Mercedes-Benz Ambulance Fires. Taxpayer to foot £515k Bill?

[ringway]

Copied from related articles.


Health bosses are being forced to spend £515,000 replacing a fleet of ambulance engines after a string of dramatic fires.


The dramatic incident was one of three serious ambulance fires in Cumbria during 2012, linked to an engine fault, which wrecked the vehicles.

Bosses initially fitted anti-fire equipment in the Mercedes-Benz 515 ambulances but now they have revealed they are in the process of replacing the engines in every one of the 103-strong fleet at a total cost of £515,000.

Last night Tim Farron who represents Westmorland and Lonsdale in Cumbria and is also the President of the Liberal Democrats demanded Mercedes-Benz pay for the new engines.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said it was working closely with the North West Ambulance Service and had “come to a solution to move forward”.
The spokesman said: “We have a good working relationship with them.

“We have a local dealer in that area who is working with them, doing the routine servicing and some of the replacements as well."
“We are into this with them and we have been talking with them for a number of months.”


LINK. 1.


LINK. 2.


I may have missed something, but it would seem that Mercedes-Benz haven't made a firm offer to pay for the new engines.
Surely not even they could (even attempt to) wriggle out of this one?

 

[trapperjohn]

Would love to see how this pans out. With a clear unequivocal "Yes we paid of no we didn't" from Mercedes

 

[Charles Morgan]

The dear old Mercedes bendy bus used to self immolate on a regular basis.

Think of it as accelerated rusting.

 

[Rory]

It says in one of the links that they're replacing the engines when they reach 100K miles.

 

[ringway]

It says in one of the links that they're replacing the engines when they reach 100K miles.

A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “The Trust is totally committed to ensuring the health and safety of all its staff and patients and therefore, as a precautionary measure, and in line with recommendations made by the manufacturer, the Trust has and is continuing to undertake an engine replacement programme on all the Mercedes 515 vehicles as and when the vehicle mileage reached 100,000 miles.
“The total number of these vehicles is 103.
“To date we have already replaced 70 engines at a cost of £5k each.”


To me, the above reads as though the engine replacement costs are being met by the Trust. In any case, 100k miles is a poor showing for a Mercedes-Benz engine.

As TJ says, where is the definitive "We are covering all costs" answer from MB?

 

[SilverSaloon]

they just just fit OM606 engines to them and all would be well for many hundreds of thousand miles.

They dont make them like they used to.

 

[clk208]

they just just fit OM606 engines to them and all would be well for many hundreds of thousand miles.

They dont make them like they used to.

They would soon munch through £5k of additional diesel though over the modern engines due to being less efficient.

 

[ringway]

They would soon munch through £5k of additional diesel though over the modern engines due to being less efficient.

That's true, but at least it would make it to its destination.

 

[Rory]

As TJ says, where is the definitive "We are covering all costs" answer from MB?

That doesn't make commercial sense though - they've had 100K out of them, it's not like they were failing at 5-10K miles.

 

[Dryce]

Presumably if this was a general MB problem there would be loads of smouldering Sprinters about.

I'm surmising that there aren't so this is an ambulance problem.

So what is it about the ambulances that makes them different? Additional kit? Different operational cycles? Different configuration?

And this doesn't sound like a panic if the engines are being changed at a given mileage rather than immediately. So what is the actual risk?

As usual the real detail of what is going on (and exactly why) isn't apparent from the reporting.

 

[Dryce]

That doesn't make commercial sense though - they've had 100K out of them, it's not like they were failing at 5-10K miles.

How is the customer paying for the vehicles? Outright purchase? Equipment lease? Service contract? HMG has a habit of 'buying' things by not actually buying them.

 

[nullogik]

Presumably if this was a general MB problem there would be loads of smouldering Sprinters about.

I'm surmising that there aren't so this is an ambulance problem.

So what is it about the ambulances that makes them different? Additional kit? Different operational cycles? Different configuration?

Exactly. There are thousands of Sprinters around. Surely we'd have heard more of these stories regarding non-ambulance failures/fires.

