The wiring harness to the tail lamp on the right side was fried & filled with smoke and now the tail lamp goes very dim & almost off, but replacing with new bulb doesn't help.
2008 Mercedes Benz C300 lights complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 108, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tail light message. Found harness melted on the passenger side tail light. Now I get a message from both sides.
The information system in my car gave me the symbols for the right back lights. I check and realized my lights were out. I opened the wiring in the trunk. The brown wire on the outer side burned through the connector and the lamp carrier.
Cars automated warning system indicated problems with right rear lighting system ("check right rear turn signal etc"). Took car to mechanic. There had been a short in the right rear electrical system...plastic circuit box exhibited signs of a short and melted plastic. Mechanic replaced wiring, circuit box and lights. Could very easily have had a fire in the trunk of the car.
Burning smell and melted connectors on rear tail light assembly.
The left rear light was noticed to be dimmer than the right one. Once the light cluster was open up, a burn /melting of the electrical socket was noticed.
The left tail light connector and the plate connection melted. Reported the issue to mb dealer and mb cac but they refused to accept it as a design flaw. The explanation given to me was it melted because of heat of light bulbs. The same flaw has been reported on many forum and I think it is a recall item.
The right rear bulb assembly and harness have melted and are only intermittently functional.
Left tail light out. Found melted negative connector on plug to left tail light. I repaired this by connecting to a different point on the tail light assembly. Found today, 14.aug 2013 that reverse light will not work. Investigated and found no power to the plug for the reverse light bulb,which has been checked by voltmeter.
Driver information system showed that the rear right brake lamp was out. While checking the rear tail light to replace the bulbs we checked the harness and it was completely melted! Then I knew why I had smelt a burning smell before. I called my nearest mercedes dealer ship and they said it would cost around $475 to $700 to fix. I didn't have to explain he knew exactly what was talking about but im out of warranty. This should be fixed by mercedes. Its absurd and needs to be brought to attention for our safety.
Both tail lights lamp carriers and contact bushings had melted around ground wires in my 2008 c300 mercedes.
Driver information system showed that the rear right brake lamp was out. While checking the rear tail light to replace the bulbs we checked the harness and it was completely melted! Then I knew why I had smelt a burning smell before. I called my nearest mercedes dealer ship and they said it would cost around $500-$600 to fix. I didn't have to explain he knew exactly what was talking about but im out of warranty. This should be fixed by mercedes. Its absurd and needs to be brought to attention for our safety.
Ground wire to rear right tail light melted at the connection point to the tail light board and harness. Smelled smoke and found damage shortly after.
Noticed for the first time that the left rear brake and tail light was much more dim than the corresponding lights on the right side. I also noticed that these same lamps also flickered from dim to slightly brighter and reported on the next service appointment. When it came back from the dealer the problem was marginally better; however, it still exists to this day. I see numerous complaints on mercedes owners hotlines with various degrees of success at that dealers. I have also seen comments about a so-called fix that has been mentioned. My complaint was never printed out on my copy of the work order for that service date either. I've given up.on complaining to mercedes as I had another complaint to the factory which ended up just being brushed off as normal. Once again no documentation of that visit was given even thought a factory rep was present. My belief is that the tail lamps should be fairly equally bright in order to provide vehicles behind you an accurate location of the rear of my vehicle. A proper fix that completely corrects this issue should be required to be performed on these vehicles at no charge to the owners. I am the original purchaser of this vehicle.
Wires on both headlights melted and burnt. Concerned about a possible fire and my headlights not working. Mercedes will not cover under warranty. Can provide photos.
Started the vehicle and there was a failure for head lights, tail lights and turn signals. I took the vehicle in to repair the bulbs and they told me the control board failed, melted and they replaced it. I was later told this is a common issue with the 2008 c300.
Instrument panel indicates issues with varies lights. Replace bulbs without resolution. Took to the dealership who indicated "found right rear tail lamp bulb carrier connector pin burnt and left rear carrier bulb contacts distorted. Replaced right rear bulb carrier, connector and pins and replaced left rear bulb carrier only. All light work as designed at this time. On 07/18/2013, friends reported to me that my front lower round park lights were out. The left one was on at first then it without like the right one. No report on the instrument panel.
I have had numerous messages on my 2008 c300 mercedes regarding tail light/ brake light out. I have noticed that my passenger side tail lights/ running lights are much dimmer than the driver side lights. I have inspected the wiring harness assembly on the passenger side and noticed significant discoloration with the "brown wire" and associated connector; the connector has also been "hot" to the touch. I have an appointment with my local mercedes dealer next week to have it inspected/ evaluated. I really became more cautious following the recent news article regarding 2008-2009 mercedes tail light issues. Something is not right and it needs to be addressed/ corrected.
