Well, I admire your tenacity with trying to find the 'AHA' moment with oil ratings. However, I really don't see any need to worry about the E-Class, or any other vehicles. There is no AHA moment because there is nothing wrong with using MB-Approval 229.51 or 229.53, or any oil that may not have the "MB-Approval" designation but will still suffice.
I hope you're right, and I'm wrong. Customer satisfaction with the 453 is not something my job depends on, nor partially depends on. It doesn't affect a person who doesn't have a 453 in the first place either.
Is anyone certain that your local smart dealer uses the so-called M-B spec'd oil? I'd almost bet they use oil in bulk and not necessarily spec'd. :shrug:ZBoater, I'm with you. This engine, like the 451 engine, is not made by Mercedes so I'm not sure why they impose their oil specs on it, but whatever. Any name brand synthetic oil, 0W40 or 5W40, should be perfectly fine for any gas powered smart. YMMV, of course.
YES, the dealers are using spec'd oil. No worries there.
I'm glad you're confident this applies for the 453. What was the HP/L ratio on those vehicles? My W123 had 300k plus miles on it when we stopped using it, on spec oil. It also was running strong. In fact I was using 229.5 oil because that spec is good for diesels without a DPF.
Your choice of oils has obviously worked for you and my choice has worked for me. A close friend of 50+ years has done the same as me and has put 200-300k miles on his cars with the same good results. We all make our choices and accept the results. Most folks will never put anywhere near that many miles on their cars before moving on to the next one. As far as older engines not being as hard working - that's just not the case. The 2.3L 4 cylinder in my 1977 works much harder than either my 451 or 453 engines. The '77 has been all over the U.S. and Canada numerous times. The 2.6L 6 cylinder in my 1990 works just as hard at speed as my smarts. Later, higher displacement and horsepower Benz engines may be less stressed, but not always. Oil choice is always a hot button topic and some folks get more stressed over it than I believe is necessary.
An alternative is to call the parts department at a smart car service center. They can ship some basic 453 parts to you at counter price plus extra for shipping & handling.
Yea - The smart car dealer here is just one person. And the Mercedes Dealer the "Center" is part of, just gives out this guy's cell number when calling in. That's why I'm looking for web links.
Try calling another smart service center in the region or country and ask them to charge & ship the parts.
Might be good to provide a link to the eBay store. Hard to find "good" sellers on eBay sometimes.
