Well, I went in and had my fan recall done this morning. Great service! In and out in 45 minutes. However, I also purchased an oil filter and here is where the fun begins. The filter is in a Mercedes Benz box, and its paper, made in Austria. It looks smaller then the current one. It also has a new part number, 5183748AA 160B, and the price is $18.50 - that's right, no fleece filters anymore and double the price for the paper one.

I double checked with the parts department and they ran the numbers through the system, a second time to insure no errors were made. The parts manager told me DC had changed the part number and issued new filters.

So, it appears we are going to be charged the same price for paper as MB is charging for the fleece filter. Next change, the MB dealer parts department will get my business.

Buyer beware...check that box before the next oil change.

John