Mercedes 2009 GL 450 Oil

[Chandne]

I'm not knowledgeable about Euro oils at all. So when I see 229.5, I assume it is Mercedes approved. How can they even put that on the bottle? That seems like Mercedes can sue them to remove it.

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-2...6ZQ4KDK/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B076ZQ4KDK&psc=1

 

[JohnnyG]

It appears that Mercedes is re-doing their website. I clicked on "accept risk and move on" and it came up in German, with a different opening page.

 

[JohnnyG]

I'm not knowledgeable about Euro oils at all. So when I see 229.5, I assume it is Mercedes approved. How can they even put that on the bottle? That seems like Mercedes can sue them to remove it.

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-2...6ZQ4KDK/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B076ZQ4KDK&psc=1

So for $10.00 more, you can get this:
https://www.blauparts.com/ravenol-motor-oil-vst-5w-40-5l.html

 

[Chandne]

That one looks quite nice and exotic! I wasn't really looking for exotic and am okay with a Castrol or whatever. I have heard that the MB folks do like their exotic brands too.

 

[kschachn]

I'm not knowledgeable about Euro oils at all. So when I see 229.5, I assume it is Mercedes approved. How can they even put that on the bottle? That seems like Mercedes can sue them to remove it.

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-2...6ZQ4KDK/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B076ZQ4KDK&psc=1

No, Mercedes-Benz cannot sue them to remove it. They do not say it has the approval, only that they recommend it for those applications where the approval is required. Lots of blenders and formulators say the same thing. Nor do they word it like an approval would be worded.

 

[Chandne]

Interesting, and a careful play on words by the manufacturers.

 

[Zaedock]

Off-roading in 4Lo at high altitude (steep terrain crawling speeds) where the oxygen is also lower, seems to be very tough on motors/oil. The heat given off is incredible, to where we open windows and crank up the heat to get it out of the bay quicker. You're not moving quickly enough to get airflow and even with the AC off and radiator fan on full-time, the heat keeps rising. Overheating is common on some vehicles so they stop and cool off.

What kind of Wrangler are you running? I've gone thorough Moab in summer and didn't skip a beat. That was with a 2.5L 4 cylinder with 152:1 crawl ratio.

 

[Chandne]

Moab is ever really not hard on the vehicles. Altitude is lower and trails are not steep and extended like in SW Colorado. Mine is a 2014 Rubicon with the 4.10 and 35s. Rubicon T-case. Moab- no issues ever on my 2012 or 2014. Crawling up high near Ouray, Lake City, and Telluride...much more taxing. I don't overheat but we all run WAY hotter and have to keep the vents on high and expel heat out of the windows to help. I do see a few people overheat and wait it out but we are crawling up technical trails often at 5-8 MPH for a while. Some of the trails are quite steep. Moab has nothing like that except for Lion's Back, for example, and that is short (and blocked now).

 

[Wolf359]

Interesting, and a careful play on words by the manufacturers.

They all do that. Either they say MB Approved or they just say recommended. When they say recommended, it means it's not approved. It's recommended by the maker of the oil but not approved by MB. Usually they have to pay a fee to MB to get it approved or it doesn't quite meet spec so they just recommend it. Either way, anyone too cheap to pay the fee or not quite in spec is good enough for me to avoid it when there are too many other oils for lower prices that meet spec out there. Everyone always seems to be looking for that magic oil that's better than all the others out there. But engine failure due to the wrong or magic oils aren't really an issue these days. The transmission will probably die before the engine will these days. The only difference really is that the exotic oils cost more money and people feel they're getting a better oil because it's more expensive.

 

[Chandne]

Yeah, I have to fully agree. I bet all these high-quality oils whether exotic or mainstream, are all very very good. Maybe Euro-spec oils have diff additives and weights but I bet they are all very good and using a good filter and changing the oil frequently/regularly is all it takes to keep the vehicles running well. Interestingly, my 4Runner has a 4.7L V8 too and I just use 5W30 or 0W30 in it. It takes around 7 quarts while this GL450 requires around 9.4. The 4R has almost 200K and runs amazingly well. I hope to get the GL to that mileage as well.

 

[JavierH19]

if I'm not mistaken isn't that old generation regular GL equipped with just a regular fuel injected non turbo engine? Because i know that the 2013 ones and after had both gdi and turbos.

if so i bet any 229.5 or ll-01 oil will be just fine. I'd probably go with an ll-01 rated oil like castrol 5w-40.

 

[Chandne]

Yes, that is correct. It has a regular old 4.7L V8...no turbos. It cannot be hard on oil or need anything too fancy like some of these harder-working twin turbos may. The Castrol is what I was finding all over here though M1 and Pennzoil are also available.

 

[Zaedock]

Moab is ever really not hard on the vehicles. Altitude is lower and trails are not steep and extended like in SW Colorado. Mine is a 2014 Rubicon with the 4.10 and 35s. Rubicon T-case. Moab- no issues ever on my 2012 or 2014. Crawling up high near Ouray, Lake City, and Telluride...much more taxing. I don't overheat but we all run WAY hotter and have to keep the vents on high and expel heat out of the windows to help. I do see a few people overheat and wait it out but we are crawling up technical trails often at 5-8 MPH for a while. Some of the trails are quite steep. Moab has nothing like that except for Lion's Back, for example, and that is short (and blocked now).

At half your speed, my Jeep is spinning 3,000 rpm and I don't overheat in 100* temps, so I was curious what type of wheeling you were doing that would overheat a new vehicle. You're right though, the trails weren't too tough. I've hit Black Bear and other trails in CO and don't remember anything really difficult as well. The trails were steep and "scary" if you will. The scenery was absolutely awesome.

 

[Wolf359]

if I'm not mistaken isn't that old generation regular GL equipped with just a regular fuel injected non turbo engine? Because i know that the 2013 ones and after had both gdi and turbos.

if so i bet any 229.5 or ll-01 oil will be just fine. I'd probably go with an ll-01 rated oil like castrol 5w-40.

Yes, that's the M273 engine. Been around a long while. There's no real issues with the engine long term although the timing chain might stretch after a while, that's more like those rare things where it may or may not happen but more luck of the draw and not too common. Biggest engine issue is probably the intake manifold. The GDI engines aren't that bad either, no real carbon issue that can affect other engines.

There was a big debate over LL-01 Mobil 1 0w40 use to have it then lost it but Castrol 0w40 had it for a while but now I think they've lost it too. Regardless, both have MB 229.5 so it doesn't really matter. I've run either. Had a stash of Castrol 0w40 when it was on sale, now I just do Mobil 1 0w40, they run a $10 rebate in the April-September time frame.