Everyone of these sellers (let's call them the usual suspects) is exactly the same. Most of them do not have a phone number and if they did, they wouldn't answer the thing anyways! Sure you can try the chat function, but that's another waste of time. So we are relegated to trying email only to be fobbed off by some dumbass swearing they are always right and we the buyers are morons. Kinda like asking the kid in the plumbing department at the homelessshithole to help you with a sprinkler problem. DON'T BOTHER! Customer service is a joke these days.
Anyways, T is right, the heat has always been there, but you can bet something has changed, probably the chemical composition of the seal. A decision that was ultimately made by some overpaid jackwagon upstairs trying to save 5cents to lessen the effect of inflation!
I'll get off my soapbox now, but let's face it, the world has turned to shit over the last 20years That's why I bought my W123 this year. I'll be damned if I'm going to get hogtied by some car maker that requires a subscription to have cruise control. At least with my old car, I already know the cruise is tits up! ;-) A stuck air cleaner is not something worth losing sleep over. But it sure is a good time to poke fun at these companies these days. They are the real azzhats!