Dear friends:

My friend got a 1980 W116 300SD. The seats are MB-Tex.

The problem is that the smell inside the car is really aweful, and I believe that this smell emanates from horse had pads under the seats. Is there any product or a way to help alleviate or get rid of this horse hair smell?

Is it easy to remove the MB-Tex cover and throw away the underlying horse hair pads?

Thank you very much for your precious information.

Best regards,

Eric

Maquires makes a dog odor / car odor eliminator. You can buy it from an auto supply store in a spray bottle. I've had excellent results with it. It doesn't add any odor of it's own. Sometimes it takes more than one treatment. It does a decent job of getting rid of the "old car smell" after storage. Tod

__________________
Resistance is Futile.

Removing the seat covers and replacing the pads is not a huge task; check the site for a description of the procedure.
Don't overlook the possible contribution of carpet to an odor problem.

__________________
Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)

Mold in the carpets from moisture is a big problem. And beyond just the carpets, Mercedes seems to have used some kind of foam between two pads of rubber as a noise dampener under the carpets. That foam must be open-cell because it seems to be able to hold moisture.

As a test, it might be a good idea to pull all the mats and carpets out of the car and see what happens with the smell. Don't forget the trunk mat - it can stink to high heaven too.

Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

Eric:

(tongue inserted firmly in cheek...)

I'm disappointed that no one here or on the diesel forum suggests that your friend should maybe invest in a horse trailer.

Seriously, I would replace the offending pads, make sure that the interior of the car stays dry, air it out well and then use the baking soda container for a while to remove the last of the smell.

I vaguely recall that Griot's sells a "smell pretty" item that would help, but he's pretty $$$$$.

Cheers,
Wes