Hi - 1 year old GLE that stinks like smelly/musty socks on startup. I see there are lots of threads about this issue and even a class action.

All my other cars drip lots of water from the evaporator after the car is parked / turned off. I notice my GLE doesn't which leads me to believe that a drain tube is blocked causing this smell.

Does anyone notice that their car DOES NOT drip water after the car is parked, AC was on, and it's hot/humid outside?

The smell is standard for MB. There is a fix for it where they plug up some holes and they modify the software to run the compressor for a few minutes after shutoff to evaporate any liquid. I force my dealership to clean it whenever there's a smell although I just had them do the fix so we'll see how long it lasts. As far as the water not dripping, that may be something to get checked out. Hard to say if they're related or independent.

I had a similar issue with my GLK. Just turn the fan up to max speed for about 20-30 seconds before you turn off the engine. That seems to help blow out any water from the system.

If you don't see any water coming out on a humid day after doing so then you may need to have your AC drain checked.

If the smell is really bad you can purchase a system deodorizer as well that you spray in the vents. It eliminates the issue but it does smell a bit chemically for a while after.

If my memory is correct, I've had it in all my past MB'S. My GLE is pretty bad.

This is absolutely outrageous! You mean to tell me MB has known about this problem for years and never even bothered to TRY to fix it?

Read this excerpt from the law suit:


"They allege that the Mercedes vehicles’ HVAC systems are faultily designed where during normal and expected conditions, they fail to properly evaporate or drain the condensation that accumulates within the system, creating a moist, hospitable environment for the growth of bacteria, fungus, mold and spores, which then are blown into the passenger cabin, according to the complaint."


This is way worse than just "odors". It's a major health hazard!

More details here:

https://www.law360.com/articles/9234...dy-hvac-system

There's a ton of info online about this problem. All you have to do is Google, "Mercedes class action law suit for HVAC". The gist of the problem is this. Under certain conditions, the evaporator housing is retaining moisture, causing odor, mold, fungus and bacteria. The problem seems to be prevalent in humid climates, which must be why I haven't experienced it. We have a very dry heat in this part of NC. During the warm season, whenever I come home, my garage is like a heat chamber. I've even hung wet towels out there to dry. Surely, this drys out any moisture condensation in the evaporator housing. I'd be interested to know how many who "do" have this issue live in a humid area.


Here are some tips I've found:


Set the A/C on 'fresh' air instead of 'recirculation'. This will reduce humidity in the evaporator housing. Use recirculation mode when it’s really hot or cold outside or if there is a lot of pollution.

Keep the drain tube and the fresh air intake free of dirt and leaves. A clogged fresh air intake can be a source of odor and increase pressure on the blower fan. A clogged drain tube can prevent water from draining from the evaporator housing which can allow growth of odor causing mold, fungus and bacteria. You can tell on a warm day if it is draining properly if you have been running your A/C and see a puddle of water underneath the car. If not, have a mechanic check it out.

Whenever I go to get service, I tell them there is a smell and that I want it cleaned out even if there is no smell. they scrub the interior too.

Put Heat on full blast - let it run for about 30 min - "damp sock small" should be gone..

I think it’s something about this time of year too (season changes). I haven’t really noticed the smell over the summer but the last few days it’s has gotten a little smelly when the A/C first comes on now.

In general where I see the "problem" come up - MB has a very effective air con system - with a effective dehumidifier effect as well - normally Auto works fine - but if the climate control is set too low - or set manually too low - the evaporator inside the system will tend to "frost up" (similar to the back of a old style refrigerator) - and when you shut off your MB - that "evaporator frost" in turn melts - leaving the inside system wet/high humidity - which in turn leads to the "old wet sock smell".

There are spray cleaners (like Klima Cleaner on Amazon) that can be sprayed down into the vents to help control the smell - again 20-25 minutes of heat at full blast can do wonders to clean it up.

Regular Climate Control maintenance is suggested fresh cabin filters every 20K - then in high humidity conditions a tech bulletin suggests every 10K - again the "full cabin heat" cook-off can help a lot - if not eliminate the problem entirely.

For me - it can be 40 outside - and I need Lo/cold air for 10 minutes in the morning - then I'm up at 72 Auto - and no smell - but that's me..

