Unhappy with my Mercedes C220's air-conditioner

ashishkashyap · 17th April 2010, 01:23

Folks : Here is a quick update at 4500 Kms of my C220. One of the big issue that I am facing is with the air conditioning. I am in Delhi at 42 degree C day time temperature. Its unfortunate that the a/c at this temperature is just not effective. Have already taken the vehicle thrice to the service station (T&T motors) and each time they say that the a/c has a normal performance. Last visit to T&T motors was in presence of an engineer from Mercedes and he shockingly admitted that a/c of the new C class is not as effective. I plan to write to the MD of Mercedes India - In the mean time any thoughts, advise on this situation? Any one else at Team-BHP who owns a new class facing the same issue?

GTO · 17th April 2010, 22:59

Ashish,

Here's what you should do:

1. Check the air-con of another C220. The one in my (previous-gen) car is an absolute chiller. I'd be very surprised if Merc hasn't localised the unit of the new gen to handle Indian summers.

2. Get top-grade Vkool / 3M installed all around, including on the front windscreen. High quality sunfilm makes a HUGE difference in our weather conditions.

3. Take a second opinion from an independent air-con specialist. These guys keep their ears to the ground and will give you an unbiased opinion (unlike the politically correct service advisors).

4. Take it up strongly with Mercedes Benz India. You've paid a premium price for a luxury car; it had better perform like us.

Complete these 4 steps and come back to update us.

barcode · 18th April 2010, 04:53

@Ashish:

Finding the airconditioning lacking has been long forgotten in Indian vehicles. If you are finding it lacking, am sure something is definitely not in order. Are you setting the temperature to the lowest setting (16C I think) and still the cooling is inadequate?

Would agree with GTO's suggestion about 3M films. I would strongly recommend CR50 which we installed as my dad was cribbing about the cooling in his workhorse Octavia.

Incidentally, I test drove the car today in the peak of Delhi heat. The test drive vehicle was without any films. With 3 people in the cabin, 44 degrees outside. The car chilled absolutely fine in a couple of seconds. We own a 2005 C-220 within the family, and 5 years and 40,000 kms later it still chills well.

Our TD vehicle today was white and from your earlier thread I remember you have a black car, maybe that's causing the more retention of heat and therefore slow dissipation?

I suggest you arrange for a TD vehicle to be sent to you by T&T during the afternoon and get complete satisfaction. I have not heard from any one else

Meanwhile, let me quiz the sales manager tomorrow on these claims of the current C-class not really awesome with cooling.

Cheers,
Mohak

krish3 · 22nd April 2010, 14:30

I had test driven a C220 CDI last week. I got into the car after standing outside for almost 5 mins, which means I was dripping with sweat. The car was also parked in the sun for quite some time. But once I started, the AC chilled in a matter of minutes.

So I think its a issue with the AC in your car. Please check with another C220 and see if there's a difference.

alpha1 · 22nd April 2010, 18:38

Get the a/c recirculation circuit (not the freon one) checked and cleaned.
Has the blower speed also reduced a little?

barcode · 25th April 2010, 16:46

Update: No problems with the aircon found with another round of test drives. Including one pre-owned November 2009 C220.

The Executive Edition is being launched, but ill informed sales staff galore. It was only after much insistance from me going to buy the 3 Corp Ed that they uttered that the EE would be launched any time soon.

Also, they are "looking at" launching support packs only for the EE to begin with akin to BMWs 3yrs/60kkms.

There was also a stray transaction between the sales manager and the sr. sales manager about the EE being launched for the E class as well.

ashishkashyap · 27th April 2010, 15:55

@GTO, @barcode @krish3 : I am getting a 3M film installed and will hence update you all, if the A/C works better in peak heat. Have reminded the Mercedes folks again, but no response yet. @Alpha1 : Will get the recirculation circuit also checked. TBut so far - Poor experience with the A/C despite getting it checked numerous time at the T&T workshop. Will keep you all updated and thanks for all your responses and feed-back!

krish3 · 11th May 2010, 09:49

Any updates after sun film was installed?

vipul_singh · 12th May 2010, 23:38

Have posted similar info in another thread. Please excuse me for repeating much the same info here.

I have made checking out car A/Cs in peak summer a bit of a hobby. What I have noticed in many cars (albeit decidedly lesser vehicles than a Mercedes) is that upto a certain temperature (say 42 degrees), A/Cs work perfectly. Beyond that, a lot many cars' compressors start tripping leading to insufficient cooling.

So users in Mumbai or Bangalore may have a very different experience compared to those in Delhi!

