1993 Mercedes Benz 400E

PARKED THE VEHICLE AND PLACED IT IN PARK THEN TURNED IGNITION OFF. BURNING SMELL COMING FROM VEHICLE THEN SMOKE STARTED GOING IN THROUGH VENTS AND SEEMED LIKED IT WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE CAR. THE ELECTRICAL WIRING HARNESS IS CREATING MASS AND THE CAR NEARLY WENT UP IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND WERENT ABLE TO PUT OUT THE SMOKE AS THE SOURCE OF IT WAS NOT IMMEDIATLY DETERMINED. I AM NOT LOOKING AT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN REPAIRS.

FAULTY WIRING IN ENGINE HARNESS RESULTED IN LOSS OF POWER AT SPEED ON A MAJOR INTERSTATE, LUCKILY AT THE TIME I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD SAFELY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE CAR'S CHARGING SYSTEM HAD BEEN SHORTED OUT. STILL WAITING ON OTHER SYSTEM TESTS. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH CERTAIN MERCEDES. WHY ISN'T ANYTHING BEING DONE ABOUT THIS? *TR

I OWN A 1993 400E MERCEDES. RECENTLY IT HAS HAD MAJOR DIFFICULTY TURNING OVER. I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL MERCEDES BENZ REPAIR SHOP. THEY TOLD ME IT THE ENGINE HARNESS HAS GONE BAD AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED COMPLETELY. EVIDENTLY THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AS MERCEDES USED SUB-STANDARD MATERIALS WHEN BUILDING THE WIRING HARNESS. THIS CAUSES MAJOR SAFETY ISSUES AND I BELIEVE MERCEDES SHOULD BE FORCED TO BEGIN RECALLING THESE VEHICLES. *TR

I AM WRITING ABOUT A FAULTY ENGINE WIRING HARNESS IN MY 1993 400E (E420 BADGE). THIS PAST MAY, MY CAR HAD A CHECK ENGINE LAMP PROBLEM SYMPTOM. AFTER BEING WITHOUT MY CAR FOR THE MORE THAN 2 WEEKS THAT IT TOOK MY MECHANIC (DIETSCH WERKS IN SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA) TO INVESTIGATE MULTIPLE ERRONEOUS DIAGNOSTIC FAULT CODES, I FINALLY GOT MY CAR BACK AFTER SPENDING ABOUT $500 PARTIALLY FOR ELUSIVE DIAGNOSTIC TIME. ON THE EVENING OF 30 JUNE, THE CAR DIED WHILE DRIVING ON THE BUSY US 101 FREEWAY IN SAN JOSE, SO I HAD IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC. THE FUSE FOR THE FUEL PUMP (AND OTHER THINGS) WAS BLOWING. AFTER CONSIDERABLE DIAGNOSTICS, IT WAS FINALLY DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WAS FAULTY. IN ADDITION TO BEING WITHOUT MY CAR FOR MORE THAN 2 WEEKS AGAIN, I PAID A REPAIR BILL IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,209.67. I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THAT SOME EARLY/MID 1990S MODEL MERCEDES-BENZ CARS HAD AN ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DESIGN DEFECT, IN THAT A BIODEGRADABLE WIRING INSULATION WAS USED THAT DETERIORATES FROM HEAT IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. IT APPEARS THE PROBLEM IS FAIRLY WELL KNOWN BY MERCEDES-BENZ MECHANICS. PAYING SUCH A HIGH PRICE ($743.70) FOR SUCH A LOW COST PART GIVEN THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE IS MOST INAPPROPRIATE. IT'S LIKELY THAT THE COST TO MERCEDES-BENZ FOR THE HARNESS DELIVERED TO THE LOCAL DEALER WAS LESS THAN $74.37. I HAVE THE FAULTY HARNESS AND THE MERCEDES-BENZ BOX THE REPLACEMENT HARNESS CAME IT. I AM WILLING TO SHIP IT FOR ANALYSIS. REPORTEDLY SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS OF OWNERS OR 1991 - 1996 MERCEDES-BENZ VEHICLES ARE EXPERIENCING THEIR CARS BECOMING INOPERATIVE WITHOUT WARNING AS A RESULT OF THIS DESIGN DEFECT. I SUSPECT THAT SOME OR MANY OF THE VEHICLES SUDDENLY BECOME INOPERATIVE IN VERY UNSAFE SITUATIONS. THE EXTREME PRICE GOUGING FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE HARNESS IS EVIDENCE OF OF CONTEMPT FOR CUSTOMERS AND NHTSA. *JB