How many of you have replaced these filters per manual's recommendation?
If you don't this feature often should it be replaced as recommended?
They are not cheap so that is why I am asking.....also how easy is it to replaced?

1999 E320

Thanks.

Activated carbon is like a sponge. It can adsorb contaminates until it is 'full' then no more. So if you don't use it it will probably last far beyond the 2 yr or 45,000 mile service schedule.

Changing is pretty easy. There is a chamber under the knee bolster on the passenger side. DIY details on benzworld_dot_org/W210. If replacing beware of cheap imitations with little or recycled activated carbon.

has them priced right.
They get used whether you use them or not.
pollution triggers the use. Bus fumes and such.

I did not realized this was the case...it is a good thing.
So what is the point of having the on/off switch on the dash if it is triggered automatically??

If filters not replaced per recommendation...can it mess up the blower or anything related to it??

thanks.

I wouldn't think there would be any harm in not replacing them except that you get to experience the unpleasant smells of the world around you. The cabin filters should remove solid material from the air flow before it gets to the carbon filter. If your cabin filters get too clogged, it will restrict air flow and possibly stress the blower.
Fred

It was really dirty so I can see how it could make the blower work harder.
So it sounds like those cabin filters already catches the "big stuff" before getting to the carbon filters....so the chances of the blower working "harder" if the carbon filters are dirty is not there.

There are sensors in the engine bay to monitor CO (carbon monoxide) and NOx (nitrous oxides). If their levels are high (such as driving behind a bus all day ) the system will go into recirculation mode (no makeup air) and direct air thru the activated carbon filters to improve cabin air quality. You can also manually activate the system when driving where there are objectionable odors (rendering plant?) or for objectionable cabin air quality such as smoking or ?. The system will go back to normal after about 15 min. This is pretty completely covered in the owners manual.

i'm a fugal person (aka somewhat of a cheap ***). I purchased activated
charcoal granules in bulk. took the charcoal filter and gutted it, but kept
the framwork intact. poured loose charcoal into panty hose and tied it
off. dropped it back into the carrier and reinserted it back into the car.

you should be able to find charcoal locally at swimming pool, chemical
supply, fish aquarium outfit.....or ebay, relatively inexpensively. just be
sure it's quality grade.

at the price i purchased, swap out came to about $5.

or you can ignore it like me, and breath the same air that you breath outside, or when you're in your house.

activated charcoal and rinse in distilled water dry and reinstall.It comes clean and lasts forever.
I use it behind buses and driving through the valley past the dairy farms at high speed.

PMed about this so I'll post my ghetto fix.

I really wasn't that picky about the size of the granules. I picked up which
closely resembled that which was removed from the OEM filter. i figured
charcoal filteration wasn't going to be that critical. just be sure you buy
quality media.

i dont have a pic of a modified filter. too dark to run over to my brother's
car which I last performed this mod.

Is Fugal a sort of cross between fungal and frugal ?

it's my chinese axent

A word of warning. The Mele aftermarket carbon filters(and probably others) have WAY less carbon than the factory filters. Better off to get filters directly from Mercedes. Mele units are carbon impregnated paper, my factory filters are a basically filled with activated carbon. Bought the Mele, not knowing the difference, lasted less than a year. Factory filters lasted at least 5 years (don't know if the previous owner replaced the factory filter or not)

I change mine once a year, in fall!

Many thanks to raymond for the pictures in the pdf file. Without it I was always trying to figure out how to remove the knee bolster.

I do agree. The stock carbon filter was very heavy due to the carbon. The Mele filter was very light but they are much cheaper than the stock ones though. However, the Mele filter really do look similar to the cabin air filter. I wonder what difference is that going to make if I left the Mele filter in there? Is it just another layer to filter the dust/smog and that's it?