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Refilling the Air-Balance

Old Jan 21, 2020 | 01:48 PM
  #1  
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Post Refilling the Air-Balance

Does someone have a good refill idea for the Air Balance? I have read all kinds of threads and info that we are supposed to use a water based fragrance, but I still don't know what is a good suggestion on the brand or smell of what works well. Anyone have an idea or suggestion? I have seen refills from Asia or EU, but I am in the USA and need some local suggestions.

Also, before someone else says it - I personally don't wish to buy the MB refills at $120 each. I would rather put that money to other use if I know I have a good alternate choice at a lower cost.
If there is no alternate - I will bite the bullet.
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 02:00 PM
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I found factory refills on eBay for about $60 - still not chump change but a lot better than the $120 that the dealer wants.
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 03:54 PM
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The cheapest I see there now is like $90 or so... But I see in the completed sales there was one for $68.
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 07:05 PM
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Thank you! You have made my day. $120 for a bottle of air freshener. Wow, this is MB lunacy at its highest level. I wonder if MB will claim you voided your warranty if you use a Non-MB air freshener. I like my Benz and I was willing to pay a ridiculous price for what I wanted, but this takes the cake. How do you explain to anyone with a modicum of common sense that the air freshener costs that. Maybe Hermes has something for you. Thanks.
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 07:33 PM
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There are $30 air freshener refills listed on Amazon. From the descriptions and Q&As these have been successfully used by Mercedes owners. I have no personal experience with these.

ETONNER EO50- Refilling Perfume for Car Ocean Air Fresheners ETONNER EO50- Refilling Perfume for Car Ocean Air Fresheners

Last edited by Turbocharged; Jan 21, 2020 at 07:35 PM.
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Old Jan 22, 2020 | 01:40 PM
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Do you void the manufacturer's warranty if you do not use the genuine Mercedes-Benz air fragrance.
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Old Jan 22, 2020 | 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Hundens
Do you void the manufacturer's warranty if you do not use the genuine Mercedes-Benz air fragrance.
My user manual (2020 E450) does not prohibit the use of non-Mercedes fragrances. My owner's manual says "If you do not use genuine Mercedes-Benz interior perfumes, observe the manufacturers' safety notices on the perfume packaging."

Also, there are directions for a 'regular' flacon of fragrance, which is implied to be non-refillable, and a refillable flacon. (Flacon - a small stoppered bottle, especially one for perfume.)
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Old Jan 22, 2020 | 02:37 PM
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I don't have this (and no interest in it), but are can these refills be opened? If so, could you either use, or formulate a fluid from, the "essential oils" which are so popular these days?
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Old Jan 22, 2020 | 06:33 PM
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I have this feature and have never used mine. It is taking up space in the glove box and the rest sits on a shelf in my garage.
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Old Jan 23, 2020 | 11:17 PM
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Originally Posted by rraisley
I don't have this (and no interest in it), but are can these refills be opened? If so, could you either use, or formulate a fluid from, the "essential oils" which are so popular these days?
They're not easy to open, but they can be opened and people have reported refilling them. It's hard to find the right kind to refill though because some that people have tried don't last long.

Originally Posted by CarFan1
I have this feature and have never used mine. It is taking up space in the glove box and the rest sits on a shelf in my garage.
You should just sell them on eBay, they seem to command a decent price.
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Old Jan 25, 2020 | 04:02 AM
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You can get a refillable OEM Mercedes bottle
A2228990188

Last edited by FedM; Jan 25, 2020 at 04:08 AM.
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Old Oct 18, 2020 | 09:00 AM
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Freeside refill

Anyone found the freeside mood in bulk liquid to refill with???
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Old Oct 18, 2020 | 09:33 AM
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I'll probably give that E Tonner a try, thats for posting. I find the jar caps easy to open, then again I've got very strong hands after 40 years of weight lifting. lol. Don't even need to use that funnel that comes with it, just pour it directly into the open jar.
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Old Oct 19, 2020 | 02:26 AM
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Originally Posted by sardarji
Does someone have a good refill idea for the Air Balance? I have read all kinds of threads and info that we are supposed to use a water based fragrance, but I still don't know what is a good suggestion on the brand or smell of what works well. Anyone have an idea or suggestion? I have seen refills from Asia or EU, but I am in the USA and need some local suggestions.

Also, before someone else says it - I personally don't wish to buy the MB refills at $120 each. I would rather put that money to other use if I know I have a good alternate choice at a lower cost.
If there is no alternate - I will bite the bullet.
Search for other discussions on this topic...there are several.
I can't help with the prices, they are what they are, but the previous discussions offered alternative solutions to buying OE replacements. Some reportedly as "economical" as Air Wick. The linked article is informative, I have posted it before, but it's worth noting..."While the fragrances Mercedes-Benz developed are oil-based and especially formulated for this usage, the regular perfumes we get at the perfume store do not have the ability of translating perfectly in this system..."
Keep us posted on what your solution is.

https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Mer...ume--5710.html
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Old Aug 13, 2022 | 07:45 AM
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How do you get into the flacon ? Does the kid have a tight screw on it ?
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Old Aug 14, 2022 | 02:50 PM
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Tried opening my Freeside mood flacon that was included with the car after it ran out of perfume, and the cap does unscrew. I had to use a bit of force, just like a hard to open jar. Pretty easy to refill.


