I recently purchased an ML320 for the cold winters here in Calgary. The machine goes great in snow and ice, but the front footwells don't seem to get any heat no matter what the control postion is. As this type of vehicle is new to me, I don;t know if this is typical or if it is some kind of component issue.
As it is fricking freezing these days any help is greatly appreciated.

Mike

Mine is the same way. It is the '98 model and my feet freeze on any long trips I take in the vehicle. It has to be actually stuffy in the cabin for my feet and legs to be comfortable. Have you posted this on the ML section? You might get more input.

I have the same issue with my E320, so I think it is prevalent on most MB models. MB gives preference to heating the windshield and side windows (safety first), rather than giving people toasty feet.... good for driving, bad for your feet.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

The W163 chassis has a different style of heating system than any other MB.
Doesn't have a heater valve & uses a motor(stepper) operated blend air door for heat. The motor that controls the door is a likely problem!

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I remember this from way back when.
Only applied to 98's If I remember correctly.

06M/99-2 GROUP 83 - MODEL 163, INSUFFICIENT AIRFLOW TO DRIVER'S SIDE FOOT WELL: If you receive a complaint that in heating mode in the subject vehicles with M112 or M113 engines up to production date 12/98 the airflow to the driver's side foot well area seems insufficient, this may be caused by a lack of back pressure at the six-hole airflow guide in the driver's side under dash panel which can cause the exiting warm air to be dispersed into too wide of an area.
In cases of complaint, remove existing airflow guide and install updated three-hole airflow guide. For optimal floor heating, set air distribution switch to six o'clock position, set air volume control switch to a minimum of position two, close center vents, set temperature selector switch to desired temperature.
Part No. 163 689 06 83 Airflow guide, left hand drive

Hope this helps.
Dr.Diesel

In our experience with the '98 ML320 we owned we had the same problem for the driver side footwell. We used the 6 o'clock heater control position, used fan position one (so the air movement didn't feel as cold), closed all the dash vents whenever we didn't need them and plugged the passenger side footwell outlet next to the center console with a shop rag. The passenger side well was still getting plenty of heat. We did have the repair modification mentioned by Dr. Diesel that helped some but did not solve the problem entirely so we continued to use the shop rag modification.

Jim W.