I respectfully beg to differ. No one should have to go through the ridiculous process of using the A/C and then immediately using the heat or spraying air cleaners into the vents. I've never heard of this being necessary in any other brand of vehicle. MB dropped the ball on this one. As corroboration of this, read about two separate class action lawsuits in California and Georgia. In Georgia, a federal judge dismissed claims specifically related to "breach of warranty", but allowed a number of other claims to move forward. In California, the judge rejected a motion by Mercedes-Benz to dismiss that class action lawsuit. It looks like both of these cases are headed to federal court. Also, in Florida an owner already won a consumer arbitration action against MB over this same issue. Below are excerpts from the included links:

According to the plaintiffs, this problem is caused by the fact that the system does not adequately drain condensation produced in the heating and cooling process, and the moisture grows mildew and mold. Plaintiffs Amin and Patel claim that the smell is unpleasant, and that the presence of mildew and mold can aggravate respiratory problems and allergies in people who use the cars. They claim that Mercedes-Benz fails to address the defect through the vehicles’ warranty, and only offers consumers temporary fixes without addressing or solving the underlying problem. These fixes have included cleaning out the HVAC system and replacing cabin air filters. Additionally, Patel and Amin claim that the company does not cover these services under a vehicle’s warranty, requiring consumers to pay out-of-pocket to fix allegedly defective vehicles.

Amin owns a 2013 Mercedes C250 Coupe, which he bought brand new in November 2012, and Patel a 2014 Mercedes E350 Sedan, which he bought new in January 2015. Both plaintiffs claim the noxious odors have began shortly after they bought their cars and have continued since.

According to the suit, Mercedes has known about the HVAC system defect at least as early as 2008, when a number of vehicle owners began filing complaints with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s Office of Defect Investigation. That is also the time when a class vehicle owner brought, and won, a consumer arbitration action in Florida against Mercedes for the defect, the complaint alleges.

The suit also notes that in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2016 Mercedes issued several technical service bulletins to its service centers discussing moldy smells emanating from the HVAC systems in various vehicles. These bulletins allegedly detailed cleaning procedures for how to deal with the issue.

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...ction-lawsuit/

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...dismissal-bid/

https://www.bigclassaction.com/lawsu...on-lawsuit.php

MB's basic argument is that this issue should NOT be covered under warranty. However, they never addressed the issue of a design defect. Their own service bulletins are proof of their knowing about this problem. MB's solution has been to essentially put a Band-Aid on the problem by cleaning out the HVAC system and replacing the cabin air filter. These are merely temporary fixes for a permanent problem.

Personally, I don't have this problem with my vehicle. I live in a very dry climate. However, it still infuriates me that MB has known about this defect for over a decade and I haven't seen any evidence that they've redesigned the HVAC system. There is no "fix" for the current system. The only way to fix this is to redesign the present HVAC system. Those of you who do have this problem, I would seriously consider seeking legal action.

When I raised the odor issue at the last service in July they used the cleaning agent and changed the air filters.
The receipt referenced some special design replacement cabin filters and installation of a 12 volt supply, performed acc software with modified coding - per LI00-00-P-06647. Everything worked fine so far.

Great! Hope that works. It might be helpful to others who are experiencing this same problem if you could post a copy of the invoice.

Let me start off up front - there is no "defect" - Mercedes auto-climate control systems across all models for any particular year share similar design - if you were selling 7.200 vehicles a day - you would certainly know if there was a "defect".

Nonsensical lawsuits are nonsensical lawsuits.... doesn't matter if it's about Car's or Bar's...

Have you noticed no one has reported this "defect" when they have the heat on in the winter ? Have you noticed no one has reported this defect when running "Front Defrost" ?

I am not here to analyze any particular owner's operational behavior - in my case - our Service Dept when checking in a customer with "stinky complaint" they log customer climate control settings 1st - then check in - and address this 1st by doing the "burn-baby-burn-run" - then based on age/mileage recommend cabin filter replacement - then give customers 5 minute "re-training" on Climate Control with one of our Product Concierge's on pickup... and over 99% of the time the "defect" is solved... permanently.

It's the Solution that's important... isn't it ?