The right rear tail lights stopped working. After examining the wiring and harness were melted. Had to bring in to fix. The back board were the lights are on was also burnt. Now having problems on the left side. I just saw on the national news were other people are having the same problem with this year car. It seems the wiring is not proper size to handle the electric load. This is very dangerous driving this vehicle with the rear lights going out. The lights are running way to hot. Seems to be a defect on this year 2008 vehicle. I heard that this is being investigated by you. My wife is afraid to drive the car because of getting hit from behind because the problem with lights burning out or maybe a fire from the wiring melting. Mercedes says they will not fix and that this is not a problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the warning panel illuminated referencing the rear passenger side brake light. The failure recurred on several separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated that the passenger's side tail light assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.
Taillights, failed right side connection melted no right side taillights lights (turn,brake, backup lights left side failed 3/13 also melted connector was stopped by police safety violation no tail lights left side failed again this week 7/1/2013.
I get sign on dash,rear tail lamps failed, I checked the lights ,replaced bulb,doing same thing four times,noticed something burning inside the bulb connector,I am scared it might catch fire.
The rear driver side tail light assembly failed multiple times. The connectors to the bulbs and the panel was melted due to heat and therefore, dimming of the lights occurred followed by complete malfunction. The first time was replaced under manufacturer warranty. The second and third time this occurred was paid for out of pocket because vehicle's mileage exceeded the manufacturers warranty coverage.
My message ctr on my mercedes c 300 (2008) steering wheel said to check right, rear tail and brake light. I have checked the lights and had a mechanic check lights, and all seem fine. I heard the report on wbz radio on 7-15-2013 about rear lights on mercedes 2008, and 2009 possibly causing fires, and wonder if the message on my car may be warning of a possible fire or future failure.. I called the mercedes service dept. And they had not heard of this problem! I called wbz radio in boston, and they directed me to nhtsb web site. The message to check rear lights still comes on.
Driver information system showed that the rear right brake lamp was out. While checking the rear tail lamps for operation, all of the lamps on the passenger tail lamp were inoperative (brake, turn, reverse, parking). Under further examination of the problem, the driver side lights appeared to be dim and flickering. Both the driver and passenger rear tail light connectors were found melted and emitting smoke at the connectors brown wire. The following day, the car was taken to the closest mercedes benz dealership (mercedes benz of arlington). The dealership had quoted $500 for the replacement of the rear tail lamp bulb holders and connectors. A repair was made by an independent shop using dealer bought parts, but we fear that the problem may return.
Right rear tail light connector smoked and melted connector. Circuit board where all the lights are contained melted with hole in the middle of the board. Inspected left side circuit board and found hole starting to burn but no connector damage was present at that time. Replaced left side board as a precaution and have monitored it since. Replaced connector and wiring on the right rear side along with the circuit board. I saved both boards in case they would like to be examined for future reference.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that the panel lighting stated that the rear passenger's side tail light failed to illuminate. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired, but the problem persisted. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.
While driving in the evening on highway, both tail lamp warnings came on indicating bulbs had burned out. I stopped car after smelling an odor. I saw the left tail lamp was dim and the right tail lamp was normal. I did not open trunk. After reaching my destination I changed the left tail lamp bulb, but bulb was still dim. I pulled off the electrical connector and found 3 leads on the connecter burned and melted. I went to the dealer in alexandria, virginia and inquired about the problem. I was informed no recall had been issued and the dealer would not fix. So, I purchased left tail light assembly, connector and pins to make repair myself (I am a former airplane mechanic). Tail lamps have been functioning normally since I replaced the parts.
Right rear tail light dash monitor indicated a problem. Found the right rear tail light circuit board ground wire burned and smoking. Plastic connector and lighting circuit board melting. Appears that the electrical current draw is greater than the ground wire can handle. Taken to dealer for fix. No response as yet, but based on other online reports, it appears unlikely they will support a warranty claim fix.
The passenger side rear tail light harness caught fire and melted. There are countless complaints and reports on this issue, but mercedes refuses to correct the problem or do a recall. Most incidents occur between 50,000 and 60,000 miles and is not covered by warranty. You can google this issue and see the wide spread complaints on the melting wiring harness. There are also several discussions on mb forum. Below is another website with several complaints of melted tail light wiring and non-working tail/brake and turn signals. I've contacted reliable mercedes in springfield, mo and they acknowledge that their shop has repaired many mercedes c300's with melted tail light wiring, but said mercedes will not fix recall this problem. This is a tremendous safety issue and I respectfully request that your agency address this matter with mercedes. Http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2009/mercedes/c300/electrical_system/problem.aspx.
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