2007 Mercedes Benz E320

Noticed strong smell of diesel fuel by left rear tire, in several days a leak was under left tire, had fuel tank sending unit gasket replaced, no visible leaks but fumes are still present 1 year after repair. When repair was made all related parts were cleaned of residential fuel. Want to know if MB has dealt with splits or cracks in fuel tanks.

Fuel tank leak at the top of the tank. MB has well documented gasoline leaks for MB model 211 years 2003-2008. Notices were sent to owners of gas powered auto's but none were sent to DIESEL auto owners. The exact same procedure and parts are needed to repair DIESEL tanks as gasoline tanks. Either this is a oversight by MB or the problem was ignored. My DIESEL tank is leaking exactly as other documented gasoline MB vehicles model 211.

HIGHWAY DRIVING, CRUISE CONTROL SET. CRUISE CONTROL BEEPED, DISENGAGED. CAR CONTINUED TO DRIVE NORMALLY UNTIL I HAD TO STOP FOR A LIGHT. WHEN LIGHT CHANGED TO GREEN, THE CAR WOULD BARELY MOVE - HAD NO POWER, EVEN THOUGH THE RPMS SHOWED THE ENGINE RUNNING. FORTUNATELY, I WAS NEAR A GAS STATION AND WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN VERY HAZARDOUS HAD IT OCCURRED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC.... I PULLED OFF THE ROAD, RESTARTED THE CAR AND EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE FINE. BUT THIS CAR BASICALLY LEFT ME SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN APPROACHING ME FROM THE REAR, OR IT WAS IN THE INTERSECTION AT THE TIME.

TRANSMISSION VIOLENTLY DOWNSHIFT SEVERAL GEARS WITHOUT WARNING .THIS CAUSES SKIDDING, THROWING OCCUPANTS VIOLENTLY TOWARD THE WIND SHIELD THIS HAPPENS WHEN AUTO IS IN DRIVE WITH SPEEDS BETWEEN 40-45 MPH. THIS UNEXPECTED LURCHING CAUSES LOSS OF CONTROL ON WET AND DRY PAVEMENT. THIS DEFECT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO MERCEDES BENZ WITH NO CORRECTIVE ACTION OFFERED.

THE INSULATION ON THE WIRING HARNESSES FOR THE HEADLIGHTS HAS COMPLETELY DISINTEGRATED AND IS SITTING IN A PILE OF BITS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY, LITERALLY LEAVING COMPLETELY BARE WIRES LEADING UP TO THE HEADLAMP SOCKETS. IF THESE WIRES WERE TO TOUCH AND SHORT OUT IT COULD RESULT IN COMPLETE LOSS OF HEADLIGHTS AT NIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEED. THIS DEFECT WAS DISCOVERED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO REPLACE A BURNED OUT LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT BULB. OTHER SUCH WIRING IN THE VEHICLE MIGHT ALSO HAVE DETERIORATED OR DISINTEGRATED BUT NOT YET BEEN DISCOVERED, WITH ATTENDANT RISKS OF DAMAGE TO OTHER EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE PARTS OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, OR RISK OF FIRE OR CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE WHILE OPERATING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.

WHILE TRYING TO MERGE INTO HIGHWAY TRAFFIC (I94 IN MICHIGAN) I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR TO GAIN SPEED TO MERGE ONLY TO FIND THAT THE ENGINE LACKED ANY POWER, THE RPMS ROSE SLOWLY BUT THERE WAS LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION. I WAS TOLD (BY MERCEDES DEALER) THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND IN THIS CASE IT ALMOST CAUSED MY DEATH. IF THIS IS A KNOW ISSUE WHY ARE OUR LIVES BEING PUT AT RISK BECAUSE OF A POORLY DESIGNED PART?

GAS TANK IS LEAKING FUEL ON THE GROUND UNDER THE REAR LEFT FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE REAR LEFT WHEEL. THERE WAS AN NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN FOR ALL E CLASS MODELS 2003 > 2009, WHICH OUR CAR IS PART OF. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED ISSUE. HOWEVER MERCEDES SAYS THE CAMPAIGN DOES NOT INCLUDE OUR DIESEL POWERED CDI BLUETEC MODEL. WE ARE AFRAID THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE ... IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME AND IS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE.

BOUGHT CAR NEW AND LOVE IT. BUT LAST WEEK THE RIGHT LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT FAILED. I HAD LEFT AND RIGHT H7 STANDARD LOW BEAM HALOGEN BULBS CHANGED SINCE THE FRONT BUMPER HAS TO BE REMOVED. LATER THAT DAY THE NEW LEFT SIDE H7 FAILED. SO MY MECHANIC EXPLAINED THAT THE HELLA LIGHT FIXTURE SEEN IN MB, BMW, ETC.. COMMONLY HAVE PREMATURE DISINTEGRATION OF WIRING INSULATION. THEY PULLED BOTH LIGHT FIXTURES, SHOWING ME THE BARE WIRES INSIDE BOTH FIXTURES. THE MB WIRING HARNESS WAS UNAFFECTED. FOR THE COST OF ABOUT $1200 I REPLACED BOTH HELLA HEADLIGHT FIXTURES. I REVIEWED BMW AND MB FORUMS ONLINE AND IN BOTH THERE ARE SIMILAR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HELLA WIRE INSULATION FAILURE IN HEADLIGHTS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS AND EXPENSIVE ISSUE. FROM THE FORUMS IT SEEMS THAT FIRES HAVE OCCURRED. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT AUTO ACCIDENTS HAVE HAPPENED WHEN NIGHT LIGHTING HAS FAILED. AT A MINIMUM THERE HAVE BEEN MANY EXPENSIVE REPAIRS THAT SHOULD BE PART OF A RECALL. I DID NOT CONTACT MERCEDES BENZ BECAUSE THIS SEEMS TO BE A GLOBAL PROBLEM WITH A AUTOMOTIVE PARTS SUPPLIER AND NOT SPECIFIC TO MB OR THE E CLASS. *TR