Is it worth it to do your own DIY maintenance?
Mercedes-Benz vehicles, as you know, are built with every detail in mind. The smallest of details matter. These luxury vehicles are built meticulously so when it’s time for a service A, also known as an oil change, you will have to decide where you bring your vehicle.
As discussed before, Mercedes-Benz of Littleton has a very convenient way to schedule a service, we’ll even pick up your car and leave you a loaner vehicle to test drive!
However, we certainly understand if you feel the need to ‘DIY’ your own service. We’ve decided to make this as easy as possible for you as well.
What is a Service A
Service A on a Mercedes-Benz simply means it’s time for an oil change. When you bring your vehicle into the dealership for its scheduled maintenance, the technicians at Mercedes of Littleton have a process to change the oil, top off fluids that have been used for the past year, and check the vehicle.
Service A Checklist
For your first Service A the scheduled time to bring your vehicle in is roughly 10,000 miles, or 1 year from purchasing your vehicle. What a technician will do is:
- Mercedes-Benz OEM oil replacement
- Oil filter replacement
- Fluid level checks and corrections
- Tire inflation check and correction
- Brake component inspection
- Key battery replacement
- Reset the maintenance alarm
If you know what you’re doing, a service A is a simple, but an extremely effective, way to keep your vehicle running at its best.
Service A – is it just an oil change?
At its core, a Service A is an oil change, however, it is also an opportunity for a service technician to check your vehicle for performance, and wear and tear. If having the eye of a top trained service expert looking over your vehicle gives you peace of mind, perhaps doing this project isn’t for you.
That being said, if you’re interested in doing the Service A yourself, you will need to start by finding the oil pan on your vehicle, which should be easy, using your vehicle’s manual as a guide. Most vehicles use the same sized drain plug, in most cases a 13mm socket will do. In the case of your vehicle however, refer to the manual, removing the drain plug with a wrong sized wrench can lead to damage to this integral part of your engine.
When draining the oil, be sure to find a location to safely dispose of your used oil, and have genuine Mercedes-Benz OEM oil at the ready for the final step.
Replacing the oil filter on a Mercedes-Benz
While the oil is draining into an oil pan beneath your vehicle, now is the time to pull the oil filter and replace it with the new filter included in your DIY Mercedes-Benz Service A kit provided by Mercedes of Littleton.
Finding the housing for the oil filter in your vehicle’s manual will be the easiest way of finding where to pull the older oil filter out. On most Mercedes-Benz models, the oil filter and cap are usually located near the back of the engine. This may be a tight squeeze for some hands to reach.
The oil filter cap on the majority of Mercedes-Benz are plastic, so using the right tool for this job is paramount. The replacement for the cap isn’t expensive, that being said, you may be doing your own maintenance for the reason no dealership is nearby and waiting for a part to come to you can be a pain.
There are many tools online boasting they work the best, or fit your vehicle, be sure to carefully remove the cap and filter so you can reuse the oil cap on the new filter.
What Else Happens in a Service A
When you bring your vehicle into the dealership at Mercedes-Benz of Littleton, the tech will inspect tires and check the PSI levels. Keeping your tires at the right PSI will help the rest of the vehicle in check, especially with these crazy Colorado roads.
Other vehicle fluids checked on a Service A include the window washing fluid being topped off, as well as a general check of other fluids in the vehicle. The last thing a technician will look over is wear and tear on brake pads.
Can you do your own Service A on your Mercedes-Benz?
In the first Service A, roughly 10,000 miles or a year from purchasing your luxury Mercedes-Benz, the vehicle doesn’t need much, especially if you’ve done everything to care for your vehicle. Yes, you certainly can do your own maintenance on your vehicle.
Are there benefits to having a certified technician from Mercedes-Benz look at your vehicle and check levels? We at Mercedes of Littleton do believe you’ll enjoy the stress-free environment we provide to take care of you.
At Mercedes of Littleton, we have many options we think you’ll enjoy. Options like no contact pickup availability, where we schedule a team to pick up your vehicle and leave a service loaner, to valet pickup, and express service. The Service team is top notch and we strive to earn your business for the life of your vehicle.
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