pcohen15

Hi:

I just bought an '04 CLK 500 cabrio. 31k miles, seven months to go on 4/50 factory warranty so I'm hoping to catch everything in the next seven months ;-) I'm due for Service B in 2500 miles, and my local dealer said that '04 and prior years had Service A and B included in warranty work.

I live in AZ, so you know it's hot. Very hot. 100+ for six months of the year (no dry heat quips,
please). I drove the car from L.A. to Phoenix last week, and it ran like a champ. Around town here, when the fan kicks on (the AC runs non-stop, as you can imagine), it literally sounds like an airplane engine. It's audible from hundreds of feet away.

I called the dealer just to ask a few questions, and one was about the fan noise. He acknowledged that it was very loud, but normal, nonetheless. I have read a few posts on forums when researching this issue, and it seems to be a not-uncommon occurance. The water temp is OK, regardless of outside temperature. The service mgr. said that the sensor measures the under hood temp, not merely the water temp, and activates the fan accordingly.

These days, we have temps in the low 100s -- which is to say between 100 and 110. Single-digit humidity. So just siting outside, the temp under hood will be high. Yes, the car is black, to make matters worse.

So before I accept whatever the service manager tells me about the fan noise when I bring the car in for the Service B, I'm wondering if others in this forum have the same noisy fan. If so, what has been your course of action, or is it just SOP? It seems way out of line for a car of this cost, but then again, quirks are quirks, regardless of price.

I'll appreciate any info on this topic. Thanks in advance.

Chi500

I used to have a CLK500, and also noticed the incredibly loud fan noise, but only when I was outside of the vehicle. Are you noticing the noise from the inside of the car? The way I looked at it, since it didn't bother me while driving, I'd rather have an incredibly loud fan than an overheating engine. I don't think anything is wrong with it, and unless it's an annoyance, I say let it be.

pcohen15

You're correct ... it's only noisy outside the car. Given how loud it is, it says a lot about the insulation! I agree with your advice. I'm inclined to overlook the noise if the car stays cool. Nobody else will be able to overlook it, but who cares.

Thanks for your reply.

Eich

My '04 is the same way. A few years ago, I had an '03 and the fan was loud all the time. A Technical Service Bulletin came out to address the issue. I had it done on my '03 and rarely ever heard the "jet engine" again. I'm wondering if I should take my '04 in now...

Here's a link to a thread discussing the TSB:
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...&highlight=fan

pcohen15

Thanks for the link to the TSBs. I may print that and take it with me to the dealership when I get the Service B done.

I want to be clear. It's not that the fan comes on at odd times, it's that when it does come on, it roars.

Eich

Yes - and I'm not sure if the extreme roar is 100% normal or not. I just remember that after I had the TSB done to my 2003, I never noticed the roar again. Of course, I don't live in "100+ degree for 90% of the time" country either !

pcohen15

Thursday, it's supposed to be really warm here: 110 is forecast.

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

Gojaroo

I have a 2005 CLK 500 coupe and I like in the Washington DC Metro Area.
Its not as hot as Arizona but super humid enough during the summer to more than make up for it.

Anyways, if I leave my car outside and turn it on with the AC set on auto, it will display MAX COOL and you can easily hear that jet engine sound from the engine fan outside the car. I usually just manually set the AC fan speed lower and the engine fan will usually slow down. My car is externally silver with a black interior.

Hope this helps.

I'm not a tree hugger or a bloody hippie, but I do notice that summers are less bearable even with AC compared to when I was little sitting in my mom's old Volvo that didn't even have a working AC.