The car was barely used in about 2 years. Before it had never had a problem, now it can't be taken to emissions because the check engine light is on. It was discovered that this is because the engine wiring harness was deteriorating. Through internet research, I have discovered that Mercedes-Benz knows about this common problem very well even though they blatantly disregard their customers' safety, claiming they have no such knowledge and requiring customers to pay for it themselves or continue driving an unsafe vehicle. There is no reason other than irresponsible greed that Mercedes-Benz ignores this problem, and this puts unknowing consumers at serious risk. I am appalled that Mercedes-Benz has not owned up to their responsibilities and I would be very happy to see action taken to force Mercedes-Benz to actually value protecting their customers' safety above keeping their pockets lined with money.

- Spanaway, WA, USA

I recently bought this used 1995 C280 Mercedes Benz, almost immediately after I bought it -electrical system started malfunctioning, gauges go on and off continuously, car refused to start -then starts as if nothing happened.windows work-and then they don't. obdii system reads different codes-obviously unreliable. After having a mechanic look at it -he stated that wiring harness is failing. After coming here to look for recalls-I see that over 90% complaints on this car are for a defective wiring harness-a fact that Mercedes Benz should be well aware of by now. This could create a fire hazard and serious driving hazard. Why haven't they dealt with this possibly disastrous defect" I'm totally disappointed that a car company that stresses safety, and dependability put something like this in the market and hasn't made any attempt to help out the owners of hundreds of thousands of defective cars they produced. Another myth falls by the wayside-Mercedes Benz uber alles? what a bad joke-people that own cheap Nissan get 200,000 miles-a high dollar lemon? shame on you Mercedes Benz-btw if you go to Mercedes recall page, they don't even mention this problem..has Mercedes dropped their standards to screwing their customers" apparently so-.another legend turns out to be nothing more than a lie.

- Conowingo, MD, USA

Several intermittent issues recently began to occur with my C280. Instrument panel started to intermittently not work and as a result I ran out of gas in several occasions in areas where my personal safety was at question. Car also began to intermittently cease from starting leaving me stranded until the car was able to start. After an investigation by a certified Mercedes mechanic, they had determined that the engine wire harness was defective and that the wiring insulation was seriously degrading. During the evaluation the wiring was starting to smoke and system shut down due to safety concerns. It is very possible that continued operation of the vehicle could have caused safety issues to driver, passengers and others as unpredictable and serious actions could have resulted from engine wire harness electrical shorts. I am very surprised and disappointed that Mercedes Benz had not provided any warning or recall for this condition, which they apparently already knew is a common defect for this model and year.

- Yorba Linda, CA, USA

While driving on the hwy at 75mph the car lost power and then came right back while this happened the transmission down shifted jerked very badly and car also slowed down rapidly. This is a known issue with 90's+ Mercedes Benz's why has nothing been done about this" multiple casualties on the hwy should not be a reason to inspect a very well known problem with millions of cars!! as long as these cars are still on the road safety should be at the top of the list! with the cost of repairs for a problem that the manufacturer has known about for many years whats the deal" and because of this wiring issue obdii diagnostics is defective and does not work! upon inspection of the wiring harnesses anyone can see crumbled cracked rotted away insulation leaving wires bare and able to touch causing fires costly engine repairs and possibly even death.

- Lexington, KY, USA

The wiring harness shorted and caught fire. The engine shut off and I hit a pole on the side of the road after loss of steering. I hit my head on the steering wheel. I have a check engine light now, and they want me to spend thousands of dollars on an electrical wiring harness for the engine.

- West Chester, OH, USA

After starting the engine started missing then quit. Could not get it re-started. Failure codes said random misfire. Checked the wiring harness going into the spark coils and found that the insulation had disintegrated. After checking a few other spots on the engine wiring harness, I found the insulation had disintegrated there also.

- Pacifica, CA, USA