Mercedes Benz A/C Not Cold! Watch Out For This Hose!

2008 Mercedes Benz E350 with an a/c system not working. Non-recall suction side a/c hose internal failure is the cause. Low side readings of 60 psi or higher. Mercedes Benz is aware of this failure.

Vehicles Affected: A-Class 169, B-Class 245, C-Class 203, C-Class 204, CL 216, CLK 207, CLK 209, CLS 219, E-Class 211, E-Class 212, GL 164, GLK 204, M-Class 164, R-Class 251, S-Class 221, SL 230 and SLK 171
These are a couple links to the spring lock coupler tool.

[mariocuadra]

A hose that collapses internally; that is just beyond what most people would suspect. Thank you for another good video with your automotive experience weighing in on a problem that is lurking beneath the surface for many Mercedes owners.

[katzfinch]

Nicola,
Thank you for making this! And THANKS for figuring this out!
We just had our 2008 wagon in the shop for air-conditioning issues. I started to drive the car home and I thought to myself it’s not cold enough. I drove it a little bit more and didn’t get much colder so I turned around.
Our non-dealer Mercedes mechanic had it for another few days and could not find anything wrong with it. He went over with us every single thing that he had done. Since I know that they knew what they were doing I couldn’t question them. They did the right thing. And I knew that I wasn’t crazy. So I thought to myself there has got to be something else… I kept on thinking that. After a couple of research I ran into your video and I cannot thank you enough.
They have the part on order and we’re glad to have a found out about the mystery.
Thank you again!

[victorduque]

Had this air conditioning problem for about 8 months now and looked everywhere in the car couldnt figure it out. Gonna change this hose I already know it’ll save my life amazing video

[joedavis]

I had that exact same problem on a 2008 GL450. On mine, that hose runs very close to the exhaust manifold, which may have contributed to its premature failure. When I replaced it, I added some header insulation around the hose and secured with some stainless wire ties I found at NAPA.

[mckoylach]

Thanks for the video, hope this is the problem that my friend has with his 2010 Mercedes….

[TheRacerRich]

Without you/the TSB I never would have solved this.

[sergiovaldez]

Greetings Nicola,
Can you please identify the name of this part so I can order it from auto parts. I believe this video will help me solve my AC issue also can this be remove easily as mentioned?

[MrMarco]

Just know that could save countless hours of troubleshooting! Thanks.

[edwardandrade]

Thank you. I, too, had this happen to my Benz. Not after replacing many things, including the compressor

[mikaelcarlsson]

Are there a video on how to demount the upper plastic fitting

[antonkaschin]

Is in a list all cars wich have this issue?
Vito W639 maybe also there?

[shevanbryan]

Hey man, thanks for this video. I'm doing a similar repair on a 2008 S550. Before watching this video we could not get the low pressure hose off, so we destroyed the black coupler and the replacement hose comes with one on it. For some reason though, I cannot get it all the way on. It does not go up far enough (maybe just to the second O ring). Is there any special tool I should need to do this? The replacement hose is OEM, part number lines up and everything.

[michobebemckawi]

Just one point that was missed, how do you detach the hose from the coupling? What's the mechanism?

[orlandooliva]

I got the CTA 2763 tool to remove the hose. The question I have is once the tool clips on do I push out the hose or push back the tool and coupling? I don't want to break the tool or the coupling. Thanks for your help.

[ontheball]

In case this helps any one... and please, read this to the end before starting any of it, if you wish to try this (at your own risk), as it does work, but needs to be done a certain way, and with 2 people.
I used long, thin centre punches to slowly push in the pins (at 3 and 9 o clock on the coupler), which made 2 more pins (at 6 and 12 o clock) push out of the coupler. I pushed in (not too hard) until I saw that the pins at 6 and 12 o clock weren't coming out any more.
Then, while I held the pins in, my awesome mechanic (admittedly this worked because of his experience...and this is the tricky bit) used long needle nose pliers to lightly grab the pipe just before it enters the coupler, and slowly and gently wiggled the pipe out of the fitting.
Then the part I actually found difficult was getting the 6mm allen key bit onto the lower bolt and breaking it free with the tight space I had, right next to the hot engine and exhaust manifold (if you also do this with a hot engine, I believe you too, will burn your hands. Lol).
I hope this helps someone. But please remember to be slow and gentle when pushing in the pins, and wiggling the pipe out.

[armyman]

This really helped me. Thanks from 2022.

[robertturner]

Nicoya -Great video. One question - I noticed that the freon can during your refill was upside down.Most cans say to keep upright.Were you using something different or do you have a better technique. I rely on guys like you to help DIY guys like me. Thanks in advance of a response.

[gonzalomaureira]

Thank you Nicola!, w211 e 280 problem ac solved from Chile!

[therestorationshop]

Great video! I have a strange leak in my W211 system. It will hold a vacuum for hours but leaks refrigerant within hour of the next use. I put some dye in an I think this hose might be the source of the leak but I am puzzled by the fact that the system will hold a vacuum.

[dr.akmakjan]

What about W205 is this effect too. October 2016 model a/c compress just stopped hybrid model C Class