Squint steering wheel and smelly air con

[ewans]

All, picked up my 03 plate c200K coupe a couple of weeks ago, loving the car so far but have a couple of things i wanted to check out with you lot before i go back to the dealer and ask him to sort them, any info is appreciated:

1. Smelly Air Con:

First time i use the air con after the car has not been used for a day or so it really stinks for the first minuet of use, after than its fine and the smell goes away. If i use the air con again later the same day there is no smell, its the first time only.

So is this normal? or it is indicating there is a problem somewhere?


2. Squint Steering Wheel:

When I'm driving straight the steering wheel is pointing slightly to the right, by maybe by 10' or so.

What can be the cause of this? what damage if any can be caused by it and is it a big thing to fix?

Cheers in advance for any feedback, just want to have the facts before i go back to the dealer.

cheery
e

 

[grober]

Get the aircon drainage channels checked to see they aren't blocked. Usually bad aircon smells are caused by bacterial growth on the heat exchanger unit in the cabin. Air con specialists have sprays to irradicate with this.

If the steering wheel is on squint it probably means its been off sometime after leaving the factory. Should be an easy job to remove it and straighten it up on the splines of the steering column. In these days of steering wheel controls and airbags its probably best left to the professionals since certain electrical units will have to be deactivated/ reactivated and error codes cancelled . If the car is under warranty they should do this for you without charge.

 

[kth286]

I doubt the steering wheel has been off.

Normally it is tracking that has not been correctly adjusted by people that do not know the Merc system.

Take a look at the tyres also paying attention to the inside part of the tread on all wheels., and see if wear of the treads is even.

 

[ewans]

I doubt the steering wheel has been off.

Normally it is tracking that has not been correctly adjusted by people that do not know the Merc system.

Take a look at the tyres also paying attention to the inside part of the tread on all wheels., and see if wear of the treads is even.

Tyre wear looks fine all round, although its hard to tell because the tires all look very new.

Is this something that should have been picked up when the car was MOT'ed prior to me taking ownership?

 

[Ian B Walker]

On some of the more modern cars the steering wheel will only go one one way with maybe 2 splines difference due to the wires for the air bag being in a fixed position on the hub. It is easier to have the wheels aligned to the steering wheel . Information gathered though experience with a 140 500S (ok its old) and a more modern 202

 

[Chris_J]

Dealer will tell you that's normal because the car is camber sensitive. That's all I ever get from them.