ua549

It pays to have a lengthy personal relationship with whoever services your vehicle.

dudley07726

Mercedes hasn’t been susceptible to airbag recalls? Read up
“Several Mercedes-Benz cars, SUVs, and vans have officially been recalled as part of the massive action concerning exploding, shrapnel-shooting Takata airbags.”

Don’t be so snotty

baadmon

On another note regarding the air filter - does anyone experience a putrid odor when running their AC. I've taken my car into the dealer to inquire and I was advised by my service advisor that the smell is common. Smell almost causes me to vomit at times.

1guitar

You’re service advisor is giving you the run around. I have a 2019 E class sedan and I’ve never had a foul smelling odor from my A/C system, also it is very uncommon for such a problem. The problem with your car is the condensate drain is clogged up.
Your dealer needs to unclog the drain and change the interior cabin air filter.
If the dealer refuses to repair the problem properly just call MB down in Atlanta and tell them you didn’t spend a little South of $70k to buy a car whose A/C system smells like a toilet bowel!
They’ll fix it.
Doc

ua549

If the drain is not clogged, try spraying Lysol or other disinfectant into the intake with the blower running.

1guitar

It’s a good thought but it won’t cure the problem. The problem as we know is that there is water backing up and puddling at the bottom of the A/C dryer behind the dash not allowing the water to drain. The cure is as follows, the dash needs to come out and then the A/C system needs to be thoroughly cleaned. The only other thing that can cause such a problem is the R-134 freon is low, if it were me I would take the car and have the Freon level checked, if this car is older than 4 years it’s probably low on Freon which means there’s probably a leak in the system.
Good luck

artex

But those steps aren't clear. It says to remove bottom paneling on passenger side. But how? Where do you start? Pull it down left right how? I'm just saying that those instructions are not clear.

1guitar

I’ve replaced that filter and it’s a “bear” to replace. Firstly the MB filter is about $50, secondly unless you’re 25 years old and have arms that are 5 feet long
this job is a true pain. Lastly I assume your car is still under warranty and if you buy one of those cheapo cabin filter you’ll void your warranty.
If you can afford the car, you can afford to let the dealer change it out.
Doc

artex

I would not use a cheap filter. I would buy genuine MB filter so it would not void warranty. I have to do a B service it says on my dash, but I don't even have 20k on my car. I have 14k but the car is 2yrs4months so it showed that since it shows up at 20k or 2 yrs. I called MB and they told me $695 plus tax. So I would be dumb to pay that much money just to change two filters and do an oil change. Also yea, I can afford this car but it doesn't mean I would pay so much money to change something that I can do myself on a weekend and save that money. So if anyone can post clearer instructions on how to change that filter, would be great! Thanks

Jan AMG

I have just received mine - bought ($25) Bosch Activated Carbon filter with Polyphenol so it's an upgraded version from the one dealer offers (non-Activated carbon).

non-Activated carbon lasts 2 years
Activated carbon lasts 1 year

Can't wait to put on my yoga pants and sweat and swear for half an hour to have clean air for another year.

1guitar

My friend, it’s far from a matter of being snotty, you may place little value on your life but when it comes to mine I have no intention of being a victim of another poorly designed factory defect.
FYI, when the parts come spraying out of the defective air bag, well if you’ve ever seen a shotgun go off you’ll get the idea. How would you like to be on the receiving end of that! I think not.

dudley07726

But you are insinuating that MB autos are immune from defective air bags and they are not.
By the way, where in NJ are you? I built a house in Manalapan and lived there for 20 years until I moved to SWFL in 15.

1guitar

I lived in Holmdel for 25 years and when my tax bill hit $20k I Sold and moved to a 55+ community not far from Red Bank. I too had thoughts of moving to the Palm Beach area but what I took all the pluses and minuses into account it was better to stay in NJ, especially when it came to health care and aside from that it really isn’t that less expensive to live in FL. Good luck

dudley07726

Actually it is quite less expensive. I'm in Naples. My taxes per year are equal to what I was paying every quarter in Manalapan. Electric is much cheaper. I was able to retire at 59 due to the cost savings.Have a great day!

