NHTSA Complaint #10029303 — 2003 MERCEDES BENZ S CLASS

RE: 2003 S600 [XXX] MY RELATIVELY NEW (3000 MILES) S600 HAS A PERSISTENT PROBLEM WITH THE NEW V12 ENGINE THAT HAS NOW DEVELOPED INTO A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK FOR THE DRIVER. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN SERVICE MORE THAN 4 TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM - IT HAS BEEN ESCALATED TO THE TECH CENTER BY MY DEALER - IT HAS NOT EVER BEEN FIXED. THE SPARK PLUGS ARE REGULARLY FOULED BY MISFIRING CYLINDERS (1,2,7,8) - THE DEALER SAYS IT MAY BE A SOFTWARE PROBLEM THAT MBUSA HAS FAILED TO FIX..AND NOW - WHEN DRIVEN AT SPEED OVER RELATIVELY MODEST BUMPS - THE CAR TOTALLY DIES AND ALL POWER IS GONE...THE SRS LIGHT COMES ON FOR A MOMENT BUT ALL STEERING ON THE CAR IS GONE AND (IF YOU ARE NOT KILLED IN THE MEANTIME) YOU NEED TO STEER THE CAR MANUALLY TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AS IT COASTS TO A STOP. THIS IS A DEADLY DRIVING HAZARD - MBUSA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND PERMITTING IT TO CONTINUE...YOU HAVE FAILED TO RESPOND TO MY PRIOR WRITTEN MATERIALS INCLUDING THOSE CONTAINED IN YOUR OWN SURVEYS TO ME...THE CAR IS A LEMON AND I WANT A NEW CAR OR WE WILL BEGIN SUIT AS WELL AS STATE AND FEDERAL LEMON AND FRAUD PROCEEDINGS ..WE WILL ALSO FILE A DEMAND WITH NHTSA THAT AN IMMEDIATE RECALL BE REQUIRED OF MBUSA ON ALL S6OO CARS WITH THIS ENGINE... NOTE THIS CYLINDER PROBLEM BEGAN TO APPEAR AT 700 MILES&.IN MARCH, 2003 IT HAPPENED AGAIN IN APRIL, 2003 AT 1000 MILES IT HAS CONTINUED TO OCCUR AND HAS NEVER BEEN FIXED&. IN THE MEANTIME, THE NEW PROBLEM OF THE POWER FAILING ENTIRELY HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR ABOUT 10 DAYS [XXX] [XXX]. *AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR