Have a 2022 GLE 450 which has 14k miles. Live in NC where it’s been crazy hit this year. Start vehicle and it smells awful for 30 sec or so. Want to replace cabin air filter and cannot get info as to where it is located. Some say it’s behind glove box and some say in engine compartment near firewall. What is the real answer? Also, does anyone have any experience with Frigi Fresh? Supposed to clean out hvac system. I’ve seen some comments on YouTube which show folks spraying into air vents outside and others say you need to disassemble the hvac system. Thoughts?

Dirty sock smell is a standard feature on MBs. Read this site thoroughly across models and years. Best or nothing, you choose. Any treatment is temporary, there is no fix.

Cabin filter replacement is documented on this site. Crawl under the glovebox area and look up.

You have a lot more credibility if you'd stop with your insipid comments.

There are times when we think you have actual knowledge, and then you dash our hopes yet again.

Which are you. A troll or a contributor?

I've never had any car, including 5 Mercedes, develop a smell. Do you by any chance run the system in recirculate all the time?

That’s a good question. I’ll have to take a look when I get home. I do know that I leave it in AUTO all the time, but not sure about the recirc. Have had the same issue with my wife’s 2020 E350 which we just sold. ThNks for your reply.

I had the smelly sock issue for the past 2 months until a couple weeks ago. I read somewhere on the forums to only use Auto and that seemed to work for me. I'll report back if anything changes. Weather hasn't changed much at all since onset of smelly sock issue, except I was turning off Auto at times before I had the issue which I think caused the problem in the first place.

Mine is on Auto all the time. Someone asked if I also have it on constant recirc. Have to check. Smell is awful and embarrassing when someone gets in the car.

There are 2 filters. One under the hood near the engine compartment on the passenger side and the other in the cabin behind the glove compartment. There are special sprays to disinfect air conditioning and get rid of unpleasant odors. Search the internet and YouTub:

My GLE has this issue as well and has jst under 25K miles. I think I saw that dry ice could help remove the odors but I have not tried it yet.

It’s been a common issue on AC equipped vehicles for decades. My wife’s 2010 Lexus RX 350 had it bad. As I recall it’ happens when you are running AC for a while and then shut off the car. Condensation forms and after a time bacteria/mold form. A lot of cars today run the fan after shutdown to clear the system. One recommendation is to turn off AC a few minutes before turning off the car…not a very practical solution.
An AC Oder eliminator spray does a decent job…lots available for sale on Amazon.
Edit: In 4 years neither of my GLE’s developed any odor.

It doesn't matter how the HVAC controls are set. MB failed, has failed and is presently failing in HVAC system design. The evaporator and fan housing are designed in such a way that it traps condensation and smelly stuff grows inside, producing the dirty sock smell. MB hasn't read the email on this yet. Yet another failure. MB HVAC is not the best, so it can only be one thing - nothing.

I do wonder if it's a regional issue as well. Places with relatively higher humidity might be prone to it vs drier places. I'm coastal SoCal where humidity ranges around 65% (January) to 80% (peak summer).

I am in FL with no bad smell, and run the AC all the time.
Factory installed filter replaced with OEM at 12k miles and again at 25k miles. So I am on my third filter in under 2 years. I also swapped the other filter element accessed from the engine compartment and the main engine air filter at the same times.

I used this video for the inside cabin filter change:


* the video is for a GLS but is the exact same on my 2022 GLE

Thanks for posting your experience. Is your garage conditioned or just ambient air? If it's just ambient then that tossed my humidity theory out the window.

Well, momma's cabriolet gets the garage space. My GLE53 sits outside in the driveway all the time.

So it seems there's some truth to keeping AUTO on all the time. This seems to have removed the smell from my system.