Well it was bound to happen, the time has come to finally take my car to a dealer for service. I chose a dealer about 20 minutes from where I live, because the dealer I purchased my car from is 9hrs. away.
My car just turned up 29k, so I stopped in yesterday and made an appointment for next week. (When their certified Crossfire tech would be back from Vegas).
I'm having the Radiator flushed, new transmission fluid, fresh differential lubricant, rotors turned with Rotex Gold installed on all 4 wheels, and a front end alignment.
They informed me that Chrysler recommended changing the spark plugs every 15k miles, which I thought was a little strange for Platinum's, so I told them I'd have to think about it.
They called me today and said the 12 spark plugs cost $300.00!! So I told them I'd take care of them myself.
My question, has anybody else heard about the plugs costing that much, and needing to be replaced every 15k? It sounds like a way to "Pad" the service ticket to me. And what brand of plugs do our cars come with?

 

we should be running bosch platinum and no.. changing platinum plugs every 15k miles does not make sense.. recomended mileage change for iridium plugs is not even that low.. sounds like they are just trying to cheat you..

and no they do not cost 300...

 

Platinum plugs don't need to be replaced till 100,000 miles for most cars unless they're fouled for some reason. Do you use 91 octane or higher? lower than 91 could cause them to foul.

 

Here's the link for the plugs that most are replacing with. These are suppose to be an upgrade from what we already have. The IK20 is standard and the IK16 is one range colder. Don't forget that we use 12 plugs in our V6's. Hope this helps.
If you do decide to change your plugs now, you might want to consider changing to the Magnacore plug wires also.

http://www.sparkplugs.com/results_cross.asp?pid=5303
http://www.alamomotorsports.com/Magn..._mercedes.html

 

Wow, I wasn't aware of these motors taking 12 plugs.!!!!! Question, where can I get a diagram or crossview picture of our engine? 12? Are you sure?

 

....Yep....

 

According to the service manual chapter 8i page 20, the plugs should be good for 100k miles under normal driving conditions. Gap at .039 and put 21 ft lbs on reinstallation. I'm with everyone else, I think the mortgage is due or someone is trying to retire early.

 

or the boat or pool payment is due.

 

I wouldn't let them mess with my plugs either Mike. Good decision.... Good luck with everything else.

 

Generally platinum plugs will last 100k +/-, unless you do only drive in stop and go traffic. The flushing of the cooling system, is also excessive maintenance at 29k unless there is a sludge build up in the coolong system. Trans fluid change is not required at 29k unless it is "burnt" and if the differential fluid is synthetic will probably last the life of the xfire and if it's not and you don't abuse it about 100k. The biggest "mistake" people make is the over maint. of a vehicle. While this won't harm the vehicle it may require you to put off some required maint due to lack of funds. Also, I have read numerous comments here about changing the oil filters at 3k, but that is absoulutely not required. I manage a lagre fleet of vehicles (for a living) and the only oil filter failures I have ever seen in my 30+ years in the automotive industry were due to either a manufacturing defect or improper installation, they will definitely last as long as ANY OIL Change.

 

According to the owners manual trans fluid doesn't need to be changed until 80,000 miles and then never again. In my opinion I'd cancel the appointment, sounds like you're doing a lot of maintenance for no reason. The only thing that may need to be changed at this point is the air filter.

 

+fireamx,

I am an advocate of preventive maintenance, but you may be spending money you don't need to yet. The antifreeze, MoparAntifreeze/Coolant, 5 Year/100,000 Mile Formula (MS-9769), is a HOAT antifreeze; it is a hybrid organic acid technology coolant and is good for five years. Like AIG stated the transmission is sealed and good for 80K. I understand your concern with the rotors when replacing the pads but unless they are warped or gouged at 29K I would just replace the pads, otherwise, I would replace the rotors because I am not a fan of turned rotors.

 

I appreciate every body's opinions, so don't think they're being ignored.
The reason for the antifreeze flush is because the engine is aluminum, and I've read a great deal, and talked to a lot of mechanics about the damage that can be caused by neglect.
(Google: antifreeze PH balance.) It's good to know that the antifreeze that comes in the car is something "special", and I'm going to specifically tell them that's what I want to be put back in it. My car was built in Jan. of 04 so it's almost 4 years old, so I'm only changing it a year early.

Since my car is an 04 I have always experienced the "notchy" 1st. to 2nd. gear change problem that goes away after it warms up. But until it does, it feels like the syncros aren't doing their job as well as they should. So I have no doubts that there are metal shavings in the oil.

Changing the differential grease may be overkill, but I figured it won't hurt. Besides, my car is a 6 speed and there is more back and forth motion or "play" of the pinion gear than with an automatic. So when there is "movement", there's wear and tear.

Like Idaho mentioned, I too am not a great believer in having the rotors turned down, and I've been giving it a lot of thought. I think I'm going to just have them replace the pads and that's all.

As for oil changes, I do them myself. I did go over 5k once, and that was the first time I ever heard what sounded like "lifter" noise. Up until that time my engine was as silent as a church mouse. That's why I change my oil and filter between 4 and 4.5k. I use nothing but Mobil 1, and a Mercedes filter.

I'll probably change the air filters myself next spring.

I knew the spark plug 15k mile "factory suggested" change was bogus. I just wondered if anybody else had got the same news from their dealers. I still haven't priced them out, but $300.00 seems outrageous.

If I didn't plan on keeping this car for a very, very long time, I probably wouldn't do half of the things I've been doing. But until I can find a good Mercedes mechanic that is willing to work on my car, I'm going to try and do as much as I can to prevent the need for unnecessary repairs.

I'll let everybody know how well the dealer did, and how badly or how well they treated my car. I am going to put tape over my door sills (where everybody likes to scuff their shoes) and I wish I had a steering wheel "cozy" to protect my cedar wheel from dirty hands, but I don't.
It's going in Wednesday, so stay tuned.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

Every 30,000 miles or so, you can pull the plugs, clean them, check the gaps and replace them yourself. It will let you know early if there is an issue with the engine too.

Just a thought.

 

+fireamx,

I forgot you had a stick, changing the tranny oil may help. I've had a about a 50/50 success rate with improved shifting on Jeeps, which are notorious for temperamental shifting.

Just an FYI you might want to see what the dealership is going to charge you for the replacement antifreeze. I see on the MB board that people were being charged $25 a gallon and our car takes nearly 3 gallons. Valvoline Zerex G-05 at the parts dealership is $10.99

 

Two plugs and three valves best picture I have found so far is here;

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/new_V6.html

Not a fantastic view but you get the idea of how complex the engine is, by the way the exhaust is the single valve with sodium cooling, first developed in WWII for aero engines.

 

We bought our Crossfire mostly due to me (wife) wanting one whole bunches. Every time I read over the posts to him about the amazing amounts of things/stuff/gallons/parts and costs, I hear "Oh my God woman what have you gotten us into!?" PS: he loves this car as much as me, how could he not. Although he did sell his 77 Corvette (he was the original and only owner of it) to make room for the XF-I have a wonderful hubby.