NHTSA Complaint #10163905 — 1993 MERCEDES BENZ 400E

I AM WRITING ABOUT A FAULTY ENGINE WIRING HARNESS IN MY 1993 400E (E420 BADGE). THIS PAST MAY, MY CAR HAD A CHECK ENGINE LAMP PROBLEM SYMPTOM. AFTER BEING WITHOUT MY CAR FOR THE MORE THAN 2 WEEKS THAT IT TOOK MY MECHANIC (DIETSCH WERKS IN SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA) TO INVESTIGATE MULTIPLE ERRONEOUS DIAGNOSTIC FAULT CODES, I FINALLY GOT MY CAR BACK AFTER SPENDING ABOUT $500 PARTIALLY FOR ELUSIVE DIAGNOSTIC TIME. ON THE EVENING OF 30 JUNE, THE CAR DIED WHILE DRIVING ON THE BUSY US 101 FREEWAY IN SAN JOSE, SO I HAD IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC. THE FUSE FOR THE FUEL PUMP (AND OTHER THINGS) WAS BLOWING. AFTER CONSIDERABLE DIAGNOSTICS, IT WAS FINALLY DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WAS FAULTY. IN ADDITION TO BEING WITHOUT MY CAR FOR MORE THAN 2 WEEKS AGAIN, I PAID A REPAIR BILL IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,209.67. I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THAT SOME EARLY/MID 1990S MODEL MERCEDES-BENZ CARS HAD AN ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DESIGN DEFECT, IN THAT A BIODEGRADABLE WIRING INSULATION WAS USED THAT DETERIORATES FROM HEAT IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. IT APPEARS THE PROBLEM IS FAIRLY WELL KNOWN BY MERCEDES-BENZ MECHANICS. PAYING SUCH A HIGH PRICE ($743.70) FOR SUCH A LOW COST PART GIVEN THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE IS MOST INAPPROPRIATE. IT'S LIKELY THAT THE COST TO MERCEDES-BENZ FOR THE HARNESS DELIVERED TO THE LOCAL DEALER WAS LESS THAN $74.37. I HAVE THE FAULTY HARNESS AND THE MERCEDES-BENZ BOX THE REPLACEMENT HARNESS CAME IT. I AM WILLING TO SHIP IT FOR ANALYSIS. REPORTEDLY SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS OF OWNERS OR 1991 - 1996 MERCEDES-BENZ VEHICLES ARE EXPERIENCING THEIR CARS BECOMING INOPERATIVE WITHOUT WARNING AS A RESULT OF THIS DESIGN DEFECT. I SUSPECT THAT SOME OR MANY OF THE VEHICLES SUDDENLY BECOME INOPERATIVE IN VERY UNSAFE SITUATIONS. THE EXTREME PRICE GOUGING FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE HARNESS IS EVIDENCE OF OF CONTEMPT FOR CUSTOMERS AND NHTSA. *JB