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Old Aug 14, 2022 | 05:30 PM
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Just as vchander said...mine was pretty tough to unscrew. I washed out the old scent residue with dish soap & water. Just refilled it with the scent they pump into the Wynn/Encore casinos in Vegas - 'Asian Rain'. ~$20 for enough to refill that thing 3-4 times.

Mine had been empty for quite some time. Nice little feature to be able to enjoy again.

Originally Posted by vchander
Tried opening my Freeside mood flacon that was included with the car after it ran out of perfume, and the cap does unscrew. I had to use a bit of force, just like a hard to open jar. Pretty easy to refill.

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Old Aug 15, 2022 | 03:08 AM
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Originally Posted by rraisley
I don't have this (and no interest in it), but are can these refills be opened? If so, could you either use, or formulate a fluid from, the "essential oils" which are so popular these days?
You can open the bottle, but it is quite tightly screwed on. My wife refilled hers with some air freshner/essential oil thing but it is far to concentrate (it's only got to waft through the car not fill a whole room). I hate it and she has to switch it off if I am in her car. We did a 10 min journey with the top down (albeit the fan was on) and I was coughing for an hour afterwards. She asked what was wrong and I said about her air fresher and she seemed surprised.

That said I hate them in rooms and they do irritate me. Both our cars have air balence fitted as it was the only way we could get air suspension and nappa leather (thanks MB UK) and mine is always off less the ionising function.
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Old Aug 16, 2022 | 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by sardarji View Post
Does someone have a good refill idea for the Air Balance? I have read all kinds of threads and info that we are supposed to use a water based fragrance, but I still don't know what is a good suggestion on the brand or smell of what works well. Anyone have an idea or suggestion? I have seen refills from Asia or EU, but I am in the USA and need some local suggestions.

Also, before someone else says it - I personally don't wish to buy the MB refills at $120 each. I would rather put that money to other use if I know I have a good alternate choice at a lower cost.
If there is no alternate - I will bite the bullet.



Search for other discussions on this topic...there are several...
I can't help with the prices, they are what they are, but the previous discussions offered alternative solutions to buying OE replacements. Some reportedly as "economical" as Air Wick. The linked article is informative, I have posted it before, but it's worth noting..."While the fragrances Mercedes-Benz developed are oil-based and especially formulated for this usage, the regular perfumes we get at the perfume store do not have the ability of translating perfectly in this system..."
Keep us posted on what your solution is.

https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Mer...ume--5710.html

Reposted from above. The site link is now available to registered users only. It was (is) a lengthy article on how MB goes about making the fragrances for Air Balance. Note that I quoted from the article that all fragrances are oil based and that they are specially formulated to work in the system. Having said that: 1. The jars can be opened by unscrewing the cap. It is very tight. 2. There are some other threads about refilling Air Balance and about using other, non MB and therefore cheaper, products to refill the jars. Would love to hear from others who have used alternative products.

BTW, the original or default scent was Fireside (I think), but included as small sample of the other available scents. Again, search this site or Amazon customer reviews for opinions about which smells best. Alternatively, there is a Maybach scent called Agarwood (Oud) that I happen to like, and, as expected, it costs more than the other MB options. AC must be on, and set to Auto I think (not sure about that) for Air Balance to work. If you have ever turned off AC then you must restart Air Balance (press the otherwise useless Menu bar).

If you have used alternative products, including water based choices, please post here and let us know how they worked for you.
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Old Sep 22, 2022 | 01:33 PM
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Do you have the link where you can purchase the refill scent?
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Old Sep 22, 2022 | 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by blakers
Just as vchander said...mine was pretty tough to unscrew. I washed out the old scent residue with dish soap & water. Just refilled it with the scent they pump into the Wynn/Encore casinos in Vegas - 'Asian Rain'. ~$20 for enough to refill that thing 3-4 times.

Mine had been empty for quite some time. Nice little feature to be able to enjoy again.
Do you have the link where you can purchase the refill scent?
​​​​​​​
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Old Jan 14, 2023 | 10:36 PM
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I think u can order any oil based perfume to refill
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Old Feb 7, 2023 | 01:38 PM
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If you use a regular non-MB fragrance, should you maybe dilute it with x% water so the car does not smell too perfumy?
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Old Feb 8, 2023 | 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by agp423
If you use a regular non-MB fragrance, should you maybe dilute it with x% water so the car does not smell too perfumy?
I think you can adjust the useage, where it gives off scent more or less often, rather than diluting.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 07:30 PM
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Thumbs up Brilliant post

Thanks for this, I did struggle to get it open but my colleague assisted & we got it opened finally.

I just refilled it with 10ml of a a normal Parfums de Marly - Haltane fragrance 10ml & 5ml of a concoction of Le Labo - Vetiver 46 & some others.
I'm wondering if I need to add any Oil to the mix or will this just be ok?

Originally Posted by vchander
Tried opening my Freeside mood flacon that was included with the car after it ran out of perfume, and the cap does unscrew. I had to use a bit of force, just like a hard to open jar. Pretty easy to refill.

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