My Mercedes is burning oil
10/3/07 68970 14468 5 quarts of oil
6/27/08 85054 16084 6 quarts of oil
12/30/08 98019 12965 7 quarts of oil
here is my data
Discuss this with your mechanic. There are alot of reasons a car burns oil. If i’m reading your data correctly your car burned 7 qts in 13,000 miles (approximately). That’s pretty much, but not exactly, 1/2 of one quart in 1,000 miles. Correct me if i’m wrong, math is my worst subject. ever.
But anyway in some circles 1 qt. in 1000 miles is considered “normal”. I wouldn’t be alarmed about this, but you may start with a failed PCV valve or worn valve cover gasket. Is all the preventative maintenance caught up? A poorly maintained engine will consume oil.
Are you sure the oil is being burned and not just leaking out somewhere? I noticed you’ve complained to your mechanic twice. If it really concerns you that much, find another mechanic who will actually listen to you.
When my customers complain of oil usage in Mercedes I always advise them to not maintain the oil level to the top mark of the dipstick.
A Mercedes will “throw” the overfilled oil, and settle on a level about halfway between the two top marks on the dipstick. Try maintaining at this halfway mark and see if it stabilizes.
The Mercedes factory says 1 quart in 1000 miles is acceptable. It is rare however that a healthy Mercedes will burn this much. Most don’t burn use any oil if maintained to the halfway mark.
Benzman