2014 ML 350 BT Odor
 

2014 ML 350 Blue Tec: At the 10,000 mile service the cabine air filter was changed. At about 15,000 miles we started noticing a hot oil odor from time to time. The othe day person got in & said it smelled like WD-40. Not what I wanted to hear on a vehicle less than a year old. Service has checked for leaks & ridden with me for 20 minutes & finds nothing wrong. If I turn the air off odor stops. It seems to pick up all outside odors. I had an 2012 ML 350 Blue Tec with 42,000 miles & never had this experience. Any ideas?

HI,

I had this issue twice in the past 2.5 years. The MB cabin filter should be changed every 10k miles to remove the odor. One time we did this last fall and it did not help so I told the dealer to disinfect the entire A/C system according to Mercedes technical bulletin for musty odor and mold in the climate system. This fixed our issue. I would take the car back and demand they clean out the entire system. This is on our 2013 Ml350 bluetec. It didn't happen on our 2010 ML350 at all.

Cabin air filter gets changed at 10,000 miles according to MB. <-edit

Just checked the book and although the reference above cites 20k, the ML book says 10k.

Odor
 

Thanks for the reply. Dealer tells me I have to wait until I'm within 1,000 miles of my next inspection (20K) & they would replace the filter at that time. Only 500 miles more to tolerate the smell.

That's just ridiculous. I'd probably be talking to somebody's boss, but I'm allergic to dealer logic anyhow.

Call MB Customer Care line - and startup that 2nd line of support.