The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz S class. The contact was driving 65 mph when he noticed that the lights on the instrument panel failed and smoke was coming from the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that they needed to replace the instrument cluster module. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number: 06V028000 (interior lighting) but the recall had expired. The failure and the current mileage was 134,000. Updated 07/13/12 updated 07/31/12

- Los Angeles , CA, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz S500. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph, the lighting on the instrument panel failed to illuminate. As a result, the contact could not read any of the gauges or meters on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated the instrument cluster module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 06V028000 (interior lighting). The instrument panel was replaced. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Sagharbor, NY, USA

Lighting (instrument cluster) on the dashboard of my 2001 Mercedes Benz S500[xxx] flickered for a couple of days then went out completely. It affected my automatic door locks and side mirror signal indicators. I cannot view the gauges/speedometer and use the preset buttons on the steering wheel while operating this vehicle. Updated 07/12/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Sugar Land, TX, USA

: the contact stated the interior lights stopped working suddenly without warning. There was a NHTSA recall, # 06V028000, regarding the interior lighting. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. Updated 10/17/2006 - intermittently the instrument panel lights dimmed then surged to full strength.

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

I own a 2001 Mercedes Benz S500. I was driving home from work on Friday and all of a sudden, the lights in the dashboard went out. It frightened me because I couldn't tell how fast I was going and it hampered me from being as alert as I needed to be by trying to find out what the problem was. These lights need to be functional whenever you are operating the vehicle. Because of the time, the dealerships had closed and I couldn't drive it to them when it happened. This could have resulted in my having an accident and hurting and/or possibly killing myself and/or someone else. This is a serious problem that seems to be happening to others. Please investigate.

- Lithonia, GA, USA

: the contact stated due to inadequate dashboard illumination, one is unable to read the gauges and indicators. There is a NHTSA recall, # 06V028000 regarding the interior lighting. The VIN was not included in the recall. Updated 7/25/2006 -

- Belleair, FL, USA

Vehicle is a 2001 S-500. Almost word for word the same issue(s) as ODI id number : 10100807. Same car, same problems, same sentiment. Replacing fuses only results in flickering instrument cluster lighting, and even then the backlight is still non-functional. Gauge needles flicker as well, until they too go out completely. Fuses last only for a couple of days, whereupon the entire instrument cluster remains entirely black. Problem could be remedied simply by replacing faulty transistors, or redesigning an improperly laid-out instrument cluster, ie cooling the transistors much more adequately. This creates a tremendous safety risk by essentially creating an information black hole: The operator does not know his/her own speed, fuel level, if the parking brake is still on, if the directional signals are operational, if the check engine light is on, and other important information that Mercedes is so keen on relaying only to the instrument cluster. The faulty instrument cluster has not yet created an accident, but it is only a matter of time until one of the other thousands of S-class owners runs out of gas on the highway, and gets into a collision all because he/she didn't know how much fuel they had.

- Scarsdale, NY, USA