Does the new E class suffer from the plague? It's seems to be pretty common on the GLK's. My lease is coming due, and I'm planning on getting a 2012 E350. Here in Houston we use our A/C ALOT!!

When I turn my A/C off for just a day, or overnight, and then turn it back on, I get this terrible moldy/mildew smell. It only last for like 10-15 seconds. Mercedes says they can spray our the A/C ducts and clean the condensor, but it's only a temporary fix, and it will eventually come back. And they'll have to charge me for the job!! I've also change the cabin filter, and that doesn't help.

Well last light we went out to dinner with my neighbors, and my A/C has been off for several months now. So you can imagine what we had coming!!! The worst I've even smelled it!!! Luckily, they have a sense of humor, and we laughed it off. But, I was soooo embarrased!! I went on and on about how I really enjoy my Mercedes and how great the new E350 looks. I'm going to Mercedes today to get a better look at a new E Class, and to mess with the A/C.

Has anybody else had this issue with their E Class?? Thanks!!

 

I haven't noticed it in my w212 yet but my 211 has the problem. I've also noticed the same smell in my 08 honda civic but not as bad as the 211. These cars have one thing in common and that's the cabin filter. I've never had this from any other cars I've owned.

 

My 2010 E had this issue at 15K miles. very hot summer constantly using A/C
basically required a cabin filter change and a spraying of all the vents.

said that the constant use of the a/c especially in extreme temps tended to shorten the life of the filter. Sounds like BS but changing the filter worked for me and it has not returned but I'm also only 7K miles later.

FYI changing the filter yourself will run you about $65 but dealer charge was almost $100.

 

I have not had the problem with my E350. I have had it with other vehicles.

Changing the cabin filter was the solution in my case.

Another possibility is a plugged or obstructed condensate drain or line.

Letting the car run for a few minutes with the AC off in humid weather at the end of a trip may help eliminate excess condensate.

 

I don't have the patience to sit and wait a few minutes after a trip. What I do is when I start a trip and if the bad smell starts I turn on the fan full blast and pop the sunroof to vent.

My car's about a year old w/ less than 12K miles, but I do run the fan on low at all times and turn it up if I need cooler or warmer ambient temp. I would think the filter would last longer.

 

Repeated musty odor from AC vents whether or not dealer already cleaned system request activation of the dry blow feature. This feature will run the AC blower motor for 30 minutes after locking the vehicle. The dry blow feature is set to inactive by the factory and will require a password from MBUSA Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to activate.

Available for 204 built as of 6/08; 211 & 219 as of 6/07; 216 & 221 as of 6/09; 164, X164 & 251 after 1/06.

 

Try turning off the AC compressor before you reach your destination.

If the smell persists remove the cabin filter and inspect it.

 

This is apparently standard and default on 2011 E550. About an hour after return to the garage, the fan starts blowing all by itself. Can't tell how long for sure, but at least 30 minutes.

Of course, in New Mexico, all the mold and mildew is dead on arrival anyway. <G>

 

Correct, 212 is already equipped as such.

 

So I went and drove an E350 last night and brought up to the sales guy the issue with the smell. He said that he has not heard anything about smelly A/C in the E Classes, of course...and he said i should drop off my GLK and have the system blown out.

He also recommended that i run the fan on high for a few minutes prior to me driving, to freshen it up. My issue issue is, I shouldn't have to do that!! It's a Mercedes!! And if I'm going to spend $65,000 on one, i should be able to get in, turn on the A/C, and drive in comfort..

Now I want to stay loyal to Mercedes, but i work for Audi, and they have never had this issue?

 

FWIW,
Combined 21 years and 270k miles in New Orleans & Houston with a pair of Volvos. No smell. My wife has the nose of a bloodhound. If she detects a foul smell our SA will wish he had never met here.
Thanks for the news about the fan dry down. I will bring that up on Saturday.

Wayne

 

My wires car had this issue about six months ago. Dealer took care of it by blowing out system and replacing cabin filter. Has not returned since.

 

MCF, did the dealer do that under warranty?

 

Mine did not. ~$95
said it was part of the 20K service but I was not there yet and couldn't wait.

 

They charged me too...for the filter and labor...didn't tell me until AFTER they did the work. About $80 I think..

 

My wife's 2010 E 350 was one year old and had about 10K miles and the smell was horrible from the A/C when you first turned it on. The MB dealer flushed out the system with some chemical that masked the bad smell. However my wife had an allergic reaction to the chemical and lost her voice and couldnt breath in the car. After two weeks the chemical smell did not lessen one bit. The dealer traded us out into another brand new 2010 E350 for the same payment (was a lease) as she could not even sit in the car. The dealer took care of us but the smell was horrible. Guess what, the new car after one year started developing the smell as well but not as bad as the original car. Due to her allergy issues, she just cracks the windows the first few minutes of driving to ventilate the car then it goes away. What a pain for a $65K car. No smell in the winter time, only when using A/C in hot weather. So yes the E 350 has smelly A/C issues. I drive a GL 350 blutec and absolutely no issues with A/C smell.

 

Take advantage of your Audi discounts and get the new A6! Beats the E in a some areas, specifically technology and exterior design
I've had the AC mildew smell on all my previous and current MB's

 

MCF, I thought that any additional work done on your car (beyond the original estimate) needed your approval. Although the cost was not significant, should you have challenged it?

