ELECTRICAL WIRING HARNESS USING SOY BASED INSULATION DEGRADES THEREBY ALLOWING WIRES TO SPONTANEOUS AND/ OR INTERMITTENT SHORTS. THIS HAS CAUSED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATIONS. VERY DIFFICULT TO TROUBLESHOOT UNLESS AND UNTIL ONE DISCOVERS INSULATION FAILURE. THIS HAS BEEN AND IS WIDELY KNOWN TO BE A PROBLEM WITH THIS ERA OF CARS. EXTREMELY BAD ENGINEERING DECISIONS WERE MADE. VERY SERIOUS AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. MERCEDES SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MALFEASANT AND A RECALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE. I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW; HAD SERVICE ONLY AT THE DEALER; WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. I HAVE OLDER CARS WITH MORE MILEAGE WHICH DO NOT HAVE THE PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH THE MERCEDES. VERY DISAPPOINTING. WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MERCEDES; ALL HYPE! *TR
1995 Mercedes Benz S420
Owners filed 5 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsTHROTTLE BODY WIRE HARNESS WENT BAD AND WAS ON INTERSTATE AND COULD NOT DO SPEED LIMIT AND NEARLY GOT DEMOLISHED BY A SEMI TRACTOR TRAILER. AFTER A HORRIBLE EXPENSE I NOW FIND OUT THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE CAR IS BAD AS WELL. WELL DONE MERCEDES BENZ YOU HAVE ENDANGERED MY FAMILY'S LIVES WITH YOUR SUB STANDARD BUSINESS PRACTICE. YOU SHOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL AND REPAIR ALL SAFETY ISSUES.
I HAVE TAKEN MY 95 S420 TO TWO DEALER LOCATIONS BECAUSE OF THE DISINTEGRATING ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. THEY ALL CLAIM THAT THEY NEVER HEARD OF IT. THE DEALER IN NANUET, NY TELLS ME THAT THEY CANNOT HELP ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE "EVERY" MAINTENANCE DONE THROUGH THEIR DEALERSHIP. I MUST SAY, FROM ALL THE DEALERSHIPS I'VE BEEN TO... MERCEDES DEALERSHIPS TREAT PEOPLE WITH OLDER CARS LIKE GARBAGE. ANYWAYS, THE PROBLEM STARTED WHEN THE CAR STARTED TO RUN ROUGH. I WAS DRIVING HOME AND THE CAR STALLED AT AN INTERSECTION. SO EMBARRASSING, BUT GLAD I DIDN'T CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. SO I TOW THE CAR TO A SHOP. MY MECHANIC USED A DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER TO CHECK FOR ERRORS. HE THEN TOLD ME MY ENGINE WIRING HARNESS IS DISINTEGRATING. HE SAID THESE WERE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MERCEDES CARS FROM CERTAIN YEARS IN THE 90'S. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH OF "DISINTEGRATING ENGINE HARNESS", AND I SAW TONS OF MERCEDES(ONLY) OWNERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. I HOPE MERCEDES WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS DANGEROUS ISSUE.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 MERCEDES BENZ S420 (N/A). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY FOB FAILED TO UNLOCK THE DOORS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000. UPDATED 03/30/15*LJ UPDATED 10/20/2015*JS
A/C QUIT WORKING. TOOK TO THE MERCEDES DEALER. WAS NOTIFIED OF VAPOR CORE FAILURE AND TOLD IT IS MOST COMMON ON ANY MILEAGE OF THIS MODEL. COST $3500.00 IF IT IS MOST COMMON IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON IT. COMPANY KNEW ABOUT THE PROBLEM BUT DID NOTHING TO CORRECT IT.
5 of 5 complaints, reproduced as filed.
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.