Well, I had been under the impression that the '96 and on c280 had a very good A/C system. I had mine charged this spring. It had no trouble passing a vacuum holding test, but this last week, I felt that the A/C was a little weak, so I took it for service. It was very low on refrigerant, but was still capable of running. The protection had not yet kicked in. It still passed a vacuum holding test, but the miniscule leak was sealed and all was well for 2 days. Yesterday the compressor started making horrible noises and today it will run but not load. Here goes just over $2000.00 for a new compressor (installed). Total mileage on car - 100,000km, almost exactly. Obviously the compressor's protection is inadequate and running the climate control system on "auto" for a month with lower than normal refrigerant level is not good for it. The new one is supposed to go in tomorrow so hopefully I won't cook as it gets warmer this week.