Car Model History

Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan · 6.9-liter M100 fuel-injected V8 (250 hp U.S.)

1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 Automatic

The Mercedes-Benz Club of America's U.S. product table places the 450 SEL 6.9 in model year 1978; non-U.S. W116 variants are deliberately excluded.

1978 Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W116) — sedan, front three-quarter view
Exact 1978 S-Class reference photograph; exact configuration not verified ·

Photo: “Mercedes-Benz 1978 Bulldogtreffen 2012” by Gwafton / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 16:9.

Factory configuration

What this model is

Trim
450 SEL 6.9
Body style
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan
Engine
6.9-liter M100 fuel-injected V8 (250 hp U.S.)
Transmission
3-speed automatic

Configuration-specific ownership

Maintenance for this exact configuration

These items are filtered to the engine, transmission, trim, and model-year applicability recorded for this configuration. Broad Amazon category searches are suppressed here; shopping links appear only beside catalog-backed part numbers.

Service desk

What this car needs & when

Use this as a service-planning checklist for 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 Automatic. Start with the interval, confirm which engine or configuration you have, then use an exact ordering reference when one is verified.

Service topics
4
Factory intervals
2
Fitment-scoped
4
Exact references
1

Before orderingIdentify your engine, options and build date.Part numbers and sizes can change within one model year. Shopping links appear only for catalog-backed references; still verify the listing against your vehicle before ordering.

  • Additional maintenance work

    Sourced interval available

    Applies to: 1978 · United States · The factory sheet applies its 1978 passenger-car schedule to all models. Configuration-specific checklist boxes still govern individual operations; the entries below are only the all-model duties printed on the sheet.

    Published interval: 37,500 mi / 60,000 km · Additional work at the printed recurring mileage.

    Source: Mercedes-Benz of North America — 1978 passenger-car maintenance sheet · page 1 — additional maintenance work every 37,500 miles · checked

  • Brake fluid

    Sourced interval available

    Applies to: 1978 · United States · The factory sheet applies its 1978 passenger-car schedule to all models. Configuration-specific checklist boxes still govern individual operations; the entries below are only the all-model duties printed on the sheet.

    Published interval: 12 months · Drain and renew once a year, preferably in spring; use only specified brake fluid.

    Source: Mercedes-Benz of North America — 1978 passenger-car maintenance sheet · page 1 — drain and renew brake fluid once a year · checked

  • Engine air filter

    Exact reference available

    The part reference below is catalog fitment only; retain the separately sourced factory service interval where one is shown.

    Applies to: 1978

    450 SEL 6.9 — 6.9-liter M100 fuel-injected V8 (250 hp U.S.)

    K&N E-2872

    Applies to: 1978 · 6.9-liter M100 fuel-injected V8 (250 hp U.S.) · 450 SEL 6.9 · Exact 1978 450 SEL 6.9 engine application. Confirm VIN and build date before ordering.

    Source: K&N Engineering — 2017 European Automotive Catalog, S-Class application tables (archived copy) · 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 V8 Gas — E-2872 · checked

    Verified ordering references

  • Engine oil filter

    Fitment must be confirmed

    Use the exact engine, VIN, and build date to confirm the catalogued service part before ordering.

    Applies to: 1978

Sources

  1. Mercedes-Benz Club of America — W116 U.S. product specifications and model-year boundaries
  2. Mercedes-Benz Public Archive — 116-series S-Class model history and production chronology

Other 1978 configurations

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