1993 Mercedes-Benz 400E Electrical Problems

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.

NHTSA ID

10851497

Incident

Mar 24, 2016

Mileage

163,000 mi

WIRING CAUGHT FIRE DUE TO FAULTY WIRING HARNESS INSULATION, WHICH IS WELL DOCUMENTED. YET, MERCEDES REFUSES TO RESOLVE/RECALL THIS ISSUE. WIRING HARNESS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10618874

Incident

Aug 4, 2014

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

NHTSA ID

10484072

Incident

Nov 9, 2012

Mileage

278,000 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10310130

Incident

Jan 1, 2010

Mileage

100,000 mi

WIRING HARNESS ON MERCEDES BENZ 400E FAILED AND ENTERED A LOW POWER BACKUP MODE ON THE HIGHWAY FAR AWAY FROM OUR RESIDENCE. WIRING HARNESS IS CHARRED AND HARNESS SHORTED OUT ON ENGINE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10257260

Incident

Jan 30, 2009

Mileage

211,000 mi

MERCEDES 400 E HAS A TERRIBLE WIRE HARNESS DRY ROTTED FROM TEMPERATURE FROM ENGINE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10236751

Incident

May 8, 2008

Mileage

210,789 mi

THE WIRE HARNESS IS CRACKED AND ROTTEN. THE MOTOR DOES NOT RUN RIGHT. IT STALLS AND CUTS OUT. THE MECHANIC SAYS TO JUST GIVE HIM $1000.00 FOR A TEMP. FIX DUE TO THE MATERIALS USED IN THE REPLACEMENT HARNESS. *JB

NHTSA ID

10178341

Incident

Jan 10, 2007

FAILED NEW JERSEY DMV INSPECTION CAUSED BY ENGINE RUNNING ABNORMALLY ROUGH AND LIT "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" , FALSE LOW OIL PRESSURE SIGNAL, VARIOUS ELECTRICAL FUNCTIONS IN CAR EITHER INOPERABLE OR INTERMITTENTLY WORKING. CAUSE WAS DEFECTIVE WIRING HARNESS. DIAGNOSED AND REPAIRED BY SERVICE SHOP AT MERCEDES BENZ DEALER. *NM

NHTSA ID

10172386

Incident

Nov 1, 2005

Mileage

115,000 mi

MISC INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. PROBLEMS TRACED TO DISINTEGRATING WIRING HARNESS. WIRE INSULATION IS LITERALLY CRUMBLING AWAY LEAVING BARE WIRES. *JB

NHTSA ID

10163906

Incident

Jul 28, 2006

Mileage

97,500 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10163905

Incident

Jun 30, 2006

Mileage

95,630 mi

I AM THE OWNER OF A 1993 MERCEDES 400E THE LOWER WIRING HARNESS ALMOST CAUSED A FIRE ON THE VEHICLE DUE TO THE USE OF BIODEGRADEABLE MATERIALS USED BY MERCEDES BENZ BECAUSE THE COMPANY WAS THE LOW BIDDER AND NOW THE UPPER WIRING HARNESS IS CAUSING ALL KINDS OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS THROUGH OUT THE CAR MERCEDES BENZ HAS NOT CLAIMED ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS PROBLEM WHICH IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH ALMOST ALL OF THEIR CARS FROM 1992 TO 1995 BESIDES BEING SO DANGEROUS IT IS VERY COSTLY TO THE VEHICLE OWNERS MERCEDES BENZ SHOULD HAVE TO RECALL THESE VEHICLES AND BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR MISTAKES. *JB

NHTSA ID

10157440

Incident

Jan 17, 2006

Mileage

144,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING, MY CAR STALLED OUT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT WAS ABLE TO RESTART A FEW TIMES. IT EVENTUALLY WOULD NOT START AND I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, WITH NO PHONE SERVICE, AND HAD A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE FINDING HELP AFTER HAVING TO PUSH MY CAR OFF THE ROAD. TURNS OUT THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS FAILED, BIG SURPRISE!!! THIS WHOLE ORDEAL COST ME 1800 DOLLARS ON SOMETHING THAT MB USED TO REPLACE FOR FREE. *NM

NHTSA ID

10140856

Incident

Aug 17, 2005

ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WIRE INSULATION HAS ALMOST COMPLETELY DISINTEGRATED. VERY POOR GAS MILEAGE AND ROUGH RUNNING ARE THE RESULT ON A LOW MILE CAR (90K TOTAL MILES). REQUEST REPLACEMENT OF DEFECTIVE WIRING HARNESS. *NM

NHTSA ID

10136148

Incident

Sep 1, 2005

Mileage

60,000 mi

THE ELECTRICAL INSULATION OF THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS HAS VIRTUALLY DISINTEGRATED, APPARENTLY FROM THE (NORMAL) HEAT OF THE ENGINE. THE INSULATION LITERALLY FLAKES AWAY IN MY HAND WHEN BEING HANDLED EVEN WITH THE MOST GENTLE TOUCH. THE MANUFACTURER (MERCEDES) CLAIMS THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM DESPITE THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. THE COST TO REPLACE THE WIRING HARNESS IS $500+ FOR ONLY THE PART; THE COST OF INSTALLATION IS ALSO IN EXCESS OF $500, THUS COSTING OVER $1,000. THIS IS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE! THE DETERIORATED INSULATION CAUSES INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL SHORT-CIRCUITS, CAUSING MY CAR TO SUDDENLY LOSE ENGINE POWER WITHOUT WARNING. JUST AS SUDDENLY, THE CAR REGAINS POWER AND LURCHES AHEAD, THEN LOSES POWER, LURCHES AHEAD, ETC. THE CYCLE OF LURCHING/LOSING POWER HAPPENS IN RAPID SUCCESSION -- FOUR OR FIVE TIMES INSIDE OF A MINUTE -- MAKING THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO "CONTROL." ALL OF THIS ON THE 405N FREEWAY IN LOS ANGELES ON THE CUSP OF RUSH-HOUR. *NLM

NHTSA ID

10010497

Incident

Mar 14, 2003

Mileage

116,000 mi