1995 Mercedes Benz E320: misfire or rough idle

Filed May 19, 2013 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · CA

The electrical insulation on the engine wiring harness failed and cause the engine to misfire. My concern is either an electrical short could cause a fire or computer failure.

Filed Mar 22, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 137,000 miles · CA

The wires in the wiring harness connecting to the coils for the fuel injection system are disintegrating. Currently this is causing the car to loose power, run rough, only 2-4 cylinders are firing. My mechanic said he found on the web that this is happening a lot to mercedes cars made during the time period my car was made but mercedes never issued a recall for this huge problem. My cost to fix this problem was estimated at $3200.00 or more depending on how much of the wiring system has disintegrated and what other systems are affected. I called mercedes on howe ave in sacramento and after checking my VIN number said my car has never been recalled for this problem or any other problems.

Filed Apr 3, 2007 · Electrical · MN

Mercedes e320 1995 wiring harness failure. Car began to run rough, check engine lights would keep coming on. Dealer said they couldn't fix the car without replacing the entire engine wiring harness (which seemed ludicrous at the time since no american car I'd ever owned needed such a drastic fix) other dealers took the car for repair but all came to the same conclusion about the hopelessness problem of the harness. To add insult to injury, the harness is about 1,000.00 dollars un-installed...*jb now I understand that this problem happened to virtually all mercedes e320 of that 5 yr. Period but there was never a recall to protect all of the owners. I've never left town with the car because it always ends up on the side of the road as its' so undependable. So much for my first and last mercedes...

Filed Mar 29, 2006 · Electrical · 130,000 miles · PA

My 1995 e320 with approximately 130,000 miles began to exhibit unusual performance characteristics, rough idle, occasional stalling at lights. When I took it to my local mechanic, they informed me that as they began to investigate what the problem might be, the individual wires in the engine wiring harness were crumbling under the slightest pressure, making any repairs extremely risky without having the entire harness replaced at a cost of approximately $1800. The fact that this has been well-documented for several years is troubling, especially given mercedes' reputation for cars that will run for years with proper regular maintenance. Obviously mbusa is aware of the problem, since dealers stock the harness.

Filed Nov 22, 2005 · Electrical · 95,000 miles · MA

Initial problem started in late october 2005. Intermittent misfiring of cylinders, hesitant. Several trips into shop resulted in "could not replicate trouble". Finally sent in with severe misfiring. Replaced coil, some ignition wires, spark plugs. A few days later, same symptoms happened. After more diagnosis, determined engine wiring harness had failed. Insulation had completely disintegrated allowing wires to touch. Potential for more severe damage to vehicle computers, accident or worst, fire. Local mb shop indicated it was "not a major problem", "should expect it with 10 year old car". Item was in stock for $975.00 (so I assume it does happen frequently), with labor of 8 hours @$119.00. I did not feel this should happen on a 10 year old car, not to mention a former "certified pre-owned" vehicle. After researching internet, found over 36 pages worth of the federal safety agency manufacturers complaints, regarding similar trouble with the wiring harness. Total spent to repair = $2313.43. Welcome to the world of mercedes benz.

Filed Feb 21, 2003 · Electrical · 124,500 miles · VA

Oem wiring harness in 1995 e320 becomes brittle and cracks at around 100,000 miles that causes engine to misfire.