1guitar

Of course in your particular situation your COL May well be much cheaper than your previous expenses. In general everything in FL with no exceptions (food, clothes & prescriptions) are state and in most cases county sales taxed and the average rate is 11.5% and also depending on who your electric provider is (either Duke Energy or FPL)
your rate per kilowatt hour is the same or higher than NJ. Also, I believe you said you live in the Naples area or was it Tampa, neither place imo is a very safe area unless you live in a gated and guarded community. Of course you’re weather is wonderful from December to April but than the broiler gets turned on again and the snow birds reverse course for the next 6 months. In any event as long as you like where you live than nothing else really matters.
PS - MB’s are less expensive in FL

ua549

Actually sales taxes in Florida are 6% state plus a county sales tax that can vary from 0% to 2½%. There is no sales tax on food or medicine (OTC or prescription). There is no state income tax and real estate tax is relatively low 1%-2% of assessed value before exemptions. The electric rates from the 4 major providers is on par with the national average. In November 2019 Florida's average residential electric rate was 12.35 per kwh versus 15.28 in NJ and 18.00 in NY. I rarely turn on heat and run AC from June through October. My average electric bill including taxes is less than $125 per month for 2,400 sq, ft. of air conditioned space. The rest of the time my home is open to the fresh Gulf air. The major reason there is a major migration from NY/NJ to Florida is tax savings in Florida.

On topic my E300 is due for cabin air filters the next time it is in for service B.

1guitar

Well my friend you’ve found your paradise. Once the moronic liberals get done with FL you’ll have a state income tax within 5 years and as for sales tax, the average sales tax state and county in FL is over 10%, I don’t know where you get your numbers from but I was a cpa for over 35 years and the tax statistic don’t bare out you claims. As an aside, for a man I I assume drives a luxury car like a MB
you seem overly concerned with daily living expenses and it doesn’t sound like there are any MB’s in your future.
Don’t get the wrong idea, I am in no way trying to impugn your material standing but you seem overly concerned with the cost and daily living expenses in general and no matter what you say I have several friends who moved from FL to NC as FL got to expensive to live in. Granted at this point FL may well be less expensive the living in the NE but I can guarantee
you this too will change. Besides that the health care in FL stinks. And I speak from experience. The great minds of the medical world aren’t practicing in FL, only the also rans.

ua549

I don't know where you get your info, but there are no places in Florida with a sales tax rate more than 8.5%. I got my info from the official Florida website. Hillsborough County (Tampa) has the highest rate in the state at 8½%. According to US News NJ is ranked 35th for health care affordability while Florida is ranked 42nd. Neither are very good. Medicare quality is another story where Florida is ranked 5th and NJ is ranked 23rd. The Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins have Florida hospitals and Tampa General Hospital is also nationally ranked. Given the population density of NY/NJ the area does attract high end talent.

I look after my daily living expenses so that I can enjoy life without financial worries. I keep 7 figures readily available in near cash assets. I have several vehicles in my stable and have owned high end MB's since the 1960's.

1guitar

Go to the Palm Beach government website, its says in plain english, that in the City of Palm Beach the state, county and city sales tax is 12.5%, as for seven figures, perhaps you've moved your decimal pace over two places. Don't bother to respond, you've made up your mind your right and the rest of the world is wrong. Well my friend, just wait until you get your first auto insurance bill and you have to shell out all that money to pay for your "stable", I hope they're at least 10 years old otherwise they run about $1500 to $2500 a car! BTW, 7 figures these days ain't all that much.

dudley07726

Naples is a very affluent town. You may be be confusing it with Tampa. I never felt more ripped off than I did in NJ.

ua549

Here is a link to the Town of Palm Beach quarterly tax report. Here is a link to a sales tax calculator for Palm Beach.

My auto insurance premiums are less than $1,000 per vehicle including the 2018 E300. My liquid assets are in whole dollars. I agree that 7 figures isn't all that much, but very few people keep that much in liquid assets. Most of my assets are illiquid real estate and securities.

dudley07726

Though insurance is expensive here in SWFL, it is still cheaper than it was in NJ. Home insurance is all that I find more expensive than in NJ.

wasmans

It felt like it was intentionally designed to be a problem for DIY. Following instructions from an MB video, once I removed the two screws (one is mischievously hidden) I pulled the trim down and immediately two small plastic clips broke. I replaced the filter and then spent over an hour trying to put the rectangular cover back (check the image below). I don't know if it is just me but this thing wouldn't go back where it is supposed to be.

Anyone had this problem? Is there a specific way this cover needs to be put back?

Thanks,

Long Islander

It is difficult. I had the instructions also, but I gave up after I couldn't do it. I took the car and filter to my local service station who said they do this all the time. The charge was only $34. In the future, I'll bring the interior filter to them to change and I'll do the one in the engine compartment myself (which is pretty easy).

joesama

Hi guys..
I've done the A/C cabin filter change recently and I would like to share my experience.
Please do not follow any videos from youtube for this. Or follow the instructions from the manual for this task.
The only proper and correct video for this task is from this guy.


If you follow any other videos from youtube, you will end up breaking the hook on the footrest cover panel. (Because they will tell you to yank it out.. idiots)
The key point is that, you must pull out the side plastic trim off first that's next to the scuff plates.
Only then you will be able to pull out the footrest cover panel, and the carpet etc.....