hppatel615

Hello world I have never posted here before. I am hoping to get a solution on what to do now. I took in the car to dealership to get brake pads changed. The dealership told me I needed to change the rotors an along with the pads and I also told them about the AC was making noise. I declined to change the rotors and asked if they can just change out the brake pads. I got an estimate to fix the AC unit which was about $7000 because there was a leak in the evaporator something I tried looking in the email but didn’t find it. I declined so I went to pick up the car and noticed that the AC light didn’t even turn on. I took it back to the dealership and was told that they noticed the leak and that is why they didn’t fill it up with Freon again. Am I being scammed? I would think that even if they did all the things they said they did the light would turn on and AC fix can really cost $7000. Please advice.

Lanzz

The evaporator leak is somewhat common in V167 GLEs - and it is a big, ugly job where they have to take the dash apart. Guessing your vehicle is not still under warranty, which is a shame given the size of the potential repair bill. I would not expect that they would charge your AC given that there is a known leak - it would be a waste of time and money to do that. I wouldn't say you are being scammed - but you may find an independent shop that could do it for less - although I am not sure most shops with have the experience to put it all back together without making a mess of things. I wonder if you could get a decent trade in value for it and avoid spending $7K to repair it - just a thought.

wildta

Or you could buy the parts and make it a weekend job:

hppatel615

WOW that is a lot of work. Is there any workarounds. Can I get the AC to work without fixing it?

FireRx Captain

not if the core is leaking. it has to be replaced. I can see why it so expensive to replace it. The only way I can see those cores exploding it a faulty core in the first place our an over pressurized AC. Man, I hope I never see this happen to mine. I've had 5 Mercedes and only had one of them (2003 ML 350) require a evaporator replacement and that was when it was still in the engine compartment.

FireRx Captain

That video was verry helpful on how to disassemble the center console that gets all scratched up on the surface. The wood trim doesn't show it but the gloss black one does. I disassembled it removed it from the vehicle and used polishing compound to remove the fine scratches. and reinstalled it again. Looks Brand spanking new again.

wildta

Now you can wrap it with PPF and it'll look new forever.

FireRx Captain

Wilta, you got a link to the product, Please?

wildta

Unfortunately not. I've only read about people PPF'ing their piano black interiors. But I'm sure if you call a few of your local tint shops, they can suggest something.

Here's a video:

stktyz33

After watching this video, I'd add the "/s" label.

This seems like the type of job where you would want to go to a dealer or a shop that pays for MB software and support, even if your warranty has expired. Taking it apart, putting it together, and praying you don't mess up any electronics. It's also surprising that the person admits in the comments that they don't have access to MB systems, at least the ones that show the labor hours required for the job. That is, he may be doing all this work without manufacturer support in case something goes wrong. It's also unclear whether evaporator coil kits (or whatever you end up damaging and replacing) require coding. If they do, I guess you could do it on pre-2024 vehicles offline, but 2024+ V167s require online coding, which makes it even more interesting from there.

audi40

This just happened to my wife's 2020 GLE 450 with 66k miles on it. Thankfully - for the first time ever- I had purchased an extended 6 year/100k warranty ($2,200) when we bought the car in June 2019, so this will more than pay for itself with this repair. We had just used the warranty a ffew weeks ago to replace a broken strut which the dealer said otherwise would've been a $1k repair. The dealer said they will probably need to keep it for 1-2 weeks as there are a limited number of techs qualified to do this repair and they will need to bring someone in for it. While we love the GLE, I told my wife to start thinking about what she might want to replace it with next June when the warranty expires.

Benzman33

AC pro has always worked for me regardless of what people say...

MBENZTECH

Evaporators for 167 chassis vehicles are now on back order with no ETA.