RDO247

I've had 3 Mercedes in the last couple of years, a W204 C250, my current W205 C63S and my wife's current W205 C250.

All 3 of these cars air con's stink and smell like dirty socks.

Our W204 we had for nearly 2 years and only noticed a bad smell coming from the A/C after a service.

The smell only only appears when the A/C starts up.

Then we took delivery of our W205 C63S and after our first perfume atomiser ran out that dirty sock smell appeared.

We then sold the W204 and upgraded my wife's work car to a W205 C250 and the same smell is in this car too.

Does anyone else have this smell through their air con?

Is this the reason why Mercedes added a perfume atomiser to the air con system to mask the smell?

Does anyone know how to get rid of this dirty sock smell?

NYCSoiL

Replace cabin air filter?

RDO247

Cabin filter was changed on the w204 and this is when we noticed the smell.

C63S is only 9 months old but will advise the service centre and see what they say.

Do you have issues with yours?

ChaseRMc

For about the last minute of your drive, try turning the AC off, leaving the fan on and open up the recirculation. This will let the fresh air come through and defrost the AC lines so it has a better chance of draining the condensation out of the lines. I haven't had to do this procedure in the Merc yet because it automatically turns the recirculation off as part of the dehumidification function but in my BMW I do it every time. The only other thing I can think is if you guys drive nearby an industrial area or maybe a power plant, you might be getting some of the smell from that stuck in your vents. I notice that in my girl's car every once in a while. If you do the recirculation routine at the end of your drive everyday, hopefully it will help with that.

RDOCA

Could the condensation drain hose be kinked or plugged? Does it drip water when sitting in one spot with AC on?

mo11

Time to wash all your socks? Maybe time to replace socks? Sorry, just had to do it, hahaha!

Do you drive with the engine auto stop/start mode? With this feature the a/c compressor stops together with the engine. The cooling coils inside the cabin will start to sweat and drain. When the engine starts again, the a/c starts working and the condensation on the cooling coils is what gives off that smell. I just turn the auto stop/start feature off. I hate when temps fluctuate inside the cabin anyways.

Lastly, check under the seats for any old socks you or a passenger may have left in there... hahaha! Sorry i can't help myself... jk!

RDO247

thanks for this, I'll try this next time I go out.

RDO247

No dirty socks, and I only drive in Sports + so no stop/start.

dieseldoc

Had this problem with my w204 class. Replaced filter and had dealer clean hvac system. No more smell.

RDO247

Should I be expecting this in a new car though (W205)?

The W204 had that done and that's when we noticed the smell, we actually thought they put something in our A/C.

I'll talk to the dealership and see what they say.

Just a strange thing to happen in all our Mercedes, new and old and never had this issue with any of our BMW's.