260 Ch eck ing and filling
& WARNING
Stop! Before working in the engine com-
partment, always read and heed all WARN-
INGS
~ A in Working in the engine com-
partment on page
256 . The engine com-
pa rt ment of any motor ve hicle is a poten-
tially da ngerous area and can cause ser i-
ous personal injury.
- The eng ine depends on o il to lubr icate
and cool a ll of its moving pa rts. The en-
gine o il m ust be che cked reg ularly and
kept at the required leve l.
- Make it a habi t to have the eng ine oil lev-
el checked every t ime you fill the fue l
tank .
- Too litt le engi ne oil may cause seve re e n-
gine damage.
Checking the engine oil level
The dipstick indicates the engine oil level.
Fig. 24 3 Illustrat ion of principle 1: Markers on oil dip -
st ick
Fig. 2 44 Illust rat ion of principl e 2: Markers on oil dip-
st ick
Before you chec k anythin g in the eng ine com-
partment,
always read and heed all WARN-
INGS ~ .&. in Working in the engine compart-
ment on page
256.
Determin ing oil level
• Park your vehicle so that it is horizontally
level.
• W hile at operat ing state tempe rature, brief-
ly let the engine run at idle and then shut it
off .
.. Wait approx. two minutes .
.. Pull out the oil dipst ick. Wipe off the oil dip-
stick with a clean cloth, and slide it back in
as far as it w ill go.
• Pull it back out and read off the o il level
~
fig. 243 o r ~ fig. 244. Top off the eng ine
oil, if applicable ~
page 261.
Oil level within range 0
• Do not add oil.
Oil leve l within range @
• You can add oil. Afterwards, the oil leve l
should be within range
G).
Oil level within range 0
• You must add oil. Afterwards , the oil leve l
should be wit hin range
G).
The oil leve l needs to be checked at regular in-
te rvals. The best ti mes to do th is are whenev -
er you refuel a nd prior to long t rips .
Depend ing on the way the vehicle is dr iven
and the ope rat ing cond itions, oil consumption
can be up to
1 quart pe r 1,200 m iles (I liter
per
2,000 km). Consumption may be higher
within t he first
3,000 miles (5,000 km) .