Consumer Complaint Detail
MERCEDES BENZ / E CLASS / 1996
0 Injured
0 Death
No Fire
| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 005024260 | Incident Date: Jun, 12 2005 |
| Consumer's City: SPARKS | Consumer's State: NV |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO | Manufacturers Name: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| Model Name: E CLASS | Model Year: 1996 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Suspension:front:springs:coil springs |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: WDBJF20F4TJ | Date added to File: May, 23 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Jun, 13 2005 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: May, 14 2005 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: I have a 1996 mercedes e300d and recently i learned from an internet message board about a safety defect on this chassis involving the front suspension. specifically it's the upper spring support or perch as some people call it which can rust away and break from the supporting back wall, resulting in total loss of control of the vehicle. the rusting is caused by or at least contributed to by a poor-quality sealant that mercedes uses around that area. after some time this sealant loses its adhesion or starts to crack, trapping water underneath it and starting corrosion. the upper spring support is only spot welded in two places to the side of the wheel well and it doesn't take much corrosion to cause a failure. on my car the passenger side is rusted so bad that one of the welds has already broken and the spring support is now close to failure. peeling off the sealant revealed the true extent of the rust and it is extensive. the driver's side looked fine at first, but peeling off the sealant revealed extensive rust as well, though the welds are still in one piece. the vehicle has no significant rust elsewhere, only where the sealant used to be and the surrounding area so i definitely believe this is a manufacturing/design problem. some owners have already suffered a complete failure of this component. luckily i caught it just in time. after some pushing, mercedes has agreed through the local dealer to cover 50% of my expenses to repair this problem. however i believe they should be responsible for 100% of the expenses because it's a major safety issue and it should be a recall. who would expect a 9 year old mercedes to lose its front suspension on the highway? from what i've heard there already is a recall campaign in canada, but not in the us. |