Types of Oil for a Mercedes Benz
by Jamie Rankin
Mercedes-Benz is a luxury car maker known for producing automobiles that combine style and excellent design with technology and performance. If you own a Mercedes, providing regular maintenance is key for optimum the performance. Getting regular oil changes is a fundamental step in keeping your Mercedes performing at a high level, but you must know the proper oil to use. You need to know the correct oil weight, as well as the proper grade.
Weight
Oils whose weight, or viscosity, is good for low temperatures have a "W" after their number, while oils used in high temperatures don't. Some oils are good for both and are referred to as multi-viscosity, all-weather or all-temperature oils. It is these oils that are listed for use in most Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Multi-viscosity oil of 5W-40 weight is recommended for most models, though 0W-30, 0W-40, 10W-40 and 5W-30 are also used in certain cars.
Single-Grade
This type of motor oil is usually indicated only for narrow temperature ranges, either at high temperatures or low temperatures. It can be used on only a few current Mercedes-Benz models, such as the diesel engines in model series 300, 400, 500 and 900. The OM 457 and 460 models might also use single-grade engine oil, but the company recommends single-grade for any of its vehicles only "in exceptional cases."
Multi-Grade
This type of motor oil gets better performance at a wider range of temperatures. It is recommended for use on the majority of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. A long list of oil brands are approved by the company, from JB German oil to brands with that Americans are more familiar, such as Castrol, Mobil and Pennzoil.
References
Writer Bio
Based outside Pittsburgh, Jamie Rankin began her career as a professional writer as a news and sports journalist with the "Daily Courier," a subsidiary of the "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review." Her work has appeared in both publications. Rankin, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and communications from Point Park University, has been writing sports and pet-related articles online since 2004.
