My W203 suddenly released a strong vinyl burning like smell in the cabin a year ago while driving on the highway. The climate control unit was on, and, when it was turned off, further smell stopped coming into the cabin. Thus, the next day, I took the car into a service shop (authorized dealer) for a check, and they discovered an engine oil leakage. They diagnosed that the odor had been due to this leakage, fixed the part and cleaned the engine room with steam. A week later (I believe it was) when I took the car again for a ride, the same odor came out, although the amount was less compared to the initial incident. I called the service shop again, and they commented that it had been probably due to the fact that it needed more time for all the oil residuals in the engine room to evaporate. Since then, I have been driving the car in the hope that the odor will go away someday (as it also makes me dizzy).

Is there anyone who has experienced this problem? If so, I would really appreciate it if you could share it and its solution with me.

So far, I had the dust filter, the blower motor (to elimiate a case where the brush is worn) and the battery replaced; however, none of them helps.

Not a solution, but an oil smell and at same time a dash display warning happened to my mother earlier this week. Car is 2002 C240 with 4400 miles.

I tested the car and could find a faint odor of oil but no dash warnings.

Did some examining of the car, removed bottom two engine encapsulation shields, engine front snap on cover, plus battery and brake covers. I found no leaking oil.

Found that the design of this car puts HVAC blower motor and filter behind battery but basicly exposed to engine compartment. I noticed that compared to my 1998 W202, the brush motor top on our W203 C240 had rust on top of spindel, while on my 1998 C230 the top spindel of blower has no corrosion, blower on my 1998 C230 is situated in a more remote location to outside elements than on the 2002 C240.

mtokfmak, have you gotten any dash warning lights concerning oil level?
or dash warnings at same time as (oil) odor?

And do you know what caused the oil leak on your car, what part was fixed?

I will be taking car into shop shortly, hopefully the onboard computer had kept a code on what the dash warnings were and thus help diagnose the problem.

No, there has never been a dash warning light, and it was an engine oil leakage. The dealer said that the leakage had been at the tip of something (they did not give me a full description or the location) and a very small amount.

Good luck with your mother’s car!