C-Class rear light - melting issue.
Discussion
Some owners worldwide of 09-10 C-Class report a rear bulb light fail error (but no actual bulb fail). Some have reported a burning smell of melting plastic! My indy dealer tells me it's well known - one earth pin/cable that's too thin to take the load on the relatively cheap bulb holder card and that MB has updated the bulb carrier at least 6 times (they even showed me the part numbers and date changes). On inspection its clear - the pin is blackened...
...MB however, say they've never heard of the issue!
Anyone heard of this?
...MB however, say they've never heard of the issue!
Anyone heard of this?
rassi said:
Nope, haven't heard of it. But as you say it appears as if it is an issue, although one that apparently can be fixed easily and cheaply: http://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204/448506-tail...
Thanks, I saw that. Main dealer wants £300 as its not just the £12 bulb holder cards but also the multi-pin connected that needs re-soldering wire-by-wire!Gotta love MB MK customer service - they say they've never heard of the issue yet on an initial 5 minute web trawl I see many reports worldwide and that dealers are aware!
Resurrecting this as still an open issue. This has been reported in the US, Belgium and the UK to name a few. MB UK say they don't know of it (the US regulator knows about it, so they didn't tell MB US (and they didn't in turn tell MB Germany), right!) and, in my case, won't honour a 100% contribution. Yes, it is a simple job and the parts are c. £30 but the cost goes up as the plug connectors all need re-soldering.
Check out these reports and what owners have said - amazing!...
“Have had the same problem with mine; the earth is common to all circuits and is a stupid little wire that uses the same size of connector as the others. As a result it heats up and eventually builds up crud that stops all the circuits working, including the fall-back circuits. A very dangerous piece of poor design by MB!”
http://www.autonews.com/article/20130715/OEM11/130...
DETROIT (Reuters) -- U.S. safety regulators have opened a probe of an estimated 218,000 Mercedes C-class sedans after receiving consumer complaints claiming a failure of rear turn signals and brake lights. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation of the luxury cars from model years 2008 and 2009 after receiving 21 complaints from U.S. consumers.
The reports typically said the failure is with the lamp connector, with many indicating burnt or melted electrical components, according to NHTSA documents. In multiple instances, consumers have reported smelling smoke and seeing burn marks in the trunks of the cars, with one reporting small flames emanating from the rear lamp connector, NHTSA said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/flaming-hot-benz-...
“In another case, from June of 2012, a C-Class owner told NHTSA that the right rear tail light wiring harness caught fire and melted.”
IMHO, an issue like this should come outside of age, mileage and even goodwill gestures and no owner should be asked to pay for poorly designed parts especially on a 3 ½ year old vehicle – whether luxury or not.
Does anyone has experience of this particular issue or similar treatment via other manufacturers?
Latest:
FFS, just found this from 24th December just gone…
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/feds-expa...
Investigators say the problem appears to be worsening as the vehicles get older. A Mercedes spokesman said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
... and yet MB UK do not know of this issue.
Check out these reports and what owners have said - amazing!...
“Have had the same problem with mine; the earth is common to all circuits and is a stupid little wire that uses the same size of connector as the others. As a result it heats up and eventually builds up crud that stops all the circuits working, including the fall-back circuits. A very dangerous piece of poor design by MB!”
http://www.autonews.com/article/20130715/OEM11/130...
DETROIT (Reuters) -- U.S. safety regulators have opened a probe of an estimated 218,000 Mercedes C-class sedans after receiving consumer complaints claiming a failure of rear turn signals and brake lights. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation of the luxury cars from model years 2008 and 2009 after receiving 21 complaints from U.S. consumers.
The reports typically said the failure is with the lamp connector, with many indicating burnt or melted electrical components, according to NHTSA documents. In multiple instances, consumers have reported smelling smoke and seeing burn marks in the trunks of the cars, with one reporting small flames emanating from the rear lamp connector, NHTSA said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/flaming-hot-benz-...
“In another case, from June of 2012, a C-Class owner told NHTSA that the right rear tail light wiring harness caught fire and melted.”
IMHO, an issue like this should come outside of age, mileage and even goodwill gestures and no owner should be asked to pay for poorly designed parts especially on a 3 ½ year old vehicle – whether luxury or not.
Does anyone has experience of this particular issue or similar treatment via other manufacturers?
