1995 Mercedes Benz E320

MERCEDES E320 1995 WIRING HARNESS FAILURE. CAR BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH, CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS WOULD KEEP COMING ON. DEALER SAID THEY COULDN'T FIX THE CAR WITHOUT REPLACING THE ENTIRE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS (WHICH SEEMED LUDICROUS AT THE TIME SINCE NO AMERICAN CAR I'D EVER OWNED NEEDED SUCH A DRASTIC FIX) OTHER DEALERS TOOK THE CAR FOR REPAIR BUT ALL CAME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION ABOUT THE HOPELESSNESS PROBLEM OF THE HARNESS. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THE HARNESS IS ABOUT 1,000.00 DOLLARS UN-INSTALLED...*JB NOW I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED TO VIRTUALLY ALL MERCEDES E320 OF THAT 5 YR. PERIOD BUT THERE WAS NEVER A RECALL TO PROTECT ALL OF THE OWNERS. I'VE NEVER LEFT TOWN WITH THE CAR BECAUSE IT ALWAYS ENDS UP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AS ITS' SO UNDEPENDABLE. SO MUCH FOR MY FIRST AND LAST MERCEDES...

TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE 1995 MERCEDES 320E, SHOULD BE PART OF RECALL 95V031000 FOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING THAT HE FOUND ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE. HE STATED THAT ON 02/15/07 HE BEGAN TO NOTICE THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS STAYING ON, AND HE OPENED THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THAT THE WIRES IN THE VEHICLE WERE FRAYED. WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN WITHOUT NOTICE. HE HAD TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER AND TURN THE POWER OFF AND THEN RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE FELT THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE ON THE RECALL DUE TO THE WIRING BURNING OUT. THE CONTACT CALLED THE DEALERSHIP, AND STATED THAT THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT APART OF THE RECALL AND HE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIRS BECAUSE OF THE MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE BOTH 203971.*AK UPDATE 4/23/07*TR

I HAVE CHANGED THE PLUGS IN MY 1995 MERCEDES 3 TIMES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. THE LAST TIME BY THE DEALERSHIP IN HUNTSVILLE, AL. THEY SAID THE PLUGS I HAS PUT IN NEW A MONTH BEFORE WERE BAD AND REPLACED THEM AGAIN. THIS DID NOT FIX MY PROBLEM AND HAS PROGRESSIVELY BECOME WORSE. THIS PAST WEEK END I CHECKED THE PLUGS AGAIN AND WHEN I STARTED THE ENGINE IT WAS MISSING ON AT LEAST TWO CYLINDERS. TWO PLUGS WERE NOT EVEN FIRING. AFTER INSPECTING THE WIRES GOING TO THE MAGNETOS I DISCOVERED THEY WERE ALL BARE WIRES ON THE HARNESS GOING TO THE ENGINE. THE PLASTIC COVER ON ALL THE WIRES WOULD JUST FALL OFF THE WIRE. I CUT THE RUBBER INSERT INSIDE WHERE THE PLUGS ARE LOCATED AND THE WIRES WERE OF THE SAME CONDITION AND HAD ACTUALLY TURNED GREEN AND BROWN WITH CORROSION. SINCE MY CAR WAS DOWN AND I NEEDED IT ON MONDAY TO GO TO WORK, I CUT THE BAD WIRES OFF AND SOLDERED THE NEW WIRE TO THE PLUG ENDS THAT GO TO THE MAGNETOS. THIS HELPED TO GET THE CAR RUNNING BUT I ALSO DISCOVERED THE WIRES GOING TO THE INJECTORS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE PRICED THE NEW WIRING HARNESS AND IT WOULD COST OVER A 1000.00 FOR JUST THE HARNESS. THIS IS WITHOUT THE LABOR INVOLVED. THIS CAR ONLY HAS 110,000 MILES AND IS STILL IN GOOD CONDITION. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT MERCEDES HASN'T RECALLED THIS WIRING HAZARD. IF IT WERE TO SHORT OUT IT COULD BURN UP THE WHOLE CAR OR INJURE MY FAMILY. I PLAN ON FIXING THIS PROBLEM SO THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN. *NM

WIRING HARNESS ON MY 1995 E320 HAS DETERIORATED TO AN UNSAFE CONDITION AND NEEDS REPLACEMENT. I HAVE EXPERIENCED SEVERAL UNUSUAL CHECK ENGINE INDICATIONS WHICH HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE FALSE ALARMS. IN ONE CASE IT CAUSED A PROBLEM FOR ME IN GETTING MY CALIFORNIA SMOG CERTIFICATION BECAUSE OF A FALSE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. AFTER CONSULTING WITH SEVERAL MERCEDES AUTHORIZED MECHANICS I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS WIRING HARNESS CONDITION IS A KNOW PROBLEM AFFECTING SEVERAL MODELS OVER SEVERAL YEARS. I VISUALLY INSPECTED THE WIRES AND CAN SEE THE INSULATION CRACKING AND CRUMBLING BEFORE MY EYES. I CONTACTED MERCEDES BENZ USA IN NJ AND WAS INFORMED THAT MY VEHICLE IS NOT SUBJECT TO RECALL AND WAS 12 YEARS OLD WITH HIGH MILEAGE (105000 MILES). AS A RESULT I AM FORCED TO REPLACE WIRING HARNESS AT MY OWN EXPENSE TO RECTIFY AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURE DEFECT RESULTING IN SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES. *NM

I TOOK MY 1995 E320 MERCEDES INTO A REPAIR SHOP AFTER SMELLING BURNT OIL. THE REPAIR SHOP ADVISED ME THAT I HAD A HEAD GASKET LEAK AND THAT THE HARNESS WIRING SYSTEM IS DEGRADED. ADDITIONALLY, THE TIMING COVER LEAKS OIL AND THE THROTTLE BODY ACTUATOR WIRING IS ALSO DEGRADED. THE AFTER MARKET BENTLEY REPAIR MANUAL CITES THE HEAD GASKET AND WIRING HARNESS ARE BEING A COMMON PROBLEM. MY CAR HAS 91K MILES. THESE TYPES OF PROBLEMS REFLECT A POOR DESIGN AND I POSTULATE A BUILT IN OBSOLESCENCE BY THE MANUFACTURER. THESE PROBLEMS SHOULD HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY MERCEDES FOR RECALL; INSTEAD MERCEDES IS PROFITING FROM THESE PROBLEMS. FOR INSTANCE, THE WIRE HARNESS FOR MY AUTO CAN ONLY BE PROCURED FROM MERCEDES AT A COST OF 1200$. *NM

WIRING HARNESS ON 1995 MERCEDES E320 FAILS AND CAUSES CAR TO STOP WHILE DRIVING DOWN BUSY CITY STREETS. WIRING INSULATION IS COMPLETELY CRACKED AND CAUSING A SHORTING SITUATION. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM SINCE I HAVE CONTACTED OVER TEN PEOPLE PERSONALLY THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. THERE ARE HUNDREDS ON THE NET. HOW BAD DOES THIS HAVE TO GET BEFORE MERCEDES DOES SOMETHING TO FIX IT? *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING ON TWO OCCASIONS. THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS DISENGAGED AFTER THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE AIR CONDITIONER WAS TURNED ON. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE VEHICLE WAS ON A SLIGHT INCLINE WHEN THE CONTACT FELT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL PULL AWAY FROM THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THE INSULATION ON THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WAS DETERIORATED. THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT INFORMED.