Mercedes C320 oil recommendation, oil level check?

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My wife has a 2005 Mercedes C320 with 25,000 miles. What oil viscosity do you recommend? Also this car has no dip stick, how do I check the level?
 
I can't believe MB never included dip sticks on those cars....my friend had the same exact car...MB sells them for about $100 extra.
 
Originally Posted By: renos09ram
Also this car has no dip stick, how do I check the level?

There should be an electronic indicator in the instrument cluster. Refer to the owner's manual regarding how to access it.
 
Originally Posted By: hillclimber
They have some sort of electronic 'dipstick', don't they? Surely, this is covered in the owners manual.

A car with no dipstick, insane.



They never included one. It was optional!!
 
They really dont want the home mechanic working on these cars.But they forget about when the vehicle gets older.
 
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Your C320 does not need a dipstick, Every time your car starts it checks the oil level and will tell you via the command screen if it's too low or high and it works really, really well. You can also manually check the oil through the "command" menus. You'll have to double check in the owners manual to find the proper menu screen.
 
I agree, Nothing beats a visual inspection. By the way before my wife and I purchased her car, she asked me if I checked all the fluids and I told her everything is right on the money, especially the oil looked really clean. Well when we stopped at the gas station a few months later I told her I would check the oil, so she wanted to watch so she would be able to do it on her own if need be. Well you should of seen her face when I couldn't find the dipstick and 10 minutes later a mechanic came out and said this Mercedes does not have a dip stick, I felt like a real...Dip stick.
 
I was reading the Mercedes manual and they specify Mobil 1 European formula 0w-40 / Penzoil European Formula Ultra 5w-30 / Quaker state European Formula Ultra 5w-30. Where can I find those oils, all they have at the normal auto stores are the American brand names? Will I do damage if I use something different, the manual makes it sound as if you would have a catastrophic failure if you don't use the above specified oils.
 
Yup, M1 0w-40 can be found at most auto part stores, sometimes Wal-Mart, too.

The other two, well, good luck finding those - I only saw them on paper.

Also, the previously mentioned Castrol Syntec 0w-30 (GC) meets the spec for your car and can be found at most AutoZone and PepBoys stores. It's an excellent choice as well.

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html
 
Originally Posted By: renos09ram
I was reading the Mercedes manual and they specify Mobil 1 European formula 0w-40 / Penzoil European Formula Ultra 5w-30 / Quaker state European Formula Ultra 5w-30. Where can I find those oils, all they have at the normal auto stores are the American brand names? Will I do damage if I use something different, the manual makes it sound as if you would have a catastrophic failure if you don't use the above specified oils.


As everyone has stated including myself, M1 0W-40 is easily available pretty much everywhere. My Autozone, O'RIley's, AAP, Walmart, Checkers etc all stock it.
 
I went to Walmart and they were out of the 0W 40 but had the 0W 30, would that be ok to use year round? TIA, Sal
 
Originally Posted By: renos09ram
I went to Walmart and they were out of the 0W 40 but had the 0W 30, would that be ok to use year round? TIA, Sal



You saw M1 AFE. I wouldn't put that in my German car. If it was Castrol 0W-30 aka GC then I would. Otherwise, stay away from the green cap.
 
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What you saw was the M1 Advance Fuel Economy. It won't be horrible if you ran 30 weight oil in your car. I'm running 10W-30 on my 5 series right now. When the winter hits however, you don't want to be caught with a 10W oil. 0W and 5W is what you need. Look for 5W-40, 10W-40 for the summers and 0W-40,5W-40 for the winters. If you just want to stick with a weight for the entire year, then go look for the M1 0W-40.
 
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