Owning a Mercedes-Benz is a symbol of luxury and performance, but with great power comes great responsibility. Regular servicing is essential to keep your Mercedes in top condition, ensuring it continues to provide a smooth, safe, and reliable driving experience.

Mercedes offers various service levels to cater to the diverse needs of their vehicles, with two of the most common being the A and B services. In this article, we will explore the differences between Mercedes A and B servicing to help you better understand the maintenance requirements for your beloved car.

Mercedes A Service

The Basic Mercedes A Service is often the first scheduled maintenance checkup for a Mercedes vehicle, typically occurring at the 10,000-mile or 12-month mark, whichever comes first. This service is designed to address the essential components and systems that keep your car running smoothly.

Essentially it is a Minor or basic service (oil and filter change, check brake linings, check wipers and top up screen wash, reset service light)

Here are some key features of the Basic Mercedes A Service:

1. Oil Change: The A Service involves an oil and oil filter change to ensure the engine remains well-lubricated and efficient.

2. Fluid Levels: All essential fluid levels, including coolant, brake, and power steering fluid, are checked and topped up as necessary.

3. Tyre Inspection: Tyre pressure, tread depth, and overall condition are examined.

4. Visual Brake Inspection: Your vehicle’s brakes are inspected to ensure they are in good working order. Brake pads and discs are examined, and brake fluid is checked.

Mercedes B Service

The Basic Mercedes B Service is a more comprehensive maintenance checkup, usually performed at the 20,000-mile or 24-month mark. This service builds upon the A Service, addressing additional components and systems.

Essentially a B service is a Major service (detailed inspection of vehicle, brakes and suspension, drive belt, flexible couplings, driveshafts, etc, and includes replacement of the cabin/pollen filter)

Here are the key elements of the Basic Mercedes B Service:

1. All A Service Checks: The B Service includes all the elements of the A Service.

2. Brake check: Wheels off and detailed brake check carried out. Brake pad linings are measured and checked to make sure they are within Mercedes tolerances. Brake disc thickness and condition is also checked to ensure they are within specification too.

3. Suspension checks: A detailed and thorough examination of all suspension items, such as springs, rubber bushes and ball joints.

4. Driveline checks: All items of the driveline are inspected for wear or damage.

5. Cabin/Pollen filter replacement: The cabin air filter is replaced, ensuring that the air you breathe inside the car is clean and free from allergens.

6. Reset Maintenance Counter: The maintenance counter is reset to start tracking the time and mileage until the next service.

The primary difference between Mercedes A and B servicing lies in their comprehensiveness and the frequency at which they are recommended. While both services include crucial elements such as oil changes, tyre inspections, and brake checks, the B Service goes further by addressing many items in greater detail.

It’s important to note that adhering to the recommended service intervals is crucial for preserving your vehicle’s warranty and ensuring its long-term reliability and performance. Neglecting these regular checkups can lead to increased wear and tear, reduced fuel efficiency, and even more significant and costly issues down the road.

Additional service items

Depending on the vehicles age and mileage, additional service items such as greasing the sun roof, air filter change, spark plug change, brake fluid change and many other items can become due to be carried out. These extra items are shown next to the A or B service warning and can be either a number or letter.

Example: A7 service – the number 7 indicates which additional service items that are required. For this particular service, the addition of an automatic gearbox oil and filter change is due as an extra job on top of the basic A service.

Example: BF service – the letter here signifies the additional service items that are required. In this example, it includes, air filter, spark plugs and automatic gearbox service on top of the basic B service.

This list of additional items has been compiled over many years to be as comprehensive and accurate as possible. However, there are sometimes alterations to the list we have created (there is no official Mercedes list).

With this in mind we always check the Assyst Plus menu on your own car to see what service items are being requested, that way we can ensure your Mercedes is always maintained correctly helping keep your car reliable and safe.