Consumer Complaint Detail

MERCEDES BENZ / E430 / 1998

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 005058612 Incident Date: Sep, 06 2005
Consumer's City: LAKELAND Consumer's State: FL
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Model Name: E430 Model Year: 1998
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: Yes Component's Description: Engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: WDBJF70F2WA Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Mar, 07 2006 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Aug, 28 2005
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 8 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: My wife was driving the 1998 mercedes e430 at 65 mph on a two lane frontage road along i-4 in lakeland florida on august 7, 2005. the road had curves and stop signs. without any warning or check engine lights, the vehicle lost power steering and anti-lock power brakes. my wife ran through a stop sign and into a field before regaining control, although limited, of the vehicle. the harmonic damper had disintegrated taking out the whole front of the engine. the failure caused an immediate seizing of the engine as the damper parts wedged between the remaining part of the damper and the engine oil pan. my wife was startled by the noise, then the quiet and the loss of the power steering and the power brakes. my wife, a woman of 125 lbs had all she could do to stop and steer the car. the car was towed at owner's expense ($75) to the nearest mercedes dealer for repair. the dealer replaced 47 parts/gaskets on the front of the engine under the recall. the owner had to replace the mass air sensor and the air conditioning compressor at a cost of $1500.00. the vehicle still has a rumbling vibration getting worse at 50-60 mph that it did not have before the recall. the engine is consuming oil or leaking oil now also. *nm