Mercedes-Benz dealer charges electric vehicle owner for oil change
Aussie guy unleashes at Mercedes dealership after they charged him hundreds of euros for an engine oil change – despite his car being electric
- EV driver charged $445 for engine oil change
- His Mercedes-Benz is fully electric
- Clearly the bill was itemized incorrectly
An electric car owner called a Mercedes-Benz dealer after being charged more than $400 for “changing the engine oil,” despite his car being all-electric.
The driver took his Mercedes-Benz EQA-250 to a leading Mercedes Benz dealer in Melbourne for servicing on April 11.
In a video posted to social media, the driver shared his shock after discovering he had been charged $445 for changing the engine oil and filter.
This despite the fact that fully electric vehicles do not need an engine oil or filter change because they do not have a combustion engine.
Matty initially had no doubts about the $700 bill, which is a service price set by the manufacturers, since he expected to pay a high price for a luxury car service.
“When I drove off I thought a damn $700 bucks was expensive for a service.
However, upon closer inspection of the itemized invoice, he noticed that the mechanics were charging him for an oil and filter change, despite his EV not needing one.
The driver took his Mercedes-Benz EQA-250 to a Melbourne dealership for servicing (pictured)
“I thought I should take a look at the bill and $445! $445 for what? To perform an engine oil and filter change,” he said.
The problem is that this car is fully electric. They commissioned me to change the oil and filter of an all-electric car. Non-Hybrid – Fully Electric.
‘I thought let me check this; I’ve been driving this car for two years now; let’s check it again for the 14th time today – it’s definitely electric.
The video has been viewed nearly 40,000 times and fellow drivers called out the dealer.
“That’s the price you pay for driving a Mercedes,” one person commented.
“Yes sir, we didn’t charge you for oil, but we did wash the batteries,” another person joked.
A third person added: “Obviously they put premium air in the tires.”
The driver claims he was charged $445 for an engine oil and filter change despite his car being all-electric (pictured)
Others argued that the bill was poorly worded, as electric vehicles use synthetic oil that needs to be topped up during a service.
“It’s usually a pre-filled invoice, what did the consultant write on the next page and what parts were replaced?” one person asked.
‘Should be described differently for electric cars anyway. Someone is just lazy at Mercedes,” another wrote.
“If EV owners are uneducated… they still use gear oils and motor oils, which are generally just synthetic (man-made),” a third commented.
“You know they need oil for several parts of the car… engine, transmission, diff. The moving parts inside are not lubricated with air,” a fourth person wrote.
The dealer declined to comment on the situation.
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 is the second and most affordable all-electric model from the German automaker in Australia with a pre-road price of $76,800.
The electric car is powered by a 66.5 kWh battery and has a range of 480 km when fully charged.
While electric vehicles don’t use oil in the traditional sense, they use other lubricants that need to be checked routinely, including coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and windshield wiper fluid.