03 W211 AC problems
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: South Orange Co., CA
'03 W211 aka E-500
03 W211 AC problems
Does anyone else have any issues with their air conditioning?
Mine blows. Figuratively only, unfortunately.
First off, that touted-feature wherein the car adapts to where the sun is and ups your a/c appropriately to stay in tune with your digital thermostat is horse****.
Second off, the a/c blows only slightly cold air. I think it used to work previously, but living in So Cal I have little need for it. I needed it desperately this last week or so, and it is useless.
Anyone else experience this?
Thanks!
EDJ
Mine blows. Figuratively only, unfortunately.
First off, that touted-feature wherein the car adapts to where the sun is and ups your a/c appropriately to stay in tune with your digital thermostat is horse****.
Second off, the a/c blows only slightly cold air. I think it used to work previously, but living in So Cal I have little need for it. I needed it desperately this last week or so, and it is useless.
Anyone else experience this?
Thanks!
EDJ
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Bucks, PA
2003 E500 Sport, 2004 E500 Wagon
I have to agree, my old Saab did a far better job of balancing internal temp with external humidity and sun light. I adjusted the temp in the Saab maybe one a week (ok, subzero temps I jacked it up a bit), the Benz I adjust 5 times on my ride to work, more if the humidy is high and the sun is coming up.
The A/C does get very cold for me, but again I find it does NOT deal with variations in humidy...and in this area that is a big deal. Driving from NY to PA yesterday as the sun was getting lower and coming directly in the windscreen I had to keep decreasing the temperature even though the outside temp was pretty constant.
The A/C does get very cold for me, but again I find it does NOT deal with variations in humidy...and in this area that is a big deal. Driving from NY to PA yesterday as the sun was getting lower and coming directly in the windscreen I had to keep decreasing the temperature even though the outside temp was pretty constant.
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Joined: May 2003
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From: Northern NJ
2014 BMW 550i
I've mentioned it before, but I'm not very impressed with the system at all. Sure, I would say that it is accurate, in that I do not have to adjust the temp very much at all, but it just never gets very cold. When temps were in the 90's here in NJ, the car stayed at max cool on my entire 20 minute trip home from work, mainly highway on several occassions, as the system just was not able to keep up. Very recently I had a Volvo loaner, and the system was MUCH better at cooling down the cabin. Same trip, and by the end of the trip, the fan speed had adjusted itself several notches down.
On top of this, I am very reluctant to change the rear temp on the 4-zone during the summer, as half the time that will cause hot air to come out the back vents until I restart the car. In winter, sometimes cold air comes out the back, and I have to restart the car in order to get it working again.
On top of this, I am very reluctant to change the rear temp on the 4-zone during the summer, as half the time that will cause hot air to come out the back vents until I restart the car. In winter, sometimes cold air comes out the back, and I have to restart the car in order to get it working again.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Sacramento
'08 AM Vantage V8 - '03 E500
The two most common causes of insufficient cooling are, I would guess, insufficient refrigerant and insufficient cooling capacity of the A/C. I have never found the cooling of our '03 to be less than adequate, even on a 105° summer day in Sacramento. The refrigerant system of a new car should go for years without having to add R134a, or whatever it takes, but since my car cools very well, I have to wonder if the cars that don't, have enough refrigerant. The A/C system on my old Datsun leaked a lot (yes, A/C - I was living out by Palm Springs when I bought it) when I kept it charged and I was always adding R12 to it.
I have to second the comments about how the W211 system doesn't maintain a temperature very well. It's always blowing too hard and too cold after the first few minutes; we end up turning the temp up to 78° or something like that and manually turning down the fan.
I have to second the comments about how the W211 system doesn't maintain a temperature very well. It's always blowing too hard and too cold after the first few minutes; we end up turning the temp up to 78° or something like that and manually turning down the fan.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Ohio
ML-350, Maserati Quattroporte
I'm sure your local MB dealer can fix part of the problem. Many other threads on this too. Try https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ight=jprescott
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From: FL410
'05 E320 CDI, '08 BMW X5 4.8i, '11 Duramax 2500HD
EDJ, so nice to see you on the W211 board!
Man, you could hang meat in my car, even when the OAT is 110 degrees... I would take it to the dealer and tell him "make it work".. and accept nothing less than cold (frigid) air! Mine gets so cold when set to 68, it can actually give me a headache.
Man, you could hang meat in my car, even when the OAT is 110 degrees... I would take it to the dealer and tell him "make it work".. and accept nothing less than cold (frigid) air! Mine gets so cold when set to 68, it can actually give me a headache.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 113
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From: Scottsdale, AZ
Originally Posted by CE750
EDJ, so nice to see you on the W211 board!
Man, you could hang meat in my car, even when the OAT is 110 degrees... I would take it to the dealer and tell him "make it work".. and accept nothing less than cold (frigid) air! Mine gets so cold when set to 68, it can actually give me a headache.
Man, you could hang meat in my car, even when the OAT is 110 degrees... I would take it to the dealer and tell him "make it work".. and accept nothing less than cold (frigid) air! Mine gets so cold when set to 68, it can actually give me a headache.
Mine too, it is freezing. And it is often 110 degrees here.
Have you checked the position of the roller dial between the two center vents. I think needs to be rolled all the way towards the front of the car.
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From: South Orange Co., CA
'03 W211 aka E-500
Originally Posted by E55 and 993
Mine too, it is freezing. And it is often 110 degrees here.
Have you checked the position of the roller dial between the two center vents. I think needs to be rolled all the way towards the front of the car.
Have you checked the position of the roller dial between the two center vents. I think needs to be rolled all the way towards the front of the car.
:grrrr:
EDJ
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: South Orange County, CA
4 wheels
No problems here with the E55 or E350. It gets quite cold, to the point where you can cool meat like Sam said. I think you have some bad sensors or a leak in the refrigerant. Take it to Fletcher Jones, or Laguna Niguel and demand that they fix it.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Orange County, CA
'05 E320, '07 MDX
During your long drive, were you using recirc or outside air? The reason I ask is because I remember reading somewhere that if you use only recirc for a long time, the evaporator can freeze and reduce your cooling output. It may not make much sense, but I remember a few years ago I drove a Ford through the central valley in the summer, and noticed it was able to cool better in outside air mode than recirc mode. Don't know if this applies to the W211 or not; anyone care to comment?
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Climate control
Originally Posted by alewifebp
I've mentioned it before, but I'm not very impressed with the system at all. Sure, I would say that it is accurate, in that I do not have to adjust the temp very much at all, but it just never gets very cold. When temps were in the 90's here in NJ, the car stayed at max cool on my entire 20 minute trip home from work,