 

You really think the comparatively uber bland and almost indistinguishable from the model it replaces-A6 has a nicer exterior design than the more dynamic E? It's more simplified and elegant, I'll give it that, aside from the contrived front end that doesn't mesh well with the very sedate and classical sides/rear. Not to mention, last time I checked, Audi's A6 has far less incentives than the E-Class (the plus is that owners will have a bit more "exclusivity" on the roads).

 

Well, exterior wise, yes, especially because of the available full LED headlamps, which the E class does not offer. In addition to full LED headlamps, there are fog lamps (which you can get with bixenons), so Audi didn't compromise style with functionality as MB did when they put in LED's instead of fog lamps on the W212. The design is super modern and the technology surpasses COMAND's, with features such as MMI technology, full 3D google maps, and there are many more personalization options in Audi's "COMAND" than in MB's (for example, I can choose suspension settings, etc.) COMAND is a bit lacking considering even now Toyota's have Bing search.... I think the car has great styling, although not as great as the E's. I always thought the E looked like a different car at every angle because of the shapes MB used, but it is a bit more eccentric than Audi's refined and toned down exterior. Don't get me wrong, I love the E class styling a bit more. I think that when I said the exterior beats MB's, I meant with the tech like the headlamps, etc... The TECH is much better than MB, but MB wins in design. Plus, the exclusivity would be nice near where I live in L.A. I travel up and down Mulholland everyday and most of the shopping/dining is in Beverly Hills, so you can only imagine how many S classes and E classes I see in comparison to Audi's. I do have to say that the number of Audis being driven on the street is increasing. The tech on that car makes the E class seem super outdated in comparison!

For the OP, the reason I recommend Audi is because you will get COMPANY INCENTIVES, I'm sure, which will beat any MB incentives. Also, since you've had prior problems with MB, why continue with an unreliable brand? To be honest, I bought the E class for looks and because MB makes fine cars. If I waited longer, I would have dumped all the Benz's I had for other brands. The service department is terrible with fixing problems and maintenance is expensive. I miss the old days where I never had to pay a dime for brakes or oil changes on my 2001 Town Car.

 

Ohhhh, okay, I agree with you then.

Don't get me wrong, we're all entitled to our own opinion, but when you said "exterior design" I thought you meant the actual design of the A6 surpasses the E-Classes. Again, opinions will vary, but that's hard for me to grasp I guess, as the E is just so, so much more dynamic and cunning (as you said, changes characters in every angle due to all the shapes, i.e dynamism galore).

Yeah, the tech of the A6 surpasses the E. I'm not a huge car-tech junkie so it's not such a big deal to me, but I wouldn't contest it, of course (as with all tech, you don't know what you're missing until you have it, then you can't go back, which is why I won't get a Smartphone unless it falls into my hands). I like the interior of the A6 as well, but prefer the E's more stately and classic approach. Interestingly, I find the E to have a more modern/trendy and even-gimmicky exterior over the A6, while they switch places interior-wise.

 

i used to have different bmw for years and didn't have this "smelly" problem. is it only from our w212 or most mercedes have the same issue? i have some kind of smells before i even turn on the a/c. i'm not sure it's just my imagination or not but when it gets a little better when i have the a/c on a little while.

 

Oh, about the smell issue: My W211 and W211's I've been in had very stinky A/C's, the two W212's I've had have not had any stink problems. Though, they've both had/have under 10K miles.

 

Like K-A, I had two W211s before my W212 and MB acknowledged the "stinky A/C" problem of the past generation E-Class. The reason for this was that the discharge hose, the hose where the condensation from the A/C unit exits, was designed to not drain fully but to capture a small amount of discharged water. If this trapped discharge did not evaporate on its own it allowed bacteria to grow and produce mildew at the end of the discharge tube which spread all the way up to the filter. If mildew was present and the A/C unit was turned on it would permeate through the cabin producing a pungent stench but would eventually stop after a few minutes after enough air passed through the system to blow most of the mildew out of the air vents into the cabin (I know; yuck !). This was more prominent in the spring where people's A/Cs were not used all winter and the mildew had enough time to grow. If you only had mild mildew buildup it was enough to run the A/C a few times (for maybe 2-3 days) and have all the mildew out but in some more severe cases a trip to the dealer would be necessary if you were not handy with a can of fungicide. On the W211 E-Class under the glove box (or maybe through the glove box ?) would be the access point to get into the A/C system and the dealer would replace the old filter for the A/C unit there and also spray some anti-fungal foam into the tubes to kill all mildew spores leaving you with a fresh smelling A/C unit.

After receiving enough complaints MB redesigned the A/C discharge hose on the W212 and currently extracted water does not get trapped inside the hose but drains out of the car almost immediately. While I'm not saying it is impossible to get mildew in the W212's air vents it certainly is much harder then it was to get it on the W211. Search around on YouTube and you will see that every manufacturer is affected by this at some point or another. YouTube will also have videos to show you how to spray the fungicide on your particular model of car. The easiest way to prevent mildew buildup in your A/C unit is to run some warm, dry air about once a week through it to keep those air pipes dry.

 

Our 2009 C350 had this problem. Multiple trips to the dealer never really fixed it. So far in 2500 miles, the 2012 E350C does not exhibit the behavior, but we're waiting until full blown Dallas summer to make full judgement. Hopefully it is fixed by this model year.