I usually check my oil once a week. I want to make sure I'm doing this right. I check my oil after a normal drive, turn off the car, and wait 15 minutes before I check the oil. I do this because I was told I should wait till all the oil goes back into the oil pan. Is this a good amount of time to wait? I ask because TRD recommends I check my oil at every gas fillup and the "checking process" happens right after I turn off the car, meaning the oil hasn't had any time to go into the pan - I hope TRD doesn't expect me to hang around a gas station for 15 minutes to check my oil. So this is what caused me to wonder the best amount of time to wait before checking my oil after turning the car off. Anyone know?

Thanks. Just want to make sure I'm getting the most accurate reading and don't overfill.

give it a few minutes to run back down. a part of a quart over wont really hurt anything, 1/4 quart over is fine. not ALL of the oil runs back down into the pan. the best way to do an accurate oil change is to measure what you've drained out and then put that much back in.

we have to do that with some mercedes because they dont have a dipstick and the oil capacity listed results in an overfill message on the info display.

Measuring what you drained out is only accurate if it was full to being with. The oil that's left in the engine isn't part of the rated oil capacity, that oil [aside from the small bit in the pan] is "wasted" sitting in valleys, it's not used. This is the reason for dry fill and wet fill specs. You also need to add extra [should be included in spec] to fill the oil filter.
Most likely either the specs your shop uses are wrong or whatever you use to measure the oil is wrong.


By the time you get out of the car and prop the hood open the oil level is just about where it's going to be, it doesn't take long at all for the oil to drain back in the pan. If it did, the pump would starve for oil.

If that doesn't sound right, test it.
Stop, hop out and check the level.
Let it sit for 15 min and recheck.

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mercedes only gives out the dry fill spec to aftermarket information. heck, the info mercedes does supply is pretty limited...because they dont want to loose out on making money from services at their shops.

yes, measuring out whats in is only accurate if its full to begin with...i was working under the assumption that he'd have a full change of oil in the car when he drained out. yes you need to add a little to fill the filter if you measure the drain. its oil changing, not a science exactly. drain it and then fill it to the full on dipstick, start it up for about 30 seconds, wait about 10 minutes, recheck and add till on the full mark.

You mean to say Mercedes makes engines where there is no positive way to determine the level oil in the oil pan? IDK - I have no experience with them but that doesn't seem right. If the oil change volume measured was off consistantly [likely] even a little every oil change then over the life of the motor it would gradually rise or fall depending and eventually overfill or starve the engine. There is a WHOLE lot of oil changes just in a 100K miles.
Not questioning you - just whoever told you, Mercedes' sanity or it could be cause I've never had the pleasure of working on one except my Aunt's bumper.

its a C240 iirc, newer model. there is no oil dipstick that comes with the car, just a dealer only tool which is spec specific to the particular engine/engine configuration...its nothing more than a dipstick. but its only available to dealer service depts...otherwise you need to measure what comes out, and put that much back in. we NOW know how much it takes, but when going by the spec provided by our computer data (alldata or shopkey) we got overfill messages. the overfill only trips after a certain number of engine starts. the engine reads the oil level at key on/engine off after the engine has been off for x number of minutes. only ****ing mercedes would make a car without a dipstick!

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Ah there it is.
More BS money making scams - I was just speaking of another one. Too much of that going on these days. I suppose they'll void the warranty if the oil level is insufficient or overfilled?

she had a bad cat (rattling inside and codes set) which should have been free under emissions warranty. they SOMEHOW justified her paying the $800 for the part but 'cut her a brake' on the labor.

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Aaaah, that makes sense.


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There is a way, the level sensor in the pan.
The VAST majority of Benz owners aren't going to bother checking their car, and most wouldn't have a clue where to look anyways. Remember, these aren't people with relatively little money, and a lot of them are image conscious [yes I'm stereotyping, where there's smoke, there's usually fire...], checking and changing their own oil is below them, or just too scary.
The thing is, while you and I are willing and able to check our fluids, most people that own cars can't be bothered or are just too damn stupid. With a idiot light there's a better chance of it being brought somewhere that will take care of it.
Even if the owner is willing and motivated to check/change their own oil there are too many meatheads that can screw up a wet dream.
Some quick examples-
Broken bolts because they tightened instead of loosened
Blown engine because "it's a Toyota, I shouldn't have to change the oil"
Out of gas in a Prius because "it's a Prius, I don't need to fill the tank"
Blown transmissions because they drained the trans instead of the engine
Diesel in a gasoline tank
While I can't say I totally agree with not having an oil dipstick, I can understand where MB is coming from...

You have to understand too, a LOT of this is done in the name of emissions. Too much oil will raise crankcase pressure/vapors, which raises the amount of oil sucked into the intake system, which means more crap in the engine and exhaust.
Relatively small amount, but emissions stuff is getting more and more crazy.
Also, while car manufacturers can definitely be shady about warranty stuff, if the customer does something stupid and screws up their car, why should the manufacturer pay for it?


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They've been doing this for years on their auto trans. You can buy the tool, you don't have to be a MB tech. It's probably in the neighborhood of $100 though, or you can make your own [done all the time for the trans].

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What's the exact situation? Dealers definitely screw people on warranty stuff sometimes, but there are LOADS of instances where something is warrantied when it technically shouldn't be, the dealer is just hooking up the customer. Just because it's within the timeframe and/or mileage doesn't guarantee it's warranty.

her exact situation on the cat warranty was she was at 78K miles, under 4 years of owning the car and the cat was bad. the only codes thrown were for the bad cat and it was obvious it was the ONE cat because of the rattle. MB replaced just the ONE cat and charged her parts on it but no labor. it just bolts in and out with a couple gaskets

or was it labor and no parts? i cant recall but unless i remember wrong federal emissions warranty is 80K miles and more than 4 years. they shouldnt have charged her anything for it. but shes an older woman who doesnt know much about cars and had never heard about federal emissions warranties.

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http://www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/warr95fs.txt

i'm sure they backed up their denial of the warranty with some bull**** they pulled out of their asses, but rightfully a bad cat at 78K miles should have been covered. she was not pleased.

Could be, there are definitely shady dealers [and writers] out there.

Fed Emissions warranty depends on year.
8 - 80 is the older timeframe.
It was bumped to IIRC 10 - 100, and is now 15 - 150 for 07? ^.

More than what you listed is covered, EVAP, O2 sensors, and a bunch of other stuff.