I’ve got a LOT of leave to use up at work, so today I had a day off and got the 500 serviced. The service interval is supposed to be 18k miles. With the nature of my daily commute the DPF recharge cycle means the oil service light usually comes on at about 12k. You can tell when it’s due because it begins to sound a little bit like a diesel and smell like one too! I’ve been a bit premature this year, with about another month before I’d expect the oil service warning but for the last two years I’ve been out there in sub-zero temperatures, servicing it at the end of December/beginning of January. So I figured what the hell I’d do it now, between rainstorms of biblical proportions. Oh for the temperate climate of jolly old Blighty!
The service was straight forward, as I’ve come to expect from the little gem. Nothing untoward to report, with little to no wear and tear apparent. Even the brake pads still look like new. I suppose I should use them more but the damn things slow you down.
However, I did find time to tackle a niggle that has really bugged me for the last 6 months or so. The little 1248cc Diesel runs like a sewing machine, very civilised for an oil burner. But for the last six months it’s sounded like a tractor at idle. If you lay a hand on the air filter usual decorum is restored. The culprit being wear in the rubber grommets used to mount the filter. It’s not just an annoying noise, the air flow meter is mounted in the filter housing and all that vibration can’t be good for it. I’ve resolved the problem for now with a bit of heat shrink sleeving and I’ll order some new grommets for the next service. I also found that the air filter housing was being distorted by the filter when fitting. I had to poke the filter into the gap between lid and housing to ensure the centre hinge was playing along.
But hell, if that’s my biggest gripe with the car, I suppose I can’t complain.
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