Streamliner

We are up in Napa Valley and the air conditioning died. Everything works, the fan blows, all the buttons work, but when you go to turn on the A/C. it accepts the check mark, but then it disappears a second later. Have tried rebooting everything, but no A/C.

Called Roadside Assistance and they told me to take it to the dealer. Don't want to waste a day trying to get it into and out of a service department up here, but NOT looking forward to a windows open 400 mile ride home either.

Anyone have any ideas?

ajm0623

i thought a/c was only available in cars with the sport package ,,, and the spare tyre and jack ,,, and monochromatic interiour colours?

(sorry, stream ,,, i just had to ,,, )

MTrauman

You forgot that a/c is also only available with non-panoramic roofs



Sorry to hear about the a/c issue. I have no solutions here. Just could not resist since I know you love those panoramic roofs.

docsout

Check A/C belt intact. Any mechanic can help with that. You mentioned re booting. Still nothing even after car resting overnight?

docsout

Another thought is to check fuses.
Sorry for your problems.

BenzV12

Sorry to hear about problems , did you try to engage manual mode instead ?

hyperion667

damn that's horrible, hope for an easy fix

Streamliner

Thanks guys. Tried everything, but no luck. Driving home today and hoping for cool weather. Have appt. tomorrow at my local dealer.

Streamliner

The drive home was uncomfortable with no A/C. Temps got to 79 in the Central Valley and opening the windows at 80mph was no help. Took the car into the dealer today. He says "something" punctured some part of the A/C system, allowing all of the refrigerant to escape, causing the system to shut down. Not an applicable warranty item. That will be approx $2,000.00, thank you very much. I told him to fix it. I'm having him save the damaged parts. I can't imagine how this could have happened, as I have no recollection of hitting anything. If it sounds fishy to me, I plan on pressing MB for reimbursement. Picking the car up tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.......

hyperion667

WTH???


not covered? such crap!!
how old is your car?


good luck man!

Streamliner

Car just turned 15,000 miles. Picking it up today and I will report. Thanks.

Steinhart

wow, just read this thread, sorry to hear about your trip without A/C, I am amazed they are not repairing it under warranty, I've never even heard of this type of problem, with any car..... something puncturing the A/C system?? And without you knowing it??

even if there is a punctured part, the system should not be exposed for that to happen under normal driving conditions, and for that reason it should be covered under warranty

Streamliner

That's my position as well. Why wasn't the part shielded? I'm going to get to the bottom of this and will share all details with the board. Thanks.

jenz

It's because you have 18" wheels, stock paint and too much road clearance

If you went with an AMG, custom color and 22" HREs, the AMG front valence, weight from the custom 18 coat paint and lowered stance by the rubber band tires would have prevented that item from getting under your car

You're never too old to learn stream maybe next time

Rocman8

Only thing that makes sense is something small and sharp was thrown up by a car in front of you and punctured the a/c condenser. Very rare but it does happen.

Streamliner

Wouldnt you think that other damage would also occur, such as damage to the grill? Or do you think something could have come up from underneath? Is there no reasonable way for MB to shield the condenser from such possible damage?

Rocman8

There are hard plastic panels underneath so if damage was there you would have noticed. The condenser is only shielded by the grills so it's possible something small enough passed through.

xpl0sive

it's very unlikely that a line was punctured by debris and you didn't notice it. I had an Audi a while back and one of the AC lines ran under the oil pan (was pretty much the lowest point on the car). The line was covered by the plastic shield, but I went over some debris on the road and it pictured the shield and the line. I knew immediately that I hit something and when I pulled over, I could see refrigerant escaping from underneath the car.
The fact that you punctured your line somehow and had no idea refrigerant was escaping makes no sense to me. Sounds like there may be another issue with the system.

Rocman8

We don't know if it was a line that was punctured. The condenser makes sense due to it being thin aluminum.

xpl0sive

the fins may be easily bent, but the piping inside the condenser isn't that easy to puncture. You would expect there to be damage to grill/bumper if the condenser was damaged by something

aypues

Shouldn't your car insurance's comprehensive policy cover this if you hit something that punctured the AC while driving??

Streamliner

I picked up the car yesterday, along with the old condenser. The SA showed me where the "hole" was supposed to be, but honestly, it was damn near microscopic. There was absolutely no damage to the grill or any other part of the car. I believe that a good case can be made that the condenser had a flaw in it from the factory and was defective. I called MB Customer Care and was told that a case manager would be in touch with me on Monday. Stay tuned.

hyperion667

guess you had to pay to get out of the door then? and will try to be reimbursed? seems odd and like a defect huh?


good luck

Streamliner

I have $1,000.00 deductible, so I probably won't go that way, but I do believe you are correct and it should be covered.

Streamliner

There isn't even any damage to the fins in that area. The only way the SA was able to actually find the spot to show me, was due to the staining from the leaked coolant around the invisible hole.