Consumer Complaint Detail
MERCEDES BENZ / 280 / 1994
0 Injured
0 Death
Yes Fire
| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 006076328 | Incident Date: Jul, 12 2006 |
| Consumer's City: SEATTLE | Consumer's State: WA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO | Manufacturers Name: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| Model Name: 280 | Model Year: 1994 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Electrical system:wiring |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Yes | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: WDBHA28EXRF | Date added to File: May, 23 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Aug, 22 2006 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Dec, 18 2005 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: The engine wiring harness (that supplies 12 volts dc to the coils that convert it into high voltage for use in the spark plugs), had a critical failure in the wire insulation. over time the insulation will harden and crack to the point that wires short out. this failure is not limited to only this harness, in fact it has been found to cause electrical fires in other parts of the car. though my car has not had a fire, the harness did have this insulation failure, which caused cylinders 2 and 5 to misfire completely, on a permanent basis until i replaced the harness at a cost of $800 for the part alone. i replaced the part myself to save the cost of shop time. this was a critical safety issue because it severely impacted the power available in the car, and when entering a heavily traveled intersection from a stop sign, i was nearly t-boned by an oncoming car because it was so difficult to get the car up to speed. this is a known issue for model years 1994-1997. i know of a person who lives not far from me, who experienced an engine fire due to this failure. *jb |