My well maintained '95 Mercedes-Benz C280 of which I am the single owner since new has a defective wiring harness. This could have been a very bad disaster as the car just lost it's power to drive while being driven...by my son, who just came off of I-95. He managed to get to safer ground and had to be towed. Mechanic(not a mbenz one) states never seeing anything like it as the wire coating is disintegrating into a powder like substance and baring all metal...caused it to arc when first looking. Thank good fortune it didn't catch fire, explode or cause a bad accident. So if replaced by mbenz part cause it cannot be repaired....won't the same thing happen with it?

- Westerly, RI, USA

Complete wiring harness failure on 1995 Mercedes C280, only 60,000 miles on car.

- Nashville, TN, USA

My car, 1995 Mercedes C280, backfires, stumbles, loses power, and sometimes dies while driving. I have replaced the plug wires, ignition coils, spark plugs, fuel pump, and filter. I have replaced the overload protection relay, the fuel pump relay, and the engine cooling fan relay. The battery and alternator have been replaced. All of these were done after contact with Mercedes Benz and dealers in both Florida and Tennessee. The wiring harness was replaced before I bought the car and is in good condition.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Engine wiring harness failure on 1995 C 220 Mercedes - Benz. Had all engine wiring replaced at a cost of $500. Having so many electrical problems caused many parts to be changed that did not need to be changed. The car is in the shop now for over 9 months because mechanic can not figure why car continue having lost of power.before I found out about the bad wiring on this C 220 Benz, my car was almost hit by another car while trying to cross a busy highway. This could have tragic thank god they slowed down to let me cross. This is a very serious safety situation and something should be done about it asap before some get seriously hurt or receive death form this major problem. I'm over $4,000 in the hole and still no working C220 Mercedes Benz yet!

- Mcallen, TX, USA

I own a 1995 Mercedes Benz C280. This vehicle year and model has a possible critical engine wiring harness problem where the insulation on the harness disintegrates very quickly. This disintegration can cause the car to stall and catch fire while driving. There are of course other related severe problems that can occur since the wiring harness is critical to the operation of the vehicle. A few of the other critical components affected are ignition, fuel injection, cooling, timing, mixtures and various other systems/sensors of the car. After speaking to the manufacturer (mb-usa in NY), local dealers, owners and reading various websites, I believe that Mercedes Benz is aware of this problem but will not issue a voluntary recall. The only available repair I am aware of is to replace the entire engine wiring harness. Since the disintegration can occur due to the normal operational engine heat irregardless of mileage, it is my understanding that this can happen at any time. It is highly likely that a affected car with higher miles is much more susceptible to the failing of the wiring harness. This naturally also leaves drivers and passengers of older affected cars much more susceptible to the dangerous and fatal effects of a engine wiring harness failure. I ask that NHTSA investigate this further and issue a recall on behalf of all of the owners. I know that my car falls in the category where the harness is possibly bad, and you are welcome to contact me to see the condition of the my car's engine wiring harness. I hope at the least you can seek a resolution for me from the manufacturer in remedying a known issue in the model I own.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

Mercedes-Benz engine wiring harness defect enclosed, please find a list of reported complaints that I found on your very own National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website concerning the chronic engine compartment wiring harness failure suffered by (at the least) 1992 through 1995 Mercedes Benz automobiles. This list is not, by any means, meant to be complete, as it only lists those reports that I was able to locate. Note that the first complaint on the list is mine. I am outraged at Mercedes-Benz' arrogant refusal to own up to, and take responsibility for, this extremely dangerous design and engineering defect. For the life of me (literally), I cannot understand why NHTSA has not investigated this dangerous situation, especially given the large number of complaints. I will not be satisfied with less than Mercedes' immediate rectification. I was asked by Mercedes Benz dealer over $4,000 to fix problem.

- Naples, FL, USA

While driving on the highway (NJ turnpike, my engine began to become challenged to accelerate. After a couple of miles, I was no longer able to accelerate at all. With nowhere to pull over I drove across the ben franklin bridge at 20 mph. A few blocks after exiting the bridge the car simply failed. Upon researching this issue I determined that many many other owners of my same model car had the same exact issue - the engine wiring harness insulation was shot and needed replacement.

- Burbank, CA, USA

Wiring harness on my 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 has failed, crack and disintegrated wire coverings in engine compartment.

- Austin, TX, USA

Re: case 45839 I have the engine wire harness that was taken out of the car. It is amazing that this car ran at all. I would like to send you the harness so that you can see the extent of the problem Mercedes is covering up. It cost me over $2100 to get this problem repaired by the dealer. Please let me know if I can send you the harness. Dave young

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

Car started acting like it was driven by remote control. Starting stopping the engine revved up to 7000 RPM I could not hold it by the brake had to turn the car off and have it towed. Wiring harness had shorted out. I hear this may be a common problem. I'm glad I was driving instead of my 16 year old son. This could have had a much grimmer outcome.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

My 1995 Mercedes Benz C280 was running rough and stalled on the road. Brought vehicle to Mercedes dealer and found the engine wiring harness to be defective and deteriorating and crumbling cracked and exposed wires. My ignition portion failed where the wires connect to the spark plugs and high energy coils shorting out against the engine frame. Vehicle towed and technicians replaced engine harness parts plus labor $1,500. Repair bill. The harness is a manufactured dealer new item only no repair could be made as the entire wiring harness is defective and controls critical functions of the engine operation.

- Hazlet , NJ, USA

Disintegrating wiring harness on mb C280 1995. This caused my car to stop running and various other electrical faults until replaced by my mechanic - who stated "this happens to all mbs of this vintage - it was bad wiring that mb bought. Good thing you caught it because it can do more damage".

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Defective engine wiring harness has caused automobile to be inoperable and unsafe. Manufactuer is aware and will not stand behind their product. 1995 Mercedes C280.

- Lenoir City , TN, USA

I own a 1995 C280 Mercedes, previously owned by my daughter for 5 years. The car always idled rough, occasionally backfires, lacks overall power. My daughter had it to the shop numerous times and they never really diagnosed the problem. Two days ago I started it, heard a loud pop and saw smoke coming out of the hood and smelled electrical wires burning. It had to be towed to the nearest Mercedes dealer. They want a total of $3300 to repair it. The issue is the wiring harness. I have read hundreds of consumer complaints regarding this issue. In 1993-1995 C280 models Mercedes tried a new insulation covering on the wires and it does not hold up. In fact, I have seen the result in numerous pictures of the condition the wires. The insulation just desintergrates. I read that up until a few years ago Mercedes was replacing them but then they just stopped. Why isn't this an official recall failure.

- Harleysville, PA, USA

Defective engine harness causes the vehicle to lurch and stall at critical moments like when proceeding through an intersection or entering a highway. This has caused several close calls and is very dangerous. Mercedes seems to be in denial of this problem even though they are very much aware it exists. The part is approx $1,000 plus labor to fix a manufacturers defect. I understand that this has caused fires in some of these vehcles. All I want is Mercedes to hand me a new harness so I can repair my car. But if someone gets injured due to this problem.

- Walhalla, SC, USA

Failure of engine compartment wiring harness with the rotting and cracking of harness has caused engine to misfire causing rapid power loss in intersections. Shorting of connections cause ECU related malfunctions and read error codes on vehicle. Premature degradation of wiring harness.

- Flushing, NY, USA

Vehicle has had continual mechanical as well as electrical problems, details not provided.

- Los Angele, CA, USA