mileage. I'll also be doing a 10,000 mile used oil analysis on this oil change interval. Maybe in about 2-3 months. Thank you.

 

[Trav]

Is that 5.8 with filter? That looks like it uses a large capacity oil filter.

 

[Donald]

I would certainly check the dipstick part number.

 

[Astro14]

I would check the dipstick part number as well, but I suspect that you're fine with 7. I think you're also fine with 5.8.

Or 6.

My MB doesn't have any way to check the oil with a dipstick. Seriously. It has an oil level sensor.

Published oil capacity is 9.5 QTs. I always put in 10 qts of Mobil 1 0W40 (convenient, two jugs). However, it will sometimes say that I need to add 1.0 quart when I check the level, even though I added 0.5 more than required.

Now, I am very careful when I check mine, engine off for 5 minutes, dead level ground, engine warmed up, but the oil level sensor seems to like having more oil in the crankcase than the owner's manual specifies... Maybe it's a Mercedes thing...

 

[Johnny2Bad]

It's not unusual for an oil filter to hold 1 quart or more of oil. If you changed the filter (you don't say) that would explain it. The 5.8 qts is what is in the sump, not the sump plus the filter.

If you do have the wrong dipstick, fix that asap, and if you are over filled, try to remove oil via the dipstick tube (it's a bit cleaner than opening the drain plug and letting a quart pour out, but if you have to, do it that way).

It's not as big a deal with a gasoline engine, it generally will just burn off as blow-by, but if it's a diesel, you definitely do not want to run it over-filled with oil. Very bad things can happen.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by Johnny2Bad
It's not unusual for an oil filter to hold 1 quart or more of oil. If you changed the filter (you don't say) that would explain it. The 5.8 qts is what is in the sump, not the sump plus the filter.

If you do have the wrong dipstick, fix that asap, and if you are over filled, try to remove oil via the dipstick tube. It's not as big a deal with a gasoline engine, but if it's a diesel, you definitely do not want to run it over-filled with oil. Very bad things can happen.


Plus gallery oil can drain when a filter comes off and that side of the U-tube is free …

 

[Rand]

eh my 2019 cherokee 2.0 says 5qt and I put in 5qt.. checked it after 30s, 5min,10min,next morning.

Was barely touching the bottom of the crosshatched area on dipstick.

So I ended up with 5.6qts in it. Not losing sleep.

the owners manual
5.9QT with filter change. on page 350

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by rollinpete
You may not have the correct dip stick.


U Beat me to it. & 7 qts on a 2 litre is way too much

 

[Trav]

While it could certainly could be the wrong dipstick the CDI engine held 7 qts, Is it possible a previous owner changed the pan out for deeper one? I have no idea which pan would fit but its not uncommon with turbo engines of other makes for guys to swap the pan out for larger capacity one.
I would guess filling it a qt low and seeing if the low oil light comes on, going by the distance from the sensor to the top of the pan will give you some idea of the amount required to fill.

Try with 4.8 qts first to make sure the light comes on then increase till it just goes out, max fill will probably be something like a qt more than that.

 

[Patman]

Another thing you could do is check the dipstick immediately after driving the car a bit harder and shutting off the engine, and check to see if you have any bubbles on the dipstick (which would indicate the oil level is high enough that the crank is whipping through the oil in the pan and aerating it) No bubbles would mean you're safe to run 7 quarts. A lot of engines out there can handle more oil than their capacity would indicate. I owned a 98 Corvette for 9 years and that entire time I had it, I overfilled the engine by a full quart and I never had a problem with that.

 

[tenderloin]

My oldest daughter has a 2015 CLA 250. I change the oil every 5,000 miles. Just switched back to M1 0W40 after 5 changes of Pentosin 5W30 that I got at December AZ blow out a few years back. Cartridge filter is very small..Maybe 1/4 qt. Without spending all day waiting for the oil to drain..5 1/2 qt's usually does the job. The dip stick measurement area is very small. The car has nearly 90,000 miles and has been flawless. Rides a bit stiff for my old bones but she loves it. Also adding Bridgestone Drive Guards when tires were changed from Pirelli P7's helped the ride. Switching to Michelin Primacy MXM4 ZP next time around. Gets 35 mph all day long in freeway driving yet has plenty of power especially for the low HP rating (way underrated IMO) The car was raked over the coals by the auto press but I have driven it enough to know that they came at it for what they thought it should be, not what it actually was intended to be.

 

[The Critic]

Recheck the oil level after a 15 min drive - you will find that the oil level has risen quite a bit.

I have noticed some discrepancies on MBs between the listed oil capacity and what it actually takes to fill. Keep in mind that MB dealers extract the oil from the dipstick tube on newer models- and I think the oil capacity may be based off of this procedure.

 

[djb]

It's really unlikely to be the dipstick.

Back in the ancient days where full service stations checked the oil with every fill, perhaps. But not today.

My guess is that an internal check valve has failed. Most are so deeply buried (e.g. between the head and block) that it's not worth replacing them.

 

[rojeda562]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I will definitely check everything you guys mentioned.

 

[CELICA_XX]

Originally Posted by Johnny2Bad
The 5.8 qts is what is in the sump, not the sump plus the filter.

I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

If the manual specifies 5.8qts...that includes the filter too.