Well, I called this problem a "design" defect, which is substantially different than a "mechanical" defect. Are these HVAC systems working exactly as intended? Yes. But that's the whole problem. In my opinion, the way they work is flawed by design. Hence the term design defect. Isn't "training" someone on how to use their A/C just a work around for a faulty design in the first place? That's a rhetorical question, of course. Most people never read the owner's manual and continuously use their HVAC systems incorrectly. Yet, they never experience abhorrent odors emanating from the vents.

We can agree to disagree. That's perfectly fine. Everyone has their own opinion. No disrespect intended, but a MB employee can't exactly be expected to render an unbiased opinion. When I hear the same from a neutral third party, I'll start believing it.

So what is the "proper" way to use the system?

Sounds like you just need to have a shop insert a wand into the evaporator drain & blow it out with compressed air.

I have the same situation for my 2017 GLE. The smell has come up for a while. Thanks for y'all I will have my dealer check up when B service is due.

Where is this drain on a 2018GLE350? I am getting no water draining from my GLE either.

Thanks!!

Had this problem since day one. Found various "fixes" on other threads, printed and showed to the dealer. They plugged up some vents, opened others, ran the fan longer, blah blah...smell was gone for a few months but has returned more than ever. Flaw or not, this is indefensible on a $50k+ vehicle, especially since MB knew about it. My previous 2005 Hyundai elantra and the family's old 2005 Honda Odyssey NEVER had this issue and had just as good of an AC as the MB. They should have created a definite solution or redesigned the hvac system. This isn't confined to just the GLE which makes MB 100% at fault.

I came in for a problem and instead left with an accusation. My CPO 2016 S550 with less than 30K miles on it slowly started to smell musty when it was started this summer. I bought it in May. The smell got worse and worse during July. Finally, it was so bad, friends asked about the stink when they got in the car. It stunk. The smell clearly came from the air vents. You could tell when you started it up that it was in the AC unit. I called the MB dealer i bought it from and asked them to have a look at it. After they looked at it I was informed, “Yep it has an issue”.

Then I was told that despite the car being under factory warranty and having a maintenance contract that I would have to pay $375 to fix it. They needed to replace the cabin filters AND clean the evaporator to remove the mold/mildew on it. How does that happen? And why does the evaporator have to be cleaned on a CPO car after 90 days of ownership? Perhaps a plugged AC drain tube? Nope. Maybe a clogged air intake or leaves in the ducts? Nope. According to the MB service rep, it was me. I was at fault. At 53 years old, I don't know how to properly operate the AC on my car. Hows that for customer service?

According to Mercedes Benz, it’s not an AC design issue causing the smell, it’s a user issue. The service rep told me the smell is caused by a driver turning off the AC during the summer (which by the way I haven't done. It’s been on "auto" with the AC button on for the entire 90 days I've owned the car). He said that without the AC on, mold can accumulate on the evaporator. And that is what causes the smell. He said eventually the cabin filters take on that smell too and need to be replaced. I was told it is a regular occurrence on newer MB cars. In fact, his wife's GLE has had to have hers cleaned twice in 60K miles. Oh, and I would need to leave the AC on continuously....even in the winter to prevent it. Really? As a side note, the owners manual does not say you must leave the AC on non-stop. Do they seriously expect me to do that? Or even believe that was what caused the mold issue? This may be my first MB, but I am not stupid.

The service rep said he would love to bill MB for the repair. But he said they won’t pay it. So, to help me out they would take $80 dollars off the bill. Well isn't nice. I left after paying the $295 bill. $150 for parts and $145 for labor. I now have a bad taste in my mouth instead of a bad smell in my nose. Not sure which is worse.

Turn off ac button before getting to your destination 1 minute before shutting off car. 2.5 years 25k miles no smell GLC.
Friends 2007 e350 always left AC on all the time after awhile smelled horrible nasty 🧦
did the max high heat on for 30 minutes which helped tremendously put new cabin air filter been turning off ac button before reaching destination car hasn’t smelled in 4 months.

Your service rep has it backwards. It's leaving the AC on that collects all that moisture in the evaporator and causes the mildew. It is rather ****ty that they treat it like a user issue though, considering this isn't a problem on other vehicle makes for the most part. The evaporator fins should be angled in a way that allows moisture to run down and then out the drains, not trapping it in the evaporator. So it's definitely more of a manufacturer issue.