1995 Mercedes-Benz C Class Electrical Problems

MY WELL MAINTAINED '95 MERCEDES-BENZ C280 OF WHICH I AM THE SINGLE OWNER SINCE NEW HAS A DEFECTIVE WIRING HARNESS. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY BAD DISASTER AS THE CAR JUST LOST IT'S POWER TO DRIVE WHILE BEING DRIVEN...BY MY SON, WHO JUST CAME OFF OF I-95. HE MANAGED TO GET TO SAFER GROUND AND HAD TO BE TOWED. MECHANIC(NOT A MBENZ ONE) STATES NEVER SEEING ANYTHING LIKE IT AS THE WIRE COATING IS DISINTEGRATING INTO A POWDER LIKE SUBSTANCE AND BARING ALL METAL...CAUSED IT TO ARC WHEN FIRST LOOKING. THANK GOOD FORTUNE IT DIDN'T CATCH FIRE, EXPLODE OR CAUSE A BAD ACCIDENT. SO IF REPLACED BY MBENZ PART CAUSE IT CANNOT BE REPAIRED....WON'T THE SAME THING HAPPEN WITH IT? *TR

NHTSA ID

10357488

Incident

Sep 17, 2010

Mileage

181,000 mi

COMPLETE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE ON 1995 MERCEDES C280, ONLY 60,000 MILES ON CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10353811

Incident

Aug 31, 2010

Mileage

60,000 mi

MY CAR, 1995 MERCEDES C280, BACKFIRES, STUMBLES, LOSES POWER, AND SOMETIMES DIES WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE REPLACED THE PLUG WIRES, IGNITION COILS, SPARK PLUGS, FUEL PUMP, AND FILTER. I HAVE REPLACED THE OVERLOAD PROTECTION RELAY, THE FUEL PUMP RELAY, AND THE ENGINE COOLING FAN RELAY. THE BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR HAVE BEEN REPLACED. ALL OF THESE WERE DONE AFTER CONTACT WITH MERCEDES BENZ AND DEALERS IN BOTH FLORIDA AND TENNESSEE. THE WIRING HARNESS WAS REPLACED BEFORE I BOUGHT THE CAR AND IS IN GOOD CONDITION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10319649

Incident

Jan 1, 2001

Mileage

100 mi

ENGINE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE ON 1995 C 220 MERCEDES - BENZ. HAD ALL ENGINE WIRING REPLACED AT A COST OF $500.00. HAVING SO MANY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS CAUSED MANY PARTS TO BE CHANGED THAT DID NOT NEED TO BE CHANGED. THE CAR IS IN THE SHOP NOW FOR OVER 9 MONTHS BECAUSE MECHANIC CAN NOT FIGURE WHY CAR CONTINUE HAVING LOST OF POWER.BEFORE I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE BAD WIRING ON THIS C 220 BENZ,MY CAR WAS ALMOST HIT BY ANOTHER CAR WHILE TRYING TO CROSS A BUSY HIGHWAY. THIS COULD HAVE TRAGIC THANK GOD THEY SLOWED DOWN TO LET ME CROSS. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY SITUATION AND SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT ASAP BEFORE SOME GET SERIOUSLY HURT OR RECEIVE DEATH FORM THIS MAJOR PROBLEM. I'M OVER $4,000.00 IN THE HOLE AND STILL NO WORKING C220 MERCEDES BENZ YET! *TR

NHTSA ID

10318138

Incident

Jun 13, 2009

Mileage

127,000 mi

I OWN A 1995 MERCEDES BENZ C280. THIS VEHICLE YEAR AND MODEL HAS A POSSIBLE CRITICAL ENGINE WIRING HARNESS PROBLEM WHERE THE INSULATION ON THE HARNESS DISINTEGRATES VERY QUICKLY. THIS DISINTEGRATION CAN CAUSE THE CAR TO STALL AND CATCH FIRE WHILE DRIVING. THERE ARE OF COURSE OTHER RELATED SEVERE PROBLEMS THAT CAN OCCUR SINCE THE WIRING HARNESS IS CRITICAL TO THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE. A FEW OF THE OTHER CRITICAL COMPONENTS AFFECTED ARE IGNITION, FUEL INJECTION, COOLING, TIMING, MIXTURES AND VARIOUS OTHER SYSTEMS/SENSORS OF THE CAR. AFTER SPEAKING TO THE MANUFACTURER (MB-USA IN NY), LOCAL DEALERS, OWNERS AND READING VARIOUS WEBSITES, I BELIEVE THAT MERCEDES BENZ IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM BUT WILL NOT ISSUE A VOLUNTARY RECALL. THE ONLY AVAILABLE REPAIR I AM AWARE OF IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. SINCE THE DISINTEGRATION CAN OCCUR DUE TO THE NORMAL OPERATIONAL ENGINE HEAT IRREGARDLESS OF MILEAGE, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME. IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT A AFFECTED CAR WITH HIGHER MILES IS MUCH MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE FAILING OF THE WIRING HARNESS. THIS NATURALLY ALSO LEAVES DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS OF OLDER AFFECTED CARS MUCH MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DANGEROUS AND FATAL EFFECTS OF A ENGINE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE. I ASK THAT NHTSA INVESTIGATE THIS FURTHER AND ISSUE A RECALL ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE OWNERS. I KNOW THAT MY CAR FALLS IN THE CATEGORY WHERE THE HARNESS IS POSSIBLY BAD, AND YOU ARE WELCOME TO CONTACT ME TO SEE THE CONDITION OF THE MY CAR'S ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. I HOPE AT THE LEAST YOU CAN SEEK A RESOLUTION FOR ME FROM THE MANUFACTURER IN REMEDYING A KNOWN ISSUE IN THE MODEL I OWN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10299650

Incident

Jan 12, 2010

MERCEDES-BENZ ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DEFECT ENCLOSED, PLEASE FIND A LIST OF REPORTED COMPLAINTS THAT I FOUND ON YOUR VERY OWN NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA) WEBSITE CONCERNING THE CHRONIC ENGINE COMPARTMENT WIRING HARNESS FAILURE SUFFERED BY (AT THE LEAST) 1992 THROUGH 1995 MERCEDES BENZ AUTOMOBILES. THIS LIST IS NOT, BY ANY MEANS, MEANT TO BE COMPLETE, AS IT ONLY LISTS THOSE REPORTS THAT I WAS ABLE TO LOCATE. NOTE THAT THE FIRST COMPLAINT ON THE LIST IS MINE. I AM OUTRAGED AT MERCEDES-BENZ' ARROGANT REFUSAL TO OWN UP TO, AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR, THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DESIGN AND ENGINEERING DEFECT. FOR THE LIFE OF ME (LITERALLY), I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY NHTSA HAS NOT INVESTIGATED THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE LARGE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS. I WILL NOT BE SATISFIED WITH LESS THAN MERCEDES' IMMEDIATE RECTIFICATION. I WAS ASKED BY MERCEDES BENZ DEALER OVER $4,000 TO FIX PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10287295

Incident

Oct 9, 2009

Mileage

189,225 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY (NJ TURNPIKE, MY ENGINE BEGAN TO BECOME CHALLENGED TO ACCELERATE. AFTER A COUPLE OF MILES, I WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO ACCELERATE AT ALL. WITH NOWHERE TO PULL OVER I DROVE ACROSS THE BEN FRANKLIN BRIDGE AT 20 MPH. A FEW BLOCKS AFTER EXITING THE BRIDGE THE CAR SIMPLY FAILED. UPON RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE I DETERMINED THAT MANY MANY OTHER OWNERS OF MY SAME MODEL CAR HAD THE SAME EXACT ISSUE - THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS INSULATION WAS SHOT AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10280785

Incident

Aug 1, 2009

Mileage

122,000 mi

WIRING HARNESS ON MY 1995 MERCEDES-BENZ C36 HAS FAILED, CRACK AND DISINTEGRATED WIRE COVERINGS IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10250570

Incident

Dec 1, 2008

Mileage

104,500 mi

RE: CASE 45839 I HAVE THE ENGINE WIRE HARNESS THAT WAS TAKEN OUT OF THE CAR. IT IS AMAZING THAT THIS CAR RAN AT ALL. I WOULD LIKE TO SEND YOU THE HARNESS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM MERCEDES IS COVERING UP. IT COST ME OVER $2100.00 TO GET THIS PROBLEM REPAIRED BY THE DEALER. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I CAN SEND YOU THE HARNESS. DAVE YOUNG *TR

NHTSA ID

10246273

Incident

Oct 11, 2008

Mileage

125,500 mi

CAR STARTED ACTING LIKE IT WAS DRIVEN BY REMOTE CONTROL. STARTING STOPPING THE ENGINE REVVED UP TO 7000 RPM I COULD NOT HOLD IT BY THE BRAKE HAD TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND HAVE IT TOWED. WIRING HARNESS HAD SHORTED OUT. I HEAR THIS MAY BE A COMMON PROBLEM. I'M GLAD I WAS DRIVING INSTEAD OF MY 16 YEAR OLD SON. THIS COULD HAVE HAD A MUCH GRIMMER OUTCOME. *TR

NHTSA ID

10245198

Incident

Oct 10, 2008

Mileage

125,500 mi

MY 1995 MERCEDES BENZ C280 WAS RUNNING ROUGH AND STALLED ON THE ROAD. BROUGHT VEHICLE TO MERCEDES DEALER AND FOUND THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS TO BE DEFECTIVE AND DETERIORATING AND CRUMBLING CRACKED AND EXPOSED WIRES. MY IGNITION PORTION FAILED WHERE THE WIRES CONNECT TO THE SPARK PLUGS AND HIGH ENERGY COILS SHORTING OUT AGAINST THE ENGINE FRAME. VEHICLE TOWED AND TECHNICIANS REPLACED ENGINE HARNESS PARTS PLUS LABOR $1,500. REPAIR BILL. THE HARNESS IS A MANUFACTURED DEALER NEW ITEM ONLY NO REPAIR COULD BE MADE AS THE ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS IS DEFECTIVE AND CONTROLS CRITICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE ENGINE OPERATION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10243127

Incident

Sep 19, 2008

Mileage

100,000 mi

DISINTEGRATING WIRING HARNESS ON MB C280 1995. THIS CAUSED MY CAR TO STOP RUNNING AND VARIOUS OTHER ELECTRICAL FAULTS UNTIL REPLACED BY MY MECHANIC - WHO STATED "THIS HAPPENS TO ALL MBS OF THIS VINTAGE - IT WAS BAD WIRING THAT MB BOUGHT. GOOD THING YOU CAUGHT IT BECAUSE IT CAN DO MORE DAMAGE". *TR

NHTSA ID

10241306

Incident

Apr 1, 2005

Mileage

90,000 mi

DEFECTIVE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS HAS CAUSED AUTOMOBILE TO BE INOPERABLE AND UNSAFE. MANUFACTUER IS AWARE AND WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. 1995 MERCEDES C280. *TR

NHTSA ID

10240059

Incident

Jan 5, 2006

I OWN A 1995 C280 MERCEDES, PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY MY DAUGHTER FOR 5 YEARS. THE CAR ALWAYS IDLED ROUGH, OCCASIONALLY BACKFIRES, LACKS OVERALL POWER. MY DAUGHTER HAD IT TO THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES AND THEY NEVER REALLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM. TWO DAYS AGO I STARTED IT, HEARD A LOUD POP AND SAW SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE HOOD AND SMELLED ELECTRICAL WIRES BURNING. IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE NEAREST MERCEDES DEALER. THEY WANT A TOTAL OF $3300 TO REPAIR IT. THE ISSUE IS THE WIRING HARNESS. I HAVE READ HUNDREDS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE. IN 1993-1995 C280 MODELS MERCEDES TRIED A NEW INSULATION COVERING ON THE WIRES AND IT DOES NOT HOLD UP. IN FACT, I HAVE SEEN THE RESULT IN NUMEROUS PICTURES OF THE CONDITION THE WIRES. THE INSULATION JUST DESINTERGRATES. I READ THAT UP UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO MERCEDES WAS REPLACING THEM BUT THEN THEY JUST STOPPED. WHY ISN'T THIS AN OFFICIAL RECALL FAILURE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10234047

Incident

Jul 9, 2008

Mileage

185,000 mi

DEFECTIVE ENGINE HARNESS CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO LURCH AND STALL AT CRITICAL MOMENTS LIKE WHEN PROCEEDING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION OR ENTERING A HIGHWAY. THIS HAS CAUSED SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS AND IS VERY DANGEROUS. MERCEDES SEEMS TO BE IN DENIAL OF THIS PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE VERY MUCH AWARE IT EXISTS. THE PART IS APPROX 1,000.00 PLUS LABOR TO FIX A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAS CAUSED FIRES IN SOME OF THESE VEHCLES. ALL I WANT IS MERCEDES TO HAND ME A NEW HARNESS SO I CAN REPAIR MY CAR. BUT IF SOMEONE GETS INJURED DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10229796

Incident

May 30, 2008

1995 MZ C280 ENGINEER WIRE HARNESS DEFECTIVE, INSULATION BROKEN DOWN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10224352

Incident

Jan 1, 2008

Mileage

50,000 mi

ENGINE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE ON 1995 C280 MERCEDES-BENZ AN ITS HAS NOT BEEN REPLACED CAUSE IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10222966

Incident

Mar 5, 2008

Mileage

116,000 mi

MY 1995 C280 WAS A FAULTY WIRING HARNESS THAT IS PUT TOGETHER WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE. THE CAR HAS SHUT OFF ON ME TWICE ON THE FREEWAY WHILE GOING 65+ MILES AN HOUR AND ONCE ON A SURFACE STREET GOING 25MPH. *TR

NHTSA ID

10222203

Incident

Mar 23, 2008

Mileage

99,650 mi

FAILURE OF THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS THAT CAUSED SMOKING AND FIRE, CAUGHT IN TIME. WIRING INSULATION IS FAULTY, MADE BRITTLE DUE TO ENGINE HEAT. ALSO CAUSED CAR TO STALL AND NOT RESTART WITHOUT COSTLY REPAIR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10219608

Incident

Feb 25, 2008

Mileage

150,000 mi

ENGINE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE. IT APPEARS THAT, DUE TO IT'S DESIGN USING "BIODEGRADABLE" PLASTIC WIRE INSULATION, THE HARNESS IS PRONE TO SHORTING OUT AND FAILING AND EVEN POTENTIALLY STARTING AN ENGINE FIRE. MY MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE, AS A MERCEDES BENZ SPECIALIST, HE HAS SEEN THIS HAPPEN OVER AND OVER. THE INSULATION JUST CRUMBLES AND FLAKES OFF OF THE WIRES, CAUSING SHORTS AND MALFUNCTION. IN MY CASE, THE CAR LOST POWER IN A SITUATION THAT PUT ME DANGER OF BEING REAR-ENDED. THE ONLY REPAIR IS TO REPLACE THE HARNESS AT A COST WELL OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10212503

