Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| SB-32-22-78 | 05/06/2009 | SB-32-22-78A | 10028686 | Mercedes: air matic visit workshop displayed within instrument cluster. models 164, 211, 219, 221 and 251. included 4matic, amg (compressor) amg, bluetec and wagon. model years unknown. *pe updated 9/18/09. | 05/14/2009 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| SB-32-22-78 | 05/06/2009 | SB-32-22-78A | 10028686 | Mercedes: air matic visit workshop displayed within instrument cluster. models 164, 211, 219, 221 and 251. included 4matic, amg (compressor) amg, bluetec and wagon. model years unknown. *pe updated 9/18/09. | 05/14/2009 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 09/08/2012 | 148000 | 1 | |
| This vehicle (1996 mercedes e320) has had a history of electrical problems over the past several years. many repairs have been made to the vehicle electrical systems at great expense! this time the vehicle would not start and i was investigating the cause myself. troubleshooting revealed a defective wiring harness assembly from the electrical system connection in the left front of the engine compartment to the park/neutral safety switch on the transmission and to the starter. this harness also includes connections to the starter and sensors on the transmission. all wires in the entire harness have crumbled insulation and have shorted together. this caused shorting and burning of the wires and damage to other system components. i have been a mechanic for 15+ years and it is obvious that the harness assemblies on this vehicle are of poor quality and subject to failure. the insulation on all wires is inferior and will fail and crack over short periods of time. further investigation of the other harnesses on the vehicle has revealed the same problems. this could have caused a major fire and personal injury. luckily the damage was small and contained to this one harness, however all harness on the vehicle must be replaced. *tr | |||
| 09/08/2012 | 148000 | ||
| This vehicle (1996 mercedes e320) has had a history of electical problems over the past several years. many repairs have been made to the vehicle electrical systems at great expense! this time the vehicle would not start and i was investigating the cause myself. troubleshooting revealed a defective wiring harness assemlby from the electrical system connection in the left front of the engine compartment to the park/neutral safey switch on the tranmission and to the starter. this harness also includes connections to the starter and sensors on the transmission. all wires in the entire harness have crumbled insulation and have shorted together. this caused shorting and burning of the wires and damage to other system components. i have been a mechanic for 15+ years and it is obvious that the harness assemblies on this vehicle are of poor quality and subject to failure. the insulation on all wires is inferior and will fail and crack over short periods of time. further investigation of the other harnesses on the vehicle has revealed the same problems. this could have caused a major fire and personal injury. luckily the damage was small and contained to this one harness, however all harness on the vehicle must be replaced. | |||
| 11/02/2004 | 45000 | 1 | |
| Our low mileage 1996 e320 mercedes check engine light keeps going and remaining on.(for years now) the code comes up advising that a switch on the automatic trans.is faulty. had mb replace it and a week later it came up with the same code. mb has looked at it numerous times, the last time i was charged. i have had to replace the ignition switch at 55,000 miles (mb-$650.) they charged me for another hour as they said that the wiring harness was damaged. i told them that this was a one owner car serviced at mb and nothing in the dash had ever been taken apart before. they claim it had been . not true. after this repair, the right side automatic daytime running lights, including the right tail light only works if i use the light switch. they deny that the ignition switch repair has anything to do with it. unlike the us , mb canada is a cartel and their attitude has a lot to be desired. there are four mercedes benz dealerships in vancouver bc and all are mb canada owned and operated.as in all other canadian cities. *tr | |||
| 10/16/2008 | 113000 | 1 | |
| Up until about 6 months ago, the only problems to my vehicle had been due to routine maintenance. about that time, my 1996 mercedes benz e320 began running rough. i took my vehicle to a reputable (mercedes benz only) shop who replaced 2 coils. although the vehicle ran good for a few days, it soon began running rough. a follow up visit led c & g mercedes, in houston, texas, to find that the problem was related to it's wiring harness, that resulted from a common problem to this and other models, due to premature corrosion of the insulation of the wires. from what i understand this can cause the problems i have described and can results in fires too. i also understand that this occurs in 1990 -1996 models. the correction is a $1,000.00 replacement part. *tr | |||
| 11/21/2007 | 1 | ||
| The wiring on the car is disintegrating harness wires every wire was a great car wiring causing various problems cost more to fix then its worth help me! *tr | |||
| 10/28/2007 | 150550 | 2 | 01/31/1996 |
| My car seem not to be starting all the time when i turn the ignition key on. mercedes service informed me that the wire harness needs to be replace and there are bare wire exposed and this could be causing the problem. the informed me that the material was made with biodegradable material and that's why this is occurred. i informed the dealer that this is a safety hazard and should be fixed by mercedes as a campaign rather than charge the owner 1,500 dollars to fix. the dealer said to not touch the wire harness and eventually the car will stop running. this is totally unacceptable for a 50k plus car and not to have the manufacturer to stand behind their poor design. i am reporting this before i have a failure which could cause an accident due to engine failure and brake failure due to lack of power. *tr | |||
| 06/14/2007 | 1 | ||
| Wiring harness defect, needs to be recalled and replaced. *ak | |||
| 01/26/2000 | 1 | ||
| There was a problem with the electrical system. *slc | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 09/05/2001 | 1 | ||
| When ignition was turned battery exploded violently covering garage and vehicle with battery acid. no determination has been made for the cause of this problem. please provide any additional information / attachments.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 07/15/2006 | 138000 | 4 | 09/09/2005 |
| I have a 1996 e320 and the first thing to go was the condenser fan, when you turn the ac on its the fans that help keep your car cool, but then that went out and my car would run hot if i constantly ran ac. then my ac blower just went out one day. then i took it to a mercedes specialist and he noticed that the wiring harness was frail and worn. he called my car a time bomb and said it would be a matter of time before it died on me. but i thought that mercedes last a long time. and then, about a month later, my check engine light came on and my car began shaking from time to time and i lost a lot of power to it. sometimes i would have to pull over and turn the car off and then turn it back on to stop the shaking. he also said that it would cost about $1000 to replace and that it was a bad design by mercedes. and last saturday night on my way home, i got into my car and tried to start it, but nothing happened, i couldn't even hear a click at all when i turned the key. i tried jump starting it, and still nothing, so i ended up having to tow it home. i called the mercedes specialist again and told him what was wrong and all the steps i took, and he said more than likely its the wiring harness. so now i have a nice looking car just sitting in my drive way doing nothing. pooler, ga. *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 3 | |||
| Upon taking ownership of vehicle air bag light on the instrument panel was illuminated. dealership changed an unknown component, and since then has examined vehicle two more times for same problem. consumer has been informed that wiring harness had to be replaced in order to correct the problem, and was being charged $2,500.00 for repairs. please provide any additional information / documentation.*ak | |||