Resurrecting this as still an open issue. This has been reported in the US, Belgium and the UK to name a few. MB UK say they don't know of it (the US regulator knows about it, so they didn't tell MB US (and they didn't in turn tell MB Germany), right!) and, in my case, won't honour a 100% contribution. Yes, it is a simple job and the parts are c. £30 but the cost goes up as the plug connectors all need re-soldering.
Check out these reports and what owners have said - amazing!...
“Have had the same problem with mine; the earth is common to all circuits and is a stupid little wire that uses the same size of connector as the others. As a result it heats up and eventually builds up crud that stops all the circuits working, including the fall-back circuits. A very dangerous piece of poor design by MB!”
http://www.autonews.com/article/20130715/OEM11/130...
DETROIT (Reuters) -- U.S. safety regulators have opened a probe of an estimated 218,000 Mercedes C-class sedans after receiving consumer complaints claiming a failure of rear turn signals and brake lights. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation of the luxury cars from model years 2008 and 2009 after receiving 21 complaints from U.S. consumers.
The reports typically said the failure is with the lamp connector, with many indicating burnt or melted electrical components, according to NHTSA documents. In multiple instances, consumers have reported smelling smoke and seeing burn marks in the trunks of the cars, with one reporting small flames emanating from the rear lamp connector, NHTSA said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/flaming-hot-benz-...
“In another case, from June of 2012, a C-Class owner told NHTSA that the right rear tail light wiring harness caught fire and melted.”
IMHO, an issue like this should come outside of age, mileage and even goodwill gestures and no owner should be asked to pay for poorly designed parts especially on a 3 ½ year old vehicle – whether luxury or not.
Does anyone has experience of this particular issue or similar treatment via other manufacturers?
Latest:
FFS, just found this from 24th December just gone…
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/feds-expa...
Investigators say the problem appears to be worsening as the vehicles get older. A Mercedes spokesman said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
... and yet MB UK do not know of this issue.
