Merc Service Reminder fiddle??

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Sun 10 Apr 2005 00:37
Merc Service Reminder fiddle?? - AllTorque
I have a Merc estate W210, 320cdi. It's now done 115K miles and is past the stage of £100/hour maintenance at my local but very poor Merc agent (who for some months has not been able to even do MOT's for its customers!). So I took it to a specialist, got great service at half the price, job done on time etc etc. The only thing is.....I've done 2K miles since the service now and the computerised service countdown has dropped from 13000 to 11000, matching the miles travelled. Yet before, the service due mileage showing on the computer lagged behind the actual mileage travelled by at least 30%. Can these gadgets be reset to maximise serviving revenue by only reading back to the next service on a mile-for-mile basis rather than on how the car is driven?

The use of the car has not changed and I am the ony driver. I will take it up with the garage but can anyone let me know if a fiddle exists?
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 01:59
Merc Service Reminder fiddle?? - Bill Payer
I'm very new to Merc ownership (W203 for 1 month) but a couple of things occur to me (which may be totally wrong):
1) Apparently the system counts down differently depending on the type of oil used (fully sythethetic obviously best). I believe you can change that in some kind of hidden menu setting to tell it what spec of oil has been used.
2) Perhaps it has to readjust itself to your type of use each time it's reset? Or maybe (by chance) you've been doing the kind of use that makes the the 2 figures match?

My car C270CDi was 6mths old when I got it and had done 6000 miles, with 8000 to go to service. The dealer told me the 'standard' is 14000 miles and he car will adjust itself depending on use. I only use mine for long motorway journeys at steady speeds and so far it's stayed totally in sync - ie now done 8000 miles and 6000 to service.

What kind of use to you do to get the stretched out service intervals?
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Sun 17 Apr 2005 19:26
Merc Service Reminder fiddle?? - AllTorque
Thanks for the reply. I am going to speak to the garage this week but this gives me some clues as to what may have changed.
The use the car gets is mixed - a work commute is 9 miles each way, but once or twice a fortnight the car will get a long trip (100+ miles).
The car is brilliant - although the fuel consumption is not quite as good as it was, it still exceeds 41mpg on longer trips and 36+ locally - excellent for a 3.2 litre 'barge' with loads of comfort.
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 11:35
Merc Service Reminder fiddle?? - Altea Ego
It could be that the computer has been switched from variable servicing to fixed mileage servicing when it was last re-set.
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