Incident

Dec 20, 2007

Mileage

100,000 mi

FAILURE OF ENGINE COMPARTMENT WIRING HARNESS WITH THE ROTTING AND CRACKING OF HARNESS HAS CAUSED ENGINE TO MISFIRE CAUSING RAPID POWER LOSS IN INTERSECTIONS. SHORTING OF CONNECTIONS CAUSE ECU RELATED MALFUNCTIONS AND READ ERROR CODES ON VEHICLE. PREMATURE DEGRADATION OF WIRING HARNESS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10209100

Incident

May 20, 1998

Mileage

65,000 mi

ENGINE HARNESS AND MORE WIRES HAVE DETERIORATED TOTALLY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10206245

Incident

Jul 30, 2007

Mileage

160,000 mi

READ ABOUT MANY WIRE HARNESS FAILURES ON INTERNET, ALTHOUGH NO PROBLEMS YET, OBSERVED CRACKED AND SPLIT WIRING IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10204466

Incident

Aug 10, 2007

WE JUST BOUGHT A 95 MERCEDES BENZ C280.WE GOT IT IN DALLAS AND DROVE HOME TO AUSTIN. EVERYTHING SEEMED OK WHEN WE LEFT BUT AFTER WE GOT HOME AND STARTED THE CAR UP FOR THE FIRST TIME THE NEXT DAY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, SRS LIGHT CAME ON,AND THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND THEY NEVER TURNED OFF. ALL OF A SUDDEN THREE INDICATOR LIGHTS THE VERY NEXT DAY. SO I OPENED UP THE HOOD TO TAKE A LOOK AND AFTER CAREFUL LOOKING I COULD SEE THAT THE WIRES GOING TO CONNECTIONS ON THE ENGINE WERE CRACKED INSULATIONS EVERYWHERE ON ALL THE WIRES. SO I WENT TO UNPLUG ONE AND ALL OF THE INSULATION ON THE WIRES JUST ALL FELL OFF. NOW THERE ARE FOUR WIRES WITH NO INSULATION FROM THE CONNECTION TO WHERE THE WIRES ARE WRAPPED TIGHT. COMPLETELY BARE. NO INSULATION AT ALL COMPLETELY EXPOSED ELECTRICAL WIRES. I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND THIS SO I UNWRAPPED SOME OF THE WRAP TO SEE IF THE WIRES CONTINUED TO SHOW THIS DEGREGATION ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE HARNESS AND IT DOES. SO I STOP THERE AND SEPARATED THE EXPOSED WIRES SO THEY WOULD NOT TOUCH OTHERS AND CREATE A SHORT. THE WIRE HARNESS IN THESE CARS IS A COMPLETE FAILURE. THIS CONDITION MUST BE CORRECTED BEFORE WE CAN DRIVE THE CAR ANYMORE. WIRES IN A CAR THAT CANNOT SUPPORT THE VERY INSULATION THAT IS ON THEM IS NOT NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR.THE LAST TIME I SAW THIS PROBLEM WAS THE FIRST TIME I EVER HEARD OF IT.AND IT KILLED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ON A PAN AM FLIGHT. ELECTRICAL WIRES WITH BAD INSULATION SHORTED OUT AND BLEW UP THE CENTER FUEL CELL. IF YOU LOOK UP THIS CRASH THAT KILLED EVERYONE ON BOARD AND LOOK AT THE WIRES ON ANOTHER PLANE YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE EXACT DEFECT. INSULATION COMES OFF AND WIRES TOUCH AND THEN THERE'S FIRE. ALL OF THESE PLANES WITH THESE WIRE HARNESSES WERE GROUNDED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED BEFORE RETURNING TO SERVICE. THANK GOD BENZ DIDN'T PUT WINGS ON THESE CARS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10198248

Incident

Mar 1, 2007

Mileage

78,990 mi

I DRIVE 1995 C280 I WAS TOLD BY MY MECHANIC THAT I NEED A NEW ENGINE WIRING HARNESS THAT WAS THE REASON I WAS HAVING SO MANY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. *AK

NHTSA ID

10195544

Incident

Jul 23, 2005

Mileage

110,000 mi