Mercedes Benz E320 fire or smoke problems

Filed Dec 6, 2023 · Engine · 120,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz E320. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment and white smoke was coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a failed turbo valve and a failed exhaust system. The contact was informed that the turbo valve and the exhaust system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

Filed Jan 27, 2023 · Electrical, Seat belts · CA

Driver seatbelt exploded while buckled up as the car was going about 30 mph on a 4 lane street. No warning and was very traumatic. I had to pull over when I smelled something burning. When I released seatbelt to get out of the car it would not buckle up when I tried to get back in the seat. Had to drive home without seatbelt on Christmas Eve. The same thing happened a month later to the passenger seatbelt when I was a passenger in my car. This was very traumatic while driving down a 4 lane Avenue.

Filed Sep 15, 2022 · Electrical · SC

Everytime I get in my car, the battery is dead! I have purchased several brand new batteries, and the same thing! I purchased a new battery, and my wife and I went on vacation, and as we was headed back home, we began to smell a real foul oder! We stop to the gas station, and looked everywhere, but didn't see anything! As we continue to drive, and turned in the drive way the battery light came on! I opened the trunk, and there was the foul smell, and the battery was so hot it could have caught fire, luckily we was home

Filed Feb 5, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 150,000 miles · IN · fire

Engine caught on fire while vehicle was idling in park in the driveway. Completely destroyed the vehicle in 10-15 minutes. Fire started under the hood. I believe that there was an electrical problem that induced the fire but unable to be sure. Photos are available if needed. The car was in good maintenance, no engine work had been done recently. Last repair was a transmission fluid replacement after repairing a transmission fluid leak in early december 2018

Filed Oct 29, 2018 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 12,300 miles · CA · fire

Car shut off randomly by going safe mode while driving, constant break warning in bright red " break visit workshop" I went to multiple shops and a consistent electrical issue but, problem to be determined, car has been checked multiple times before I purchased it from the used car dealer with the SRS light on, I did not know what it was. The car has had the alternator replaced 3 times, both batteries twice, one short was found in faulty wiring harness in truck being pinched. The dealer would deny sbc unit recall every time I called fletcher jones, and only gave me the option to pay them for a diagnosis and then they will determine if its faulty instead of my life being risked as well as those around me I finally tracked down the number for corporate and I got conformation from mercedes corporate say my VIN was included in the list. The car would leave me without breaks, power steering multiple times and always without notice occurring mostly on the freeway. The sbc unit was eventually replaced by a supposed authorized shop and I still have not received any reimbursement and then the same problems occurred shortly after the repair. The electrical issue had drained the batteries yet again so the car was garaged at my parents where it eventually caught fire in that location which makes this whole ordeal even more outrageous due to mercedes major lack of concern with this and they still want me to pay them to fix it before they will even decide to do anything. I have many different quarterly report print outs as well, out of the 100s of 1000s documented to possible 2 million total faulty cars , my car had almost all of different safety issues reported. Bought car @ 73k mi, caught fire, blew hole in manifold @ 123k, just isn't right, seems they are trying to cover up true amount of faulty cars in us by asking confidentiality by the federal safety agency granted blacked files illegible

Filed Nov 28, 2016 · Electrical · 170,000 miles · TN · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 mercedes-benz e320. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire in the driveway due to a faulty wiring harnesss. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. There were no injuries. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 170,000.

Filed Oct 15, 2015 · Airbags, Transmission · 163,000 miles · IN · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 mercedes benz e320. While driving 40 MPH, the contact heard a noise underneath the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the driveshaft of the vehicle fractured. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from the side curtain air bag, but the air bag failed to deploy. The air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 163,000.

Filed Sep 5, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 155,000 miles · WA · fire

My mint condition w210 '00 e320 mercedes caught fire last week while my wife was pulling into her high rise office garage in downtown seattle. Fortunately, she was able to escape without injury before the fire grew and consumed the whole engine compartment. This engine fire started on its own with no outside factors. This car had been fully maintained during my 11 year ownership by mercedes of bellevue and mercedes of seattle. The car only had 155,000 miles on it, still fairly low mileage compared to the other mercedes I have owned over the years. I notified mercedes of seattle about this incident. No one in service seemed particularly concerned at the dealership, although they mentioned they have never seem a w210 catch on fire and burn on its own. Thus my message to you.

Filed Aug 24, 2014 · Fuel system · 69,500 miles · TX

Began noticing gasoline smell in garage. Traced smell to the car. The smell has now intensified that I can smell fuel as soon as I exit the vehicle. The smell is now prevalent regardless of the amount of gas in the tank! It smells really strong in the driver side rear wheel well. I can no longer park the car in my garage for fear of fire. The smell is now becoming noticeable in the cabin as well. My understanding is the federal safety agency is aware of the problem and mercedes benz will not acknowledge a design flaw. I suppose I or some other owner will have to go up in flames before anyone decides to do the right thing. How sad.

Filed Aug 12, 2014 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 99,000 miles · OR · fire

I dropped off my car at auto shop due to my car starting rough, the AC and fan cut off, and check engine light came on. I was also concerned that this could be the wire harness as I had read about problem on the internet, and had discussed possible issue with various mercedes mechanics. I was told that mercedes benz had installed bio degradable wire harness that were resulting in premature deterioration. While my car was in the service bay at s the automotive shop my engine wire harness caught on fire! The mechanic was able to put the fire out before entire car and his shop caught on fire. I have asked him to retain harness for evidence, he said harness is in pieces due to extreme heat of this electrical fire. I am so thankful that the car caught on fire at the shop, or my entire family could have been killed. I say this as my electric locks were messed up, and sometimes I had to wait up to a minute or more to open the car doors and trunk, and also to lock my vehicle due to some sort of short. We could have all burned to death if the car caught on fire while driving on the highway, and we could not of exited the vehicle. This is a serious safety issue, and there needs to be a recall. There are over 700 complaints, along with dozens of fire complaints, regarding engine wiring harness defect on mercedes benz built between 1991-1997 with the federal safety agency. How many safety reports, engine harness fires, and possible harness fires resulting in death does it take for action in the form of a recall by mercedes benz and the federal safety agency? This is not a matter "if" these wire harness with fail, but when and how. I would like to request an investigation regarding my engine wiring harness that failed and caught on fire, and resulting damage to my car.