Latest:
FFS, just found this from 24th December just gone…
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/feds-expa...
Investigators say the problem appears to be worsening as the vehicles get older. A Mercedes spokesman said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
... and yet MB UK do not know of this issue.
Edited by AMG Merc on Monday 6th January 18:09
magnum555 said:
I've had this exact same problem, like you mention its the earth wire that's too thin to take the load.
That's bad - worse than mine. Replaced today - bulbholder sockets, pins and bulbs themselves blackedned and starting to melt. Parts (bulbholder panels) £4 each but good old Merc - they come with different connectors so 1.5 hours labour to complete.
Hi Murray, thanks for joining in and no worries - it isn't your dealership!
Let me be clear, my beef isn't with the dealership (although they need constant pushing and don't seem to care much - until it comes to customer satisfaction survey time that is!) it is with MB. They say they don't know of this issue - billox! Read some of the press articles - it's been going on for over three years and is is now almost going to a full recall. Even a junior social media marketer sitting in a corner at Milton Keynes MB towers (let alone Germany) would have monitored, and reported on, this negative and potentially damaging messaging! This is "brand management 101" as the septics say. They know
Oh, and in warranty or not, I'd say this case warrants action either way.
Let me be clear, my beef isn't with the dealership (although they need constant pushing and don't seem to care much - until it comes to customer satisfaction survey time that is!) it is with MB. They say they don't know of this issue - billox! Read some of the press articles - it's been going on for over three years and is is now almost going to a full recall. Even a junior social media marketer sitting in a corner at Milton Keynes MB towers (let alone Germany) would have monitored, and reported on, this negative and potentially damaging messaging! This is "brand management 101" as the septics say. They know
Oh, and in warranty or not, I'd say this case warrants action either way.
Murray, don't feel got it mate. You're not to blame
FYI, my investigations have uncovered the fact that MB has redesigned the bulb carrier around 6 times now. A clear sign to me that they know there's a problem needing solving.
As posted previously, with this in mind, why did they give me such a hard time finally offering 80% of the fix costs. So I paid 20% for the privilege of owing one of their poor faulty designs.
FYI, my investigations have uncovered the fact that MB has redesigned the bulb carrier around 6 times now. A clear sign to me that they know there's a problem needing solving.
As posted previously, with this in mind, why did they give me such a hard time finally offering 80% of the fix costs. So I paid 20% for the privilege of owing one of their poor faulty designs.
Dave, I don't understand DVSA's response. Merc has admitted the issue, it should have been a no-brainer (unless your car isn't one of these?).
BTW, when I heard of Merc's admittance I asked for my 20% contribution back - and got it
Here's a news item and MB's (US) press release - 284,000 cars here alone so how could UK gove not know?! There's loads concerning other countries across the web
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/29/mercedes-recall...
Statement From Mercedes-Benz
We are working very together with our NHTSA colleagues on this topic. Daimler AG has become aware through its worldwide product observation that on some model year 2008-2011 C-Class vehicles (204 platform*), the contact between tail lamp bulb carrier and tail lamp connector has deteriorated. The contact deterioration may lead from dimmed tail lamps to, in the worst case, a loss of tail lamp functions. In this case, the driver will immediately be informed by dedicated warning messages in the instrument cluster.
RECALL Subject : Tail Lamp Dimming or Failure
Report Receipt Date: APR 11, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V177000
Component(s):
Potential Number of Units Affected: 252,867
Vehicle MakeModelModel Year(s)
MERCEDES BENZ C300 2008-2011 MERCEDES BENZ C350 2008-2011 MERCEDES BENZ C63 2008-2011
Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
SUMMARY:
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Mercedes) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 C300, C300 4Matic, C350, and C63 AMG vehicles manufactured January 26, 2007, through July 13, 2011. In the affected vehicles, a poor electrical ground connection may result in the dimming or failure of the tail lights.
CONSEQUENCE:
Dimming or failure of the tail lights reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions of stopping or turning, increasing the risk of a crash.
REMEDY:
Mercedes will notify owners, and dealers will replace the bulb holders if not previously updated and replace any corroded connectors, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners will be sent an interim notification in June 2014. A second letter will be mailed when parts are available, currently expected to be in August or September 2014. Owners may contact Mercedes at 1-800-367-6372.
