Interesting change in my oil level display

[msdh]

I took our 2024 sprinter into a dealer for various warranty items, plus a small paid item. Upon picking the van up and driving it, the displayed oil level had gone from mid-OK range, to just above the add oil line, a theoretical drop of 1/2 qt. The van has never used oil, and just had its oil changed by an independent shop 2K miles ago, and is not leaking oil. There is no dipstick on the OM 654 engine. The dealer's work did not involve oil service, and they didn't drive it, so there's no way it used 1/2 qt. during its few days in the shop. The dealer did do a software re-calibration as part of the warranty work however.

I'm assuming the re-calibration updated the oil level sensor inadvertently. After adding 1/2 qt. and driving it, it now shows oil at mid-level level again.

This might be an argument for using Mercedes dealer service at least occasionally, as most independent shops don't have the Xentry equipment available to do re-calibration or software updates. I'm not worried about 1/2 qt. low on oil with a 10 qt. + capacity engine, but I do suspect Mercedes has made software updates available to its dealers to correct glitches with the exhaust system, ECU system, and probably other computer controlled systems in the van, which there are many. If your garage doesn't have the diagnostic gear, you won't be getting these corrective updates, and could experience glitches which would otherwise have been corrected.

My plan moving forward is to use the independent shop (which is excellent and reasonably priced) for mid-cycle oil and fuel filter changes, but bite the bullet and use the dealer for the majors. I guess this is part of the overall cost of owning a Mercedes, which is not a Toyota.

Cheers!

PS: the dealer was Mercedes Benz of Lynwood, WA and they were excellent

 

[EBS-P]

Learn how to access the service menu. A software update may have restarted the oil level display algorithm. I changed my oil and added 10 qts. It wouldn’t display on the in the regular oil level menu had some message about it needed to drive more. Ii knew from the service menu that it was reading .8qts low before starting, but my driveway is not perfectly level

So I just kept adding but not measuring because it’s out of a 5qt jug. Took three tries. Under full is better than over full.

my point. It’s an algorithm that takes an hour to show what it thinks is level is. Always have an extra qt on hand.

 

[msdh]

Good advice on carrying a spare qt. of Mercedes 229.52. I do, and it made it easy to achieve a (new) correct level, though the actual oil volume in my van had not changed between the pre-update level and the post-update level. I drove and monitored the level for several hours before adding, and added mainly to avoid an error message should the level dip slightly below the low mark on the gauge. People here report it taking a while for the display to update, but mine does so within 10 min. or less of adding oil. I know it senses when I've added oil, because it displays messages like "oil level display temporarily unavailable", or "engine must be warmed up and on level surface to display oil level", even though the engine is totally warmed up at the time. Weird, and kinda spooky how smart and specific this thing is. I do wish Mercedes had maintained a dipstick in the OM654 engine for flat-ground pre-drive morning oil level checks.

I've heard from several Sprinter technicians and have read in Mercedes literature that oil over-fill is worse than slight under-fill, both functionally and in terms of error messaging from the vehicle's monitoring system. I was thusly careful to add only an amount which would keep me under the top mark should the system revert to its pre-service measuring metric in the future.

I believe the Mercedes OM654 is a fine engine, the Sprinter-tuned 9G Tronic a fantastic transmission, and the Mercedes computer architecture the perfect foil for an over-thinker like myself. The overall driving dynamics are superb.

Also noteworthy since the software update is the fact that, at least according to the van's computer, I'm now getting ~1.5 mpg better fuel economy in the exact same driving conditions. Not confirmed by actual fill/mileage testing, but I'll take it.

 

[tw1963]

Learn how to access the service menu. A software update may have restarted the oil level display algorithm. I changed my oil and added 10 qts. It wouldn’t display on the in the regular oil level menu had some message about it needed to drive more. Ii knew from the service menu that it was reading .8qts low before starting, but my driveway is not perfectly level

So I just kept adding but not measuring because it’s out of a 5qt jug. Took three tries. Under full is better than over full.

my point. It’s an algorithm that takes an hour to show what it thinks is level is. Always have an extra qt on hand.

excellent advice

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Watching the oil level display is one of the many paths to general madness. If it asks you to add oil, add exactly what it asks you to add. If it doesn't ask you to add oil, (and you don't spend your life far from dealerships and always on the road) forget it exists. If it never asks you to add oil, there is no particular reason to carry a quart of oil around in your van, either. If it asks you to add oil for the first time ever, it will be ok to let Amazon deliver you a quart later that day or the next, although I'd make it two. And lets face it, delivering something in emergent circumstances in that manner is one of the few reasons one should ever use Amazon.

Once it does ask you to add oil once, then it might make sense to carry a quart of a good MB approved motor oil in your van, since your van and your use case has revealed itself to have the potential to benefit from it.