Hello all,

First off, this is my first Benz so excuse me if my questions sound really, really dumb.

In the E-Class, the default setting for the air conditioner is always "on" as far as I know. You actually have to press the button to turn it "off".

My dumb questions are:

1) Is this standard among MB models to have the AC always on, as default?

2) If you leave the default as-is (i.e. on), would this mean that the car would need more frequent re-charging of freon? My previous car, 528i, didn't need a freon re-charge for 4 years.

I'm just used to cars where it's the opposite - you have to actually turn on the AC. I turned off the AC for a few minutes last week and ever since then, I've now noticed a slight musty odor out of the vents when starting the car. Hopefully, it'll go away as the moisture dries up.


Thanks!

 

I just asked this question a few days ago in another topic. It seems during initial start up the A/C is on to dehumidify the car so it won't fog up and then turn itself off after a few minutes of driving. The A/C will go on even though the A/C button is turned off. My '97 E320 never had this feature but I guess this is normal. BTW, thanks to the board members for responding to this question.

 

I've noticed the same thing with my CLK 500...just started a week or so ago. I don't beleive the CLK has the auto on AC but I could be mistaken. I tried spraying Lysol into the AC air intake under the hood(this worked great on a new BMW with the same problem) the Lysol came out through the vents just fine but did not work this time. I've read if you turn off the AC compressor the last few minutes of driving to your destination and leave the fan on full it helps to dry out the evaporator. Funny I never had to deal with any of this on my CLK 430

 

Actually, that's what I was trying to do when I turned off the AC because I recalled that tip from the old Acura Integra days (they were notorious for getting musty AC's). I thought I would try it out with the E320 but ended up with the musty odor! I never had the musty odor before when I left the AC on and shut down the car. Go figure!! :p

 

Activate the 'Rest' mode when you leave the car. This will recirculate the air in the cabin while you're gone.

 

My last Mercedes had to have the AC actively turned on for it to function, so this is new for me. When I took delivery of my car, they recommended that I always leave the AC on, but I tend to push the AC Off button a lot. I also notice this vinegary musty odor when the AC is off.

My dealer is having an evening get together tomorrow night for all recent Mercedes buyers. I have several questions for them and I'll bring this up.

 

I wonder if MBTECH 208 knows anything to help us??

 

OK, I brought this question up at this evening's meeting, and the tech rep had several suggestions:

Turn off the AC compressor the last few minutes of driving to your destination. or

Turn the defroster on periodically. (why would that work? and, no, I didn't ask him)

The idea is to dry out the box inside the system that collects moisture in it.

Definitely do not spray Lysol into the system!!!

 

Thanks for the info...not sure I agree with the lysol as many AC facilities use a product with similar ingredients to kill the oganisms on the evaporator, they have told me it's almost as effective as the stuff they use with the difference of thier product gets sprayed right on/into the evaporator with a special hose and the product foams up.

We should not have to do any of this, my92 300, 99 ,00 and 01 430 NEVER had a problem with mildew in the AC system...IMHO it's just more first model year BS.

 

Thank you for asking, Sue - much appreciated!

I still don't get it though - I did turn off the AC one time just to play around and that is when the mildewy odor started showing up in the vents. Oh well. While driving into work this morning, I turned up the fan speed to hopefully continue drying out the moisture.

In terms of the defroster, maybe he meant front windshield defroster since that usually blasts warm air through the front vents? I'll try that next time.

 

Just a quick update for everyone -

I tried Sue's recommendation and turned on my front defroster for a few minutes (~ 5 mins) during my last two drives before arriving home. The musty odor hasn't appeared since when starting the car so the tip may have worked!

We shall see...

 

I did this too and it worked for a while, but if I used the the ac and did not run the defroster or the ac with compressor off for a few days for the last few miles on the way to my final destination, the smell returned. Check my post under the thread My New E500 Experience page 2 for the possible cause of all this.