Bad odor in my 2013 GL450
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Joined: Jan 2019
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2013 GL450
Bad odor in my 2013 GL450
Hello,
Everytime i get into my car, I can smell strong odor. even when engine is not running. it is stronger when get into the car for first time in the morning. Not sure what is it. I asked the MB dealership and they suggested to replace the cabin air filter. It did not help. Wondering what else could be causing the odor.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Anant
Everytime i get into my car, I can smell strong odor. even when engine is not running. it is stronger when get into the car for first time in the morning. Not sure what is it. I asked the MB dealership and they suggested to replace the cabin air filter. It did not help. Wondering what else could be causing the odor.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Anant
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,218
Likes: 149
From: Bethesda, MD
2010 Mercedes GL450; 2000 Mercedes ML55 AMG; 2016 VW GLI SEL Stick!!!
Hello,
Everytime i get into my car, I can smell strong odor. even when engine is not running. it is stronger when get into the car for first time in the morning. Not sure what is it. I asked the MB dealership and they suggested to replace the cabin air filter. It did not help. Wondering what else could be causing the odor.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Anant
Everytime i get into my car, I can smell strong odor. even when engine is not running. it is stronger when get into the car for first time in the morning. Not sure what is it. I asked the MB dealership and they suggested to replace the cabin air filter. It did not help. Wondering what else could be causing the odor.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Anant
Have the dealer check the evaporator as well
to immediately fix the problem. Put the heat on high and let it run for 20-30 minutes. Then make sure to leave the ac rest function on during normal use as well as using the auto function and not the recirculating function. Change the air filters again as well as the pre filter.
Last edited by kombifan; Feb 21, 2019 at 04:36 PM.
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Joined: Nov 2012
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Likes: 1,117
A gaggle of MB's
There are several different issues that can cause "smell":
1. If the smell is present in the morning - and when you use the aircon more smell comes from the vents - commonly called "wet gym shoe smell" then Kombi gave you good advice - run the car with heat on full blast (temp up and fan up) for about 30minuts which will "kill" anything that is in the Climate Control system. If your system needs more cleaning than that - this is a good product that gets sprayed down each dash outlet and rear outlet: In general - this is caused by running the aircon "too low" - which in turn "frosts up" the evaporator inside the system - and when you stop your car that evaporator frost melts and causes wet/moldy conditions inside the cleamate control system as the source of the "wet gym shoe smell".
2. If your smell gets "stronger" overnight when you are not in the car - so strongest in the morning - then most likely there is something in the carpet - or underneath the seats - that is causing the odor - and best way to get that taken care of is a thorough carpet cleaning by a detail shop - if a detail shop is not a option with a bit of work - take a spray bottle - Simple Green - and and some decent microfiber cloths - fill the spray bottle it with a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and plain water - use the spray bottle to spray a couple-of-sq-feet area of the carpet to get it "wet" - then rub the microfiber cloths back and forth thru that area to "pull" out the dirt/wet-mix. When you have done that with the whole carpet - let that dry overnight.
3. Some Detail Shops have a "industrial ionizer" similar to what is used for commercial cleaning - that used overnight with the windows 1/2 open - will "ionize" the odor - however if the source of the odor is still there - the odor will com eback
1. If the smell is present in the morning - and when you use the aircon more smell comes from the vents - commonly called "wet gym shoe smell" then Kombi gave you good advice - run the car with heat on full blast (temp up and fan up) for about 30minuts which will "kill" anything that is in the Climate Control system. If your system needs more cleaning than that - this is a good product that gets sprayed down each dash outlet and rear outlet: In general - this is caused by running the aircon "too low" - which in turn "frosts up" the evaporator inside the system - and when you stop your car that evaporator frost melts and causes wet/moldy conditions inside the cleamate control system as the source of the "wet gym shoe smell".
2. If your smell gets "stronger" overnight when you are not in the car - so strongest in the morning - then most likely there is something in the carpet - or underneath the seats - that is causing the odor - and best way to get that taken care of is a thorough carpet cleaning by a detail shop - if a detail shop is not a option with a bit of work - take a spray bottle - Simple Green - and and some decent microfiber cloths - fill the spray bottle it with a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and plain water - use the spray bottle to spray a couple-of-sq-feet area of the carpet to get it "wet" - then rub the microfiber cloths back and forth thru that area to "pull" out the dirt/wet-mix. When you have done that with the whole carpet - let that dry overnight.
3. Some Detail Shops have a "industrial ionizer" similar to what is used for commercial cleaning - that used overnight with the windows 1/2 open - will "ionize" the odor - however if the source of the odor is still there - the odor will com eback
