1995 Mercedes Benz 220

Routine

Owners filed 14 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System4
020
Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood2
000
Electrical System › Wiring2
000
Vehicle Speed Control1
100
Structure › Body1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline1
010
Electrical System › Ignition1
000
Air Bags1
001

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air Bags1 injured
Filed Mar 4, 201489,000 milesCA

MY MERCEDES BENZ WAS DRIVEN ON HIGHWAY 5 TOWARDS STOCKTON CA AT 65 MILES / HOUR. THE TRAFFIC SUDDENLY STOPPED!. THE DISTANCE TO FRONT VEHICLE WAS MUCH SHORTER TO RESPOND QUICKLY BY PRESSING THE BRAKE. THE MERCEDES REAR ENDED AND CRUSHED THE FRONT CHEVROLET, PUSHED IT INTO A COUPLE OF MORE CARS AHEAD IN THE SAME LANE. THE FRONT OF THE MERCEDES PART SIDE TOTALLY JAMMED AND WAS TOTALED AND THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO OPEN!, AND THE IMPACT RESULTED IN CHEST, NECK AND BACK INJURY TO MERCEDES BENZ DRIVER.

Electrical System
Filed Jan 18, 2014252,000 milesWV

CAR REFUSED TO START. MECHANIC "JIGGLED" THE WIRING HARNESS. THE CAR STARTED, AND CONTINUES TO START. HOWEVER, THE HARNESS IS MADE OF BIODEGRADEABLE MATERIALS, AND IS CRACKED AND TURNING INTO DUST. NEEDS REPLACING. UNDERSTAND IT COULD CATCH FIRE. THIS IS AN ALL TOO COMMON PROBLEM WITH M-B, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED YET. *TR

Fuel System, GasolineFire
Filed Nov 8, 2013WA

DRIVING AND CAR STALLED IN INTERSECTION - SMELT SMOKE - WOULD NOT START, TOWED HOME THEN SURPRISINGLY STARTED NEXT DAY, THIS PROBLEM CONTINUED OVER AND OVER DESPITE REPLACING FUEL PUMP, TUNE-UP - MECHANIC RAN A OBD PROGRAM WHICH SHOWED MANY ERRORS, THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME (AND SHOWED ME) THE WIRING HARNESS AND TOLD ME TO "GET RID OF THE CAR" IT WAS DISINTEGRATING - EXPOSED WIRE AND INSULATION ON WIRES WAS CRACKED AND CRUMBLING AND IN SOME PLACES WIRES WERE COMPLETELY EXPOSED. I COULD NOT AFFORD THIS EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND SO MY CAR SAT FOR A LONG TIME AND NOW I HAD A NEW MOTOR AND TRANSMISSION INSTALLED AND FEEL I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THIS ADDITIONAL AND VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. *TR

Electrical System
Filed Mar 6, 201110,000 milesGA

INSULATION CRACKING AND FALLING OFF THE WIRING HARNESS ON MY 1995 C-220 MERCEDES. CAR STALL AND WILL NOT RUN AFTER DRIVING THRU A CAR WASH.. MERCEDES IS RESPONSIBLE, AND A GREAT DANGER FOR A FIRE AND FATAL ACCIDENT. I RETIRED AFTER WORKING FOR FORD MOTOR COMPANY AS A SAFETY ENGINEER. I HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. *TR

Electrical SystemFire
Filed Jul 17, 2008107,000 milesFL

CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE BECUASE OF FAULTY WIRING HARNESS. *TR

Electrical SystemFire
Filed Jun 4, 2008TX

THE INSULATION ON THE WIRING HARNESS IN MY 1995 C220 HAS DETERIORATED SO MUCH THAT IT SPARKED FIRE ON SECTIONS OF THE HARNESS. I HAVE JUST LEARNED THAT MB USA IS NOT OWNING UP TO THIS SERIOUS PROBLEM. WHY IS THE COMPANY NOT PROVIDING SOME MEANS TO HAVE OWNERS REPLACE IT UNDER A SHARED COST PROGRAM? *TR

Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood
Filed Nov 16, 2007TX

1995 MERCEDES C220 ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DEFECT. CAUSING FAILURE OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS OF AUTOMOBILE. AUTOMOBILE STOPPED ABRUPTLY IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. *TR

Electrical System › Wiring
Filed Jun 13, 2006MD

I BOUGH MY MERCEDES C220 1995 FROM ANOTHER OWNER 3 YEARS AGO. ON MARCH OF THIS YEAR I WAS TOLD BY MY MECHANIC THAT THE WIRING HARNESS IS DETERIORATING AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED OTHERWISE ISSUES ARE GOING TO START POPPING UP. ALREADY THE FIRST DID - FUELING SYSTEM ISSUES. I WAS TOLD THAT I COULD HAVE THE HARNESS REPLACED OR 1300$ ( US $ )*JB

Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood
Filed May 13, 2006124,000 milesNJ

WIRING HARNESS FAILURE ON 1995 MERCEDES C220 CAUSING ERRATIC OPERATION AND STALLING OF THE VEHICLE. *JB

Electrical System › Wiring
Filed Jan 14, 200645,000 milesCT

1995 MERCEDES BENZ C220 - NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH A CAR THAT ONLY HAS ABOUT 80K MILES ON IT. WE ARE THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THE VEHICLE. GAVE UP WITH USING MERCEDES FOR SERVICE EONS AGO....AFTER FEELING THAT WE WERE LIED TO. DEALER LED US TO BELIEVE THAT WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS BECAUSE MICE NESTED IN THE CAR AND PROBABLY ATE THROUGH THE WIRING. 3 OTHER SERVICE PEOPLE HAVE THOUGHT THAT THEY SUCCESSFULLY 'FIXED' THE CAR... BUT PROBLEM RECURS (SOMETIMES WITHIN A HALF HOUR OF LEAVING REPAIR SHOP) CAR WILL NOT RUN UNLESS YOU KEEP YOU FOOT ON THE GAS CONTINUALLY.... REPLACED WIRING HARNESS COUPLE OF YEARS AGO....FREQUENT BULB BURN OUTS, SRS LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED FOR FIRST 2 MINUTES CAR IS ON THEN GOES OUT... VARIOUS GAUGES ARE OUT....FUSES BLOW....I COULD GO ON FOREVER. *JB

Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
Filed Jun 4, 200417,000 milesMA

FUEL LINE LEAKS, PROBLEMS WITH MUFFLER, WATER PUMP AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS NOISY AND SMELLING. *MR *SC *JB

Vehicle Speed ControlCrash
Filed Jul 11, 1996NY

WHILE PARKING THE VEHICLE, ENGINE WENT INTO HIGH IDLE AND ACCELERATED FORWARD, LOST CONTROL, WENT INTO INBANKMENT/GLAZE AND TREE, IMPACT 1:00. *AK

Electrical System › Ignition
Filed Nov 20, 1995CT

VEHICLE STALLS WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING, ALSO HEAT SYSTEM MAKES A NOISE. TT

Structure › Body
Filed Nov 13, 1995CA

PLASTIC RUNNING BOARD CRACKED 3 TIMES. *TT

14 of 14 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1995
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20011000Routine
20002000Routine
19965000Routine
1995 — this page14030Routine
19945000Routine

Compare every 220 year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.