List if vehicles I have tested where I have noticed an A/C compressor trip issue at or above 42 degrees at low road speeds:

1) FIAT Punto (TD Car)
2) Honda City (own car)
3) FIAT Palio GTX (own car)
4) Ford Fiesta (TD Car)
5) Maruti Swift
6) Mahindra Scorpio
7) Honda Civic (TD Car)

Garipagol · 14th May 2010, 01:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashishkashyap

@GTO, @barcode @krish3 : I am getting a 3M film installed and will hence update you all, if the A/C works better in peak heat. Have reminded the Mercedes folks again, but no response yet. @Alpha1 : Will get the recirculation circuit also checked. TBut so far - Poor experience with the A/C despite getting it checked numerous time at the T&T workshop. Will keep you all updated and thanks for all your responses and feed-back!

My recommendation wil be do not put the film yet. Because that will not make the problem with the A/C go away. I had an earlier model C220 CDI and the AC worked wonderfully. I now have a E250 CDI and the a/c works fine with 3 zone climate control. Of course I live in Kolkata so it is not as hot here as in Delhi. I am pretty sure that you have an issue with the a/c. I hope you have tried out the climate control stuff, putting it on auto etc. I cannot think that a luxury car like merc will have an inadequate a/c. Even if they have localised the equipment they will ensure quality / performance particularly with BMW on their tail. I would say. get your merc dealer to solve the problem first. AC problems can be harrowing and difficult to diagnose and often dealers shy away from it as there is a possibility that it will become worse. Your car is still under warranty. So thump the table. Make noise. Then you can look at the film to keep the car cool at all times. the load on the a/c will also be less.

Regards

ashishkashyap · 18th May 2010, 01:14

Latest update on the A/C performance :

I have installed the 3M film. Only marginal difference. I am again following up with Mercedes and T&T folks.

Here are the shocking words of an Engineer employed with the company - Mercedes, who personally inspected my vehicle. His name is Sunil Dagar, Manager, Field Service :

"air conditioner of the C220 CDI model (New) is not effective and cannot be matched with other Japanese vehicles such as Corolla, Civic etc". He also said “don’t expect the A/C to chill as there is a new type of compressor system in place which ensures engine performance is not hampered"

Now the T&T people have come back to me and they plan to send a vehicle of a similar model for me to compare the A/C performance and again inspect my vehicle.

Last time they inspected the vehicle standing inside their garage at some 33 degree c (Inside) and not outside (40 plus degree plus sun light), using a computer to monitor. The computer tested 3 degrees grill temperature, which they said is great and everything is okay and I should drive the car by setting a 16 degree c temp. We are basically back to square one. Since the a/c in the real heat did not perform.

I am actually shocked by the lack of insights from these folks - T&T as well as Mercedes.

I am going to try and further escalate this matter!

ashishkashyap · 28th July 2010, 21:56

At 6500 km - door handle came off! Mercedes rep says - needs replacement and part available after few weeks! Experience of owning a Mercedes worse than a Hyundai accent that I owned 2001.

sachinj12 · 28th July 2010, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashishkashyap

At 6500 km - door handle came off! Mercedes rep says - needs replacement and part available after few weeks! Experience of owning a Mercedes worse than a Hyundai accent that I owned 2001.

Escalate the matter to higher authorities. Meanwhile, lodge a complaint with the consumer forum. Unacceptable from a premium brand.

Speeding@160mph · 29th July 2010, 17:07

wow! extremely unfortunate that you need to go through this! My brother has the C300 in Canada - The AC was very ineffective over the summer last year. We ended up at the dealer and convinced them to change the compressor and all pipes. It worked just fine since then - Free of cost - covered under their warranty.

The Indian dealers/workshops *always* try and TALK their way out of a problem, 'nahin sir - Audi mein yeh awaaz hamesha aati hai', 'hanji sir - Audi mein har 1200km engine oil chahiye hota hai' - ridiculous nonsense!

My cars been at the service center since Monday now for some work, while some were resolved (Rain sensor not working, Wiper Speed control not working - parts changed free of cost), the engine oil (1liter per 1250km) and a weird noise after turning the ignition off - are still there. I've simply told him to get it done right once and for all - take the time you need but don't give me a reason to come back. At 4500k, I shouldn't be having these problems and the Manager removed these charges from the bill.

All car have little niggling issues - AC not working, is definitely not a small niggling issue. I hope this gets resolved asap - be very firm about the damage this can cause to MB's reputation if their own Service Tech calls its products inferior to Toyota/Honda. Do make it a point to meet the Manager/Senior at T&T as well as writing to MB Germany Directly to highlight your issue.

