1994 Mercedes-Benz 280 Electrical Problems

1994 C280 MERCEDES CAUGHT FIRE AFTER BEING DRIVEN FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES. MERCEDES WAS DESTROYED AND CAR NEXT TO IT TOTALED AS WELL. HOUSE DAMAGED (CARS WERE IN DRIVEWAY). FIRE INSPECTOR SAID FIRE STARTED UNDER HOOD, APPEARS IT WAS PROBABLY THE WIRING HARNESS. FIREMEN HAD TO USE SPECIAL FOAM TO PUT FIRE OUT BECAUSE OF MAGNESIUM PARTS ON MERCEDES, CAN'T USE WATER BECAUSE IT WILL CAUSE AN EXPLOSION. IT BURNED FOR OVER AN HOUR AND TOOK THE FIREMEN AT LEAST HALF AN HOUR TO PUT IT OUT. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY MERCEDES BENZ. *TR

NHTSA ID

10410371

Incident

Jul 1, 2011

Mileage

250,000 mi

ENGINE WIRING HARNESS HAS BRITTLE INSULATION; HAS HUNDREDS OF CRACKS; INSULATION IS FALLING OFF OF WIRES; IS SHORT CIRCUITING, MOTOR IS RUNNING ROUGH; MISSING SOME; SOUNDS LIKE ITS NOT RUNNING ON ALL CYLINDERS. WIRING HARNESS IS HEATING WHERE IT IS SHORT CIRCUITING. I HAVE SEEN SOME SMOKING; WAS ON FIRE ONCE SO FAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10340330

Incident

Jun 25, 2010

Mileage

154,000 mi

I HAVE A 1994 MERCEDEZ BENZ C280 AND WAS PURCHASED IN 2004 WITH APPROXIMATELY 94,000 MILES. NOT LONG AFTER HAVING THE CAR I START HAVING ERRATIC MISFIRE CODES SHOWING UP ON THE COMPUTER. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE A WIRING HARNESS PROBLEM WHICH THIS MAKE AND YEAR OF CAR IS HAVING. NOW I FIND ON THE INTERNET A REPORT DATED IN 2007 OF OVER 300 PEOPLE WITH MERCEDEZ VEHICLES FROM 1991 TO 1996 HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEM. THIS SITE ASK IF I WOULD ADD MY CAR TO THE LIST.*TR

NHTSA ID

10237975

Incident

Aug 13, 2008

Mileage

94,000 mi

1994 C280 MERCEDES HAS ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DEFECT DUE TO WIRES SHEARING AND BEING EXPOSED. FROM INTERNET RESEARCH IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT AND THAT THE INSULATION IS NOT HEAT RESISTANT. THE CAR STARTED TO SMOKE DUE TO EXPOSED WIRES TOUCHING AND SHORTED OUT A.C. THE CAR CANNOT BE DRIVEN NOW UNTIL WIRING HARNESS IS REPLACED DUE TO RISK OF FIRE. THIS CAR IS A DEATH TRAP - JUST GLAD I CAUGHT IT WHEN I DID. *TR

NHTSA ID

10237366

Incident

Aug 1, 2008

Mileage

123,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1994 MERCEDES BENZ 280. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, IT BEGAN HESITATING AND SURGING ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE FAILURE WAS NOTICED WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER ON SIX SEPARATE OCCASIONS AND THEY STATED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS FAILED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 90,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 89,000.

NHTSA ID

10214160

Incident

Feb 6, 2007

Mileage

89,000 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10166285

Incident

Jul 13, 2006

Mileage

173,000 mi

WIRING HARNESS INSULATION DISINTEGRATION PROBLEM WITH A 1994 MERCEDES BENZ C280 [XXX] WIRING HARNESS INSULATION FAILURE CAUSING FREQUENT HESITATION OF THE VEHICLE . THIS PROBLEM HAS CAUSED SOME SAFETY CONCERNS WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC. TO SUM IT UP MERCEDES IS ALL TO AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT YET HAS OFFERED LIMITED ASSISTANCE TO THE CONSUMER. I AM CURRENTLY PURSUING ASSISTANCE FROM DAIMLER BENZ TO FIX THE PROBLEM WITH THE CAR. I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THE RESULTS OF HOW MERCEDES HANDLES THIS PROBLEM. *JB UPDATED 07/16/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

10154342

Incident

Mar 31, 2006

Mileage

98,000 mi

WIRE HARNESS ON CAR FACTORY INSTALLED BY MERECEDES BECOMES BRITTLE AND CRACKS EXPOSING WIRING CREATING PROBLEMS WITH ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. *AK

NHTSA ID

10059002

Incident

Feb 25, 2004

WIRING HARNESS IS BAD ON MY C280 MERCEDES. THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND WILL NOT ADMIT IT. MY CAR STALLED GOING DOWN A HILL ON THE WAY TO PARK CITY. I ALMOST WRECKED IT. THIS INFORMATION IS ALL OVER THE INTERNET, BUT MERCEDES WILL NOT DO A RECALL. *LA

NHTSA ID

10045725

Incident

May 3, 2002

THIS VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A LEAKING HEAD GASKET AND FAILED ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. THE OIL LEAK HAD BEGUN OVER THREE YEARS AGO, BUT WAS MINOR AND I WAS LEAD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS A MINOR SEAL OR GASKET. UPON CONTACTING OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME TYPE OF VEHICLE, I FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS GENERALLY KNOWN BY MANY OWNERS OF C280'S THAT THE HEAD GASKETS LEAK OIL AND THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESSES GO BAD. THE TERM MOST USED WAS "IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF IF IT WILL FAIL BUT WHEN IT WILL FAIL". UPON LEARNING THIS INFORMATION I INSPECTED THE WIRING IN THE CAR AND IN AREAS WHERE THE WIRES WERE NOT WRAPPED TOGETHER, I COULD SEE THE INSULATION CRACKING AND WHERE THE WIRING LOOKED FINE, ALL I HAD TO DO IS LIGHTLY MOVE THE WIRES AND A NEW CRACK WOULD DEVELOP. WHERE THE CRACKS EXISTED YOU COULD SEE THE WIRE STRANDS BELOW. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE CAN LEAD TO EQUIPMENT FAILURE AND POTENTIALLY AN ENGINE FIRE. IN MY OPINION AN ENGINE WIRING HARNESS SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR, DEFINITELY LONGER THAN 50K MILES AS SHOULD A HEAD GASKET THAT HASN'T BEEN STRESSED IN AN OVER HEAT SITUATION. IT IS ALSO MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE HEADGASKET HAS BEEN REVISED IN LATER VERSIONS. DT

NHTSA ID

769109

Incident

Oct 24, 2002