NOTES:
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BTW, when I heard of Merc's admittance I asked for my 20% contribution back - and got it
Here's a news item and MB's (US) press release - 284,000 cars here alone so how could UK gove not know?! There's loads concerning other countries across the web
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/29/mercedes-recall...
Statement From Mercedes-Benz
We are working very together with our NHTSA colleagues on this topic. Daimler AG has become aware through its worldwide product observation that on some model year 2008-2011 C-Class vehicles (204 platform*), the contact between tail lamp bulb carrier and tail lamp connector has deteriorated. The contact deterioration may lead from dimmed tail lamps to, in the worst case, a loss of tail lamp functions. In this case, the driver will immediately be informed by dedicated warning messages in the instrument cluster.
RECALL Subject : Tail Lamp Dimming or Failure
Report Receipt Date: APR 11, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V177000
Component(s):
Potential Number of Units Affected: 252,867
Vehicle MakeModelModel Year(s)
MERCEDES BENZ C300 2008-2011 MERCEDES BENZ C350 2008-2011 MERCEDES BENZ C63 2008-2011
Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
SUMMARY:
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Mercedes) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 C300, C300 4Matic, C350, and C63 AMG vehicles manufactured January 26, 2007, through July 13, 2011. In the affected vehicles, a poor electrical ground connection may result in the dimming or failure of the tail lights.
CONSEQUENCE:
Dimming or failure of the tail lights reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions of stopping or turning, increasing the risk of a crash.
REMEDY:
Mercedes will notify owners, and dealers will replace the bulb holders if not previously updated and replace any corroded connectors, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners will be sent an interim notification in June 2014. A second letter will be mailed when parts are available, currently expected to be in August or September 2014. Owners may contact Mercedes at 1-800-367-6372.
NOTES:
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Mikey_W said:
MBUK will cover the full cost of these repairs.. We had a bulletin sometime last year 
Yes they will now but people like me had to fight for over a year to get them to admit what was common knowledge on global forums - that they'd used a cable spec unable to carry the current safely. In fact it took them until AFTER the US NTSC forced a recall. I think they work like the airlines: calculate potential deaths versus compensation. In this case individual claims versus the cost of a full recall.
Hi Mitsa 123
Where your vehicle has received service throughout its life is an irrelevance regarding the bulb carrier issue. Whilst its a fact that MB (UK and elsewhere) and UK VOSA (plus the US NTSA) all know about this MB will still make it challenging despite the bad smell customers can create for them. It defies belief that MB acts this way with something so obvious - and so potentially dangerous. It's German based warranty department is notorious for denying claims off the bat. In fact, stage 1 is done by automated software and you're lucky to get human intervention!
Remember too that most MB dealers are factory supported indy's (franchisees) so you can't expect them to help much as it's not their fault. Its different for one of the UK's 6-7 full factory owned dealerships though as they are technically the factory so you can rant at them all you like
Mail me if you need any advice but I'm thinking, unless you want months of grief, best maybe to go to an Indy and get them to supply the bulb carrier cage and re-solder the cables. It should be an hours labour plus a £15 part. Not fair I know.
BTW - Please do some post paragraphing next time mate - blocks of text are bloody hard to read - especially on a mobile device!
Where your vehicle has received service throughout its life is an irrelevance regarding the bulb carrier issue. Whilst its a fact that MB (UK and elsewhere) and UK VOSA (plus the US NTSA) all know about this MB will still make it challenging despite the bad smell customers can create for them. It defies belief that MB acts this way with something so obvious - and so potentially dangerous. It's German based warranty department is notorious for denying claims off the bat. In fact, stage 1 is done by automated software and you're lucky to get human intervention!
Remember too that most MB dealers are factory supported indy's (franchisees) so you can't expect them to help much as it's not their fault. Its different for one of the UK's 6-7 full factory owned dealerships though as they are technically the factory so you can rant at them all you like
Mail me if you need any advice but I'm thinking, unless you want months of grief, best maybe to go to an Indy and get them to supply the bulb carrier cage and re-solder the cables. It should be an hours labour plus a £15 part. Not fair I know.
BTW - Please do some post paragraphing next time mate - blocks of text are bloody hard to read - especially on a mobile device!
Edited by AMG Merc on Tuesday 10th January 18:53
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