PlatzdaTurbo · 30th July 2010, 09:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashishkashyap

Here are the shocking words of an Engineer employed with the company - Mercedes, who personally inspected my vehicle. His name is Sunil Dagar, Manager, Field Service :

"air conditioner of the C220 CDI model (New) is not effective and cannot be matched with other Japanese vehicles such as Corolla, Civic etc". He also said “don’t expect the A/C to chill as there is a new type of compressor system in place which ensures engine performance is not hampered"

he actually said that ???!! The things these klutz's do to sell their so called "premium" wagons at first with all the sweet talks & what not and once the car is sold their behavior entirely changes. Yea make sure you escalate the matter ! After the amount of money you have paid for that car you deserve to raise your voice and if not, at least knock the living day lights out of them with a bat on their skulls

17th April 2010, 01:23	#1
ashishkashyap BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 66 Thanked: 137 Times	Unhappy with my Mercedes C220's air-conditioner Folks : Here is a quick update at 4500 Kms of my C220. One of the big issue that I am facing is with the air conditioning. I am in Delhi at 42 degree C day time temperature. Its unfortunate that the a/c at this temperature is just not effective. Have already taken the vehicle thrice to the service station (T&T motors) and each time they say that the a/c has a normal performance. Last visit to T&T motors was in presence of an engineer from Mercedes and he shockingly admitted that a/c of the new C class is not as effective. I plan to write to the MD of Mercedes India - In the mean time any thoughts, advise on this situation? Any one else at Team-BHP who owns a new class facing the same issue?
	() Thanks

17th April 2010, 22:59	#2
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,587 Thanked: 301,126 Times View My Garage	Ashish, Here's what you should do: 1. Check the air-con of another C220. The one in my (previous-gen) car is an absolute chiller. I'd be very surprised if Merc hasn't localised the unit of the new gen to handle Indian summers. 2. Get top-grade Vkool / 3M installed all around, including on the front windscreen. High quality sunfilm makes a HUGE difference in our weather conditions. 3. Take a second opinion from an independent air-con specialist. These guys keep their ears to the ground and will give you an unbiased opinion (unlike the politically correct service advisors). 4. Take it up strongly with Mercedes Benz India. You've paid a premium price for a luxury car; it had better perform like us. Complete these 4 steps and come back to update us.
	() Thanks

18th April 2010, 04:53	#3
barcode BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 182 Thanked: 14 Times	@Ashish: Finding the airconditioning lacking has been long forgotten in Indian vehicles. If you are finding it lacking, am sure something is definitely not in order. Are you setting the temperature to the lowest setting (16C I think) and still the cooling is inadequate? Would agree with GTO's suggestion about 3M films. I would strongly recommend CR50 which we installed as my dad was cribbing about the cooling in his workhorse Octavia. Incidentally, I test drove the car today in the peak of Delhi heat. The test drive vehicle was without any films. With 3 people in the cabin, 44 degrees outside. The car chilled absolutely fine in a couple of seconds. We own a 2005 C-220 within the family, and 5 years and 40,000 kms later it still chills well. Our TD vehicle today was white and from your earlier thread I remember you have a black car, maybe that's causing the more retention of heat and therefore slow dissipation? I suggest you arrange for a TD vehicle to be sent to you by T&T during the afternoon and get complete satisfaction. I have not heard from any one else Meanwhile, let me quiz the sales manager tomorrow on these claims of the current C-class not really awesome with cooling. Cheers, Mohak
	() Thanks

22nd April 2010, 14:30	#4
krish3 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cochin/Bangalore Posts: 758 Thanked: 191 Times	I had test driven a C220 CDI last week. I got into the car after standing outside for almost 5 mins, which means I was dripping with sweat. The car was also parked in the sun for quite some time. But once I started, the AC chilled in a matter of minutes. So I think its a issue with the AC in your car. Please check with another C220 and see if there's a difference.
	() Thanks

22nd April 2010, 18:38	#5
alpha1 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: LandOfNoWinters Posts: 2,095 Thanked: 2,608 Times	Get the a/c recirculation circuit (not the freon one) checked and cleaned. Has the blower speed also reduced a little?
	() Thanks

25th April 2010, 16:46	#6
barcode BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 182 Thanked: 14 Times	Update: No problems with the aircon found with another round of test drives. Including one pre-owned November 2009 C220. The Executive Edition is being launched, but ill informed sales staff galore. It was only after much insistance from me going to buy the 3 Corp Ed that they uttered that the EE would be launched any time soon. Also, they are "looking at" launching support packs only for the EE to begin with akin to BMWs 3yrs/60kkms. There was also a stray transaction between the sales manager and the sr. sales manager about the EE being launched for the E class as well.
	() Thanks

