Ok, so this has been an issue I've had for at elast a year and just not got around to even looking at. my AC gets nice and cold which has been very nice in the recent weather. Chilling ones buttocks is also very nice on those long drives like the 6 hour schlep we did up to Stirling from the midlands last year, a journey the 280 L&K was perfect for.

 

However, when I turn my chilled seats on, everything works fine for a while. Eventually I want a bit of cooler air elsewhere and it feels like the blower is going full tilt but barely anything is coming from the vents to the point where the car feels stifling forcing me to *gasp* open a window. It seems to correct itself if the car is left overnight, but apart from that I've not found a reliable cure. I did once set the controls to blow it all up the windscreen and after about 2 minutes there was a definite increase in airflow and decrease in noise from the blower as it felt like something got unblocked or a flap moved or something. I thought I had found a cure for my oddity but alas, it was not able to be replicated.

 

It's got to the point where if we're on a 2 hour drive I won't dare activate cold butt until were at least 90 minutes in.

 

Any thoughts?

We have ventilated seats and they’re not connected to the AC, but blow ambient air through the cushion and seat back, so I doubt the AC problem is connected with this. Might be worth resetting the AC. 

Edited 23 June, 20223 yr by numskull

3 minutes ago, numskull said:

We have ventilated seats and they’re not connected to the AC, but blow ambient air through the cushion and seat back, so I doubt the AC problem is connected with this. Might be worth resetting the AC. 

Correct, all they are is a fan blowing cabin air, my wondering is, when the blowers are on, possibly the car diverts a bit more air to the rear foot wells to blow cooler air through the seats possibly? May explain why he can hear a fast fan speed but not feel it anywhere? Just a punt

The seat fans reduce their speed when stationary. They then restart, almost with an over-boost initially when one pulls away and they then settle to their normal set speed. Ultimately, they’re pretty ineffective, unlike the cooled seats on my sons CLK500, which have ducted air to the ventilated seats. 

I find my ventilated seats work noticeably with the AC on and windows closed, but are barely perceptible with the A/C off and the windows open. That would stand to reason I think, they just circulate the ambient air?

 

Wasn't there someone on here recently that had an issue with AC running warm after a period of time, which turned out to just need a regas because of low levels? Sounds similar to me 

THere are quite a few different sensors to direct the climate control, have you scanned the car for any faults at all?  One that can cause problems similar to this is the sensor on the top of the dashboard near the windscreen to detect ambient air temp.