WyattEarp

About a month 1/2 ago the AC stopped working in the Coupe and the engine light came on. I took it into the dealer and they asked me for $1600 for a new wiring harness and an AC Evaporator Temperature Sensor.

The A/C only cooled from one side so I took it back. Now they say they want $2700 for replacing the whole Ac Evaporator unit which is inside the dashboard next to the firewall.

Now this is a 2002 Coupe in good condition with 74000 miles. I can probably only get 10 to 12K max for the car.

Anyone with any similar experiences?

WyattEarp

^bump^

WyattEarp

Well I guess no one wants to talk about how expensive it is to keep a benz.

Outland you have an 02 anything like this?

WyattEarp

^bumpity.bump^

mleskovar

No similar experience, but...a couple years/models back Benz had many evaporator failures and required removing the dash to get at the part....like $5K - $6K worth of work. An evaporator is $430 on line. I wonder how much an indy would charge to install it? What about dealer warranty on the last fix? I thought they charged you $1600 to fix the AC?

Outland

Yeah, I agree. Nothing similar on my car. But then again, I live in Wisconsin...we only use the AC in January(to clean the frost off the window).

1. Make sure this is the right diagnosis. See a different dealer.
2. Dispute the price. Repeatedly. Ask them why they effed up your car, and blew the diagnosis.
3. If its legit, and nobody will budge on the price, an independent shop is your best bet. Finding one with the right computer tools for a modern Benz could be an issue. I'm not sure if any Das work would be needed after replacing the evaporator.
4. Call MBUSA. They do suck, but frankly MB sales are on the slide, they might actually want you to buy another benz in the future. Make sure they understand that relationship.

Good luck.

shorthair

That doesn't sound right.

If it is blowing cold air on one side then there is something wrong with the flow controls, not the evaporator.

Ask to talk to the mechanic and to explain to you why you would need a new evaporator when it is blowing cold air on one side of the car. Who knows, maybe it was the SA blowing smoke trying to pad his numbers and the mechanic never actually looked at it. I would definitely get another opinion.

WyattEarp

They did fix it for 1600 and that is my current line of defense. I was told by stealer that an indy would most likely screw up the car since they virtually have to tear it completely apart to get at the evaporator.

Why haven't the engineers at daimler moved the evaporator to an easier place to get at? I think it's ridiculous to have that much labor on a $430 part.

WyattEarp

It's blowing colder air from the right side, but the air flow is not very strong at all on the cold side. The flow on the left side is very strong but it's just a fan air temp is same as external.

shorthair

Air flow should be mostly symetrical from side to side. Play with all the settings and positions. If it is not you should start with that first.

There are a bunch of actuators to control airflow in the cabin, and since they replaced the wiring harness they may have messed one or more of them up.

I agree with the dealer - to replace the evaporator they have to rip the entire dashboard out and an indy may screw it up.

mleskovar

Evaporators go bad because they leak Sometimes you can spray a liquid in them that solidifies when it hits the air.....and blocks the leak. Doesn't always work or doesn't always last a long time but sometimes it does and is worth a try.

Outland

He's got a good point. This is gonna sound dumb, but are all the vent thumbwheels opened fully?

WyattEarp

All thumbwheels fully opened

The left side blows much stronger than the right. The right is somewhat cold not real cold.

The dealer offered to pay for half of the parts (approx 400) so I would stil be stuck with a 2300 bill. I told them thanks but no thanks and then called MBUSA. The rep told me they would get back to me within a couple of days. If they decide not to pay for it no sweat it will be the last benz I own. Going back to VW :p

shorthair

The more I think about this the more I really feel they just didn't put it back together correctly. Is there another dealer you can try? They might be able to correctly diagnose for an hour or two of labor.

Definitely speak to the mech team lead at the dealer for the team that serviced it and go over things. (Ignore the SA and the managers.) Have him tell you why the air flow is so messed up and why it was returned to you in that condition when it clearly wasn't like that when you brought it in.

shorthair

Here is a sample picture of the heater box. You can see it has a bunch of parts that they could easily mess up. (A C320 has even more parts)

mleskovar

That's exactly what a friend of mine said about his '95 TD. They said no, he traded it in for a Lexus SUV and has been happy ever since. You couldn't give him a MB for free. Try an indy shop (or a few!) before you go over to the dark side.

Outland

You probably should realize that they do read the forumns, and youre not helping your chances this way.

I agree with shorthair, it sounds like the dealer phucked this up.

WyattEarp

If they do read the forum then my guess is they will try to make it right. I love my benz(s) I'm just not willing to give my hard earned money away given the perceived value of what I am receiving.

WyattEarp

Well it's goodbye 2002 coupe. I've received no response from MBUSA hence I am officially dumping the 02 coupe for a VW Passat for my wife. In 36 months I will say goodbye to Mercedes Benz permanently. Hopefully it will help out the rest of you.

TechSuperstar

I know it's been 6 months since the last update to this thread, but I just want to let others know I now have the same damn problem!!! It is true that one side will come out colder than the other, I think this might just be cause the AC coolant is low and happens to get to one side better than the other. My vents were all fine prior to the evap core going. You can tell it is low on coolant because you'll get a hissing sound that gets louder and goes away. Anyway, I'm in the same predicament. $2000 to fix the evap core. The work time calls for 11 hours!

Anyway, I'm thinking of doing it myself with some help from a relative thats cert to work on A/C's. He's just never taken out the dash of a MB. Anyone know a good place to maybe get some diagrams of the dash, or directions on how to start taking the thing out? I've already had some parts off before, I'm just figuring there a MUCH bigger picture.

Maybe its time for an 08' C350 ??

scottyballz

The AC condensor went in mine this summer, 03 coupe, and was told by GermanStar MB uses a pour quality condensor that is know to fail, so I paid a few bucks more and got a better quality condensor.

This will be my last MB, too many problems, Lexus or Audi next.