27th April 2010, 15:55	#7
ashishkashyap BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 66 Thanked: 137 Times	@GTO, @barcode @krish3 : I am getting a 3M film installed and will hence update you all, if the A/C works better in peak heat. Have reminded the Mercedes folks again, but no response yet. @Alpha1 : Will get the recirculation circuit also checked. TBut so far - Poor experience with the A/C despite getting it checked numerous time at the T&T workshop. Will keep you all updated and thanks for all your responses and feed-back!
	() Thanks

11th May 2010, 09:49	#8
krish3 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cochin/Bangalore Posts: 758 Thanked: 191 Times	Any updates after sun film was installed?
	() Thanks

12th May 2010, 23:38	#9
vipul_singh BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: BLR / Lucknow Posts: 595 Thanked: 833 Times View My Garage	Have posted similar info in another thread. Please excuse me for repeating much the same info here. I have made checking out car A/Cs in peak summer a bit of a hobby. What I have noticed in many cars (albeit decidedly lesser vehicles than a Mercedes) is that upto a certain temperature (say 42 degrees), A/Cs work perfectly. Beyond that, a lot many cars' compressors start tripping leading to insufficient cooling. So users in Mumbai or Bangalore may have a very different experience compared to those in Delhi! List if vehicles I have tested where I have noticed an A/C compressor trip issue at or above 42 degrees at low road speeds: 1) FIAT Punto (TD Car) 2) Honda City (own car) 3) FIAT Palio GTX (own car) 4) Ford Fiesta (TD Car) 5) Maruti Swift 6) Mahindra Scorpio 7) Honda Civic (TD Car) Last edited by vipul_singh : 12th May 2010 at 23:46.
	() Thanks

18th May 2010, 01:14	#11
ashishkashyap BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 66 Thanked: 137 Times	Latest updated after getting the 3M film fixed Latest update on the A/C performance : I have installed the 3M film. Only marginal difference. I am again following up with Mercedes and T&T folks. Here are the shocking words of an Engineer employed with the company - Mercedes, who personally inspected my vehicle. His name is Sunil Dagar, Manager, Field Service : "air conditioner of the C220 CDI model (New) is not effective and cannot be matched with other Japanese vehicles such as Corolla, Civic etc". He also said “don’t expect the A/C to chill as there is a new type of compressor system in place which ensures engine performance is not hampered" Now the T&T people have come back to me and they plan to send a vehicle of a similar model for me to compare the A/C performance and again inspect my vehicle. Last time they inspected the vehicle standing inside their garage at some 33 degree c (Inside) and not outside (40 plus degree plus sun light), using a computer to monitor. The computer tested 3 degrees grill temperature, which they said is great and everything is okay and I should drive the car by setting a 16 degree c temp. We are basically back to square one. Since the a/c in the real heat did not perform. I am actually shocked by the lack of insights from these folks - T&T as well as Mercedes. I am going to try and further escalate this matter!
	() Thanks

28th July 2010, 21:56	#12
ashishkashyap BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 66 Thanked: 137 Times	At 6500 km - door handle came off! Mercedes rep says - needs replacement and part available after few weeks! Experience of owning a Mercedes worse than a Hyundai accent that I owned 2001.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 17:07	#14
Speeding@160mph BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Delhi Posts: 185 Thanked: 6 Times	wow! extremely unfortunate that you need to go through this! My brother has the C300 in Canada - The AC was very ineffective over the summer last year. We ended up at the dealer and convinced them to change the compressor and all pipes. It worked just fine since then - Free of cost - covered under their warranty. The Indian dealers/workshops always try and TALK their way out of a problem, 'nahin sir - Audi mein yeh awaaz hamesha aati hai', 'hanji sir - Audi mein har 1200km engine oil chahiye hota hai' - ridiculous nonsense! My cars been at the service center since Monday now for some work, while some were resolved (Rain sensor not working, Wiper Speed control not working - parts changed free of cost), the engine oil (1liter per 1250km) and a weird noise after turning the ignition off - are still there. I've simply told him to get it done right once and for all - take the time you need but don't give me a reason to come back. At 4500k, I shouldn't be having these problems and the Manager removed these charges from the bill. All car have little niggling issues - AC not working, is definitely not a small niggling issue. I hope this gets resolved asap - be very firm about the damage this can cause to MB's reputation if their own Service Tech calls its products inferior to Toyota/Honda. Do make it a point to meet the Manager/Senior at T&T as well as writing to MB Germany Directly to highlight your issue.
	() Thanks