 

[ringway]

Presumably if this was a general MB problem there would be loads of smouldering Sprinters about.

I'm surmising that there aren't so this is an ambulance problem.

So what is it about the ambulances that makes them different? Additional kit? Different operational cycles? Different configuration?

Not just ambulances. ECU related problem according to this recall. LINK.

 

[ringway]

These people didn't have much luck, either. LINK.

 

[ringway]

After a brief search.

LINK.

 

[ringway]

Oh dear...


26/11/2010Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz Sprinter 515Fire may occurTop
Air-conditioning system may malfunction due to its fuse block being too weak. This could result in the risk of electrical current leak in the fuse block which could result in a short circuit and in extreme cases a risk of fire.
Mercedes-Benz are recalling the vehicles to fit a modified fuse block.
This recall affects 19 vehicles.
Close
More information on this van recall:-

• VOSA website

28/06/2010Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz Sprinter 515 KA 4x2 4Fire may occur.Top
An incorrect cable duct retaining bolt has been fitted. In the event of a crash the cable duct may detach at least partially from the engine. In this situation it is more likely that a short circuit of the unfastened starter/alternator line may occur.
Mercedes-Benz are recalling the vehicles that are likely to be affected to replace the mounting bolt and fix the starter wiring in place.
This recall affects 2 vehicles.
Close
More information on this bus recall:-

• VOSA website

14/06/2010Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz Sprinter 515 KA 4x2 4Fire may occur.Top
It has been identified that, the fleece filter insert of the engine oil separator may become obstructed with dirt particles. It is therefore possible, that an increase in pressure within the crankcase may occur with the result that oil could escape onto hot engine parts. Should this occur, a fire may ensue.
Mercedes-Benz are recalling the vehicles that are likely to be affected to replace the original oil filter replaced with one of a cyclone type.
This recall affects 8 vehicles.
Close
More information on this bus recall:-

• VOSA website

11/03/2010Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz SprinterRisk of fire.Top It has been identified that, the fleece filter insert of the engine oil separator may become obstructed with dirt particles. It is therefore possible, that an increase in pressure within the crankcase may occur with the result that oil could escape onto hot engine parts. Should this occur, a fire may ensue.

Mercedes-Benz are recalling the vehicles that are likely to be affected to have the original oil filter replaced with one of a cyclone type.
This recall affects 8,064 vehicles built between 01/01/2006 and 31/12/2008.
Close
More information on this van recall:-

• VOSA website

12/01/2010Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz SprinterRisk of fire.Top An incorrect cable duct retaining bolt has been fitted. In the event of a crash the cable duct may detach at least partially from the engine. In this situation it is more likely that a short circuit of the unfastened starter/alternator line may occur.
Mercedes-Benz are recalling the vehicles that are likely to be affected to replace the mounting bolt and fix the starter wiring in place.
This recall affects 47 vehicles.
Close
More information on this van recall:-

• VOSA website

The issues also affect other Mercedes-Benz vehicles including Viano.

 

[ringway]

Missed the Vito one.


26/08/2011Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz VitoFire may occur.Top
In certain arduous operating conditions it is possible that the air conditioning fan relay could overload and in the worst case could catch fire.
Mercedes-Benz are recalling the vehicles that are likely to be affected to replace the air conditioning fan relay with a modified component.
This recall affects 2,927 vehicles built between 01/01/2007 and 31/12/2010.
Close
More information on this van recall:-

 

[grober]

OM646 ENGINE inline four 16v DOHC 2,148 cc (131.1 cu in) 150 PS (110 kW; 148 hp) 330 N·m (243 lbf·ft) similar engine to those in the contemporary C and E class cars https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_OM_646/OM_647/OM_648#OM_646_EVO

 

[Techn68]

Step - up

As a Community Company Mercedes should step-up and pay for these engines and stop looking for technicalities to get out of it.

Where is the pride in their product, engines should not catch fire if they have done 300,000 miles let alone sub-100K.

All Mercedes buyers should take heed from the behaviour over these incidents, there are a lot of Vehicle Companies out there that have better customer care.

 

[WDB124066]

Record profit this year too.