I recently bought a 2006 SL500. Records say it had the 39,000 mile scheduled maintenance done at 38,800 miles. In less than 2000 my SL used a quart of oil. The car is still covered under the CPO Warranty. I'm trying to get an answer from the local Mercedes Dealer's Service Advisor, but haven't heard from him since I informed him of the oil consumption, other than he called once and left a message on my recorder asking me to return his call, which I've done three times.

Anyhow, my questions are:

Has anyone else had this kind of oil consumption and reported it to Mercedes and what was the outcome?

Does anyone know if burning a quart of oil in less than 2000 is normal for a SL500?

Thanks in advance.

 

you need to check for any type of oil leaks first. im not sure off hand which engine is in your car either the 273 or the 113. but 273 engines leak at the back of the engine on both heads. there a 3 plastic expansion plugs that leak that are common but usually youll smell oil from time to time. and on the 113 engines the valve covers leak and also the filler neck and on the front of the engine the oil pressure cap leaks.
but benzes in general do consume oil. wait till your next oil change and make sure its filled correctly to the fill line and then go from there. maybe there wasnt quite enough oil in it to begin with.

 

Nope, there's no oil leaks.

As for may have not been filled to full during previous service, I'm testing that now. Bad part is we only drive our primary vehicle 4500 miles per year so it's gonna take awhile for the test to see how many miles it takes to burn a half quart of oil.

Talked to the dealer service rep this morning, because the car is still under warranty. He said Mercedes won't do anything unless it burns a quart in less than 1000 miles. That sure sucks.

 

Hi there, check out the manual, it says that my 1997 S500 can go through up to 1L of oil per 1000 miles I recall depending on driving style/condition, and that is considdered to be "normal", and absolutly nothing to worry about!

As 1 quart = 1.1365l, it sounds like you are fine buring 1 quart in 2k as it is around 0.5L per 1k.

Driving it "hard" will use 1L per 1k, diving it like an "old man" (like I do with my S500) will use very little oil, and it sounds like you drive yours in between . Your dealer should ideally have given you some spare oil and left it in the boot, like they do with mine, which should be enough to get you to the next service.

I would not worry, honestly. If you are only going to do 4.5k miles a year, think about changing the oil more frequently, e.g. at each MOT maybe, ask the garage what they think or ask them to check the current viscosity of the oil when they MOT it. Truth is oil is cheap when you considder how buggered your engine would be without it!