2000 Mercedes Benz S430

The contact called on behalf of his wife who owns a 2000 Mercedes-Benz S430. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed, the instrument panel was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 06V028000 (Interior Lighting). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 MERCEDES-BENZ S430V. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL OF THE DOORS FAILED TO PROPERLY CLOSE DUE TO A FUSE MALFUNCTION WITH THE DOOR VACUUM SYSTEM. MERCEDES-BENZ OF AUGUSTA (3061 WASHINGTON RD, AUGUSTA, GA 30907, (706) 860-1111) REPLACED THE FUSE, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 232,000.

DEFECT IN ACCELERATOR AND ELECTRONIC ATTACHMENTS, PART NO220 300 00 04. WHEN PART FAILED, INITIALLY, CAR ONLY POWERED TO LOW SPEED UNDER LOAD. HAD TO DRIVE IT OUT OF DESERT AND OVER MOUNTAIN AT LOW SPEED, BUT DOWN HILL OK. EVENTUALLY PARKED IT OFF ROAD. WHEN NEXT STARTING IT, IT REVVED TO 3500 RPM AND HELD. TRIED TO MOVE IT, IT DROPPED TO IDLE SPEED AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I PARKED IT AND HAD MECHANIC CHECK IT. DETERMINED THE ACCELERATOR WAS FAULTY. GAS PEDDLE DID NOT AFFECT ENGINE SPEED. HE POUNDED ON PEDDLE WITH HAND. ENGINE JUMPED TO 5000 RPM. TURNED IGNITION OFF, REPEATED PROCEDURE SEVERAL TIMES, ENGINE SPEED VARIED, CONTROLLED ENGINE SPEED BY TURNING KEY OFF AND ON WHILE IN DRIVERS SEAT. ONE TIME RIVVED TO 5000 RPM, PUT IT IN GEAR WHILE STEPPING ON BREAK. ENGINE KEPT ON REVVING WITH FULL POWER, REAL WHEELS SPINNING ON DIRT, HELD BY BRAKE. TURNED ENGINE OFF IMMEDIATELY AND REMOVED PART DESCRIBED ABOVE. CAR IS OLD, ABOUT 160K, NOT ALL THAT GOOD CONDITION. I EXPECT TO REPLACE THE PART WITH ONE FROM A MERCEDES DISMANTLER, BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT THE MALFUNCTION IS DUE TO AGE AND GETTING A USED PART MIGHT RECREATE THE SAME PROBLEM LATER. THE SYMPTOM FOR THE PROBLEM IS AT LEAST CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF CARS JUST RUNNING AWAY UNCONTROLLABLY, LIKE A DRIVER STARTS HIS CAR IN THE GARAGE, AND IT JUST TAKES OFF RIGHT THROUGH THE GARAGE WALLS. WHEN I REPLACE IT, I WILL KEEP THE OLD UNIT. YOU CAN HAVE IT TO INSPECT. THE ELECTRONICS ARE SEALED. I SHOULD LIKE YOU TO TELL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY SIMILAR REPORTS REGARDING MERCEDES S SERIES, AND IF YOU INSPECT THE PART, TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND.

MESSAGE IN DISPLAY AIRMATIC VISIT WORKSHOP. DIAGNOSED AUTOMATIC STRUT LEAK. REPLACED STRUT ASSEMBLY LEFT REAR & VALVE BLOCK SUSPENSION VALVE. I STILL HEAR AIR LEAKING. I'VE REPLACES ALL FOUR AIR STRUTS OVER THE YEARS. THE STRUTS ARE NOT CHEAP. IN MY OPINION MERCEDES MFG SHOULD REIMBURSE ME TOTAL COST FOR ALL FOUR. I'M SURE YOU AGREE!

ON 11/18/16 I WAS DRIVING MY 2000 S430 WHEN WILE ACCELERATING TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY MY TRANSMISSION SLIPPED CAUSING MY ENGINE TO REV. I RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL & TRIED TO PRESS IT AGAIN TO RE ENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, PLACED THE CAR IN PARK, THEN BACK TO DRIVE. I CAUTIOUSLY DROVE BACK HOME & PARKED THE CAR UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO GET A SHOP APPOINTMENT. ON 11/21/16 I TOOK THE CAR TO THE SHOP, THEY SAID THE FLUID WAS FULL BUT THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING & NEEDED TO BE REPLACED? SO I TOOK IT HOME TO THINK, (NO PROBLEMS WHILE DRIVING HOME). ON 11/22/16 I DROVE THE CAR OUT OF TOWN & AFTER ABOUT 20 MILES MY CLUSTER GAUGE STARTED FLICKERING THEN WENT OUT. HOWEVER, THE BLINKERS STILL WORKED ALONG WITH THE HAZARDS. SO WHEN I WAS DONE WITH MY APPOINTMENT I CHECKED MY FUSES & REPLACED THE ONES INDICATED ON THE CHART. WHILE A SMALL PORTION OF THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON IT WAS BRIEFLY & THEN EVERYTHING WENT OUT, BLINKERS & ALL. SO IN ALL MY FRUSTRATION, I'VE PARKED THE CAR & AM ATTEMPTING TO GET HELP. I FOUND THERE WERE RECALLS ON THE GAUGES BUT NOT MY VIN? IS THIS SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO MY TRANSMISSION? PLEASE HELP. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 MERCEDES BENZ S430. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS UNABLE TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 142,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH ON THE FREEWAY MY CAR ALL OF A SUDDEN FLASHED A RED WARNING SAYING "STOP CAR " WARNING " DO NOT DRIVE CAR TO LOW" THE CAR STARTED DROPPING TO THE ROAD RUBBING TIRES. I IMMEDIATELY HAD TO CUT TRAFFIC AND PULL TO THE RIGHT TO GET OUT THE WAY OF MOVING VEHICLES. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SCARY TRAGIC AND HAZARD! I AM IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING IT TO THE SHOP NOW TO SEE EXACTLY THE PROBLEM. BEWARE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 MERCEDES BENZ S430. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER MALFUNCTIONED AND THE GAUGES FAILED TO WORK DUE TO THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 06V028000 (INTERIOR LIGHTING). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNAVAILABLE.