2006 Mercedes Benz ML350: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jan 14, 2017 · Seats · 80,000 miles · IA

On jan. 6, 2017 northbound on hwy 52. Drivers seat heater had been on approximately 10 minutes when I felt a very hot spot on my upper left side. Then I smelled something burning. The seat heater had burned through the upholstery on the outboard bolster of the drivers seat and started burning through my coat.

Filed Dec 20, 2016 · Seats · 93,000 miles · NJ

Turned on the driver side heated car seat and after a few minutes, there was a burning smell. Pulled over and found it had burned a hole through the foam and leather on the lower left side of the seat about 1" wide and 2" long.

Filed Oct 19, 2016 · Seats · 128,528 miles · TX · fire

After driving only 30 min in morning traffic w/seat heat on, I smelled a burning smell and the hip area of the seat was very hot. Pulled over, turned car off, and found seat heat had burned through the seat upholstery making a hole approx. 1" h x 1/2" w. Question below asks y/n if there was a fire. Answered y due to burning; did not see any flames. Used some water on it immediately and a few minutes later at home to make sure there was no burning/smoldering inside the seat.

Filed Jun 29, 2015 · Electrical · 76,000 miles · CA · fire

I had a 2006 ml350. It spontaneously caught fire as it was parked for two hours after I had driven it. The firemen state in the report it was an electrical fire and started from a short in the rear taillight harness.I brought this to mercedes benz USA's attention and they were careless about the safety dangers that this caused/posed. They said it wasnt a manufacturers defect after the 2 month long investigation was stamped inconclusive.they were of more concern about this being leaked or exposed and tried to sweep my case under the rug. They only gave me one case manager and limited me only to speak with her after begging to speak with another manager. After being trapped in this corporate cover up I had no where else to turn. Susan m( my west coast regional case manager) how many other vehicle cases did they sweep under the rug like mine? I do not expect this kind of cover-up from mercedes and would expect them to stand behind their vehicles. Http://www.mercedesdefects.com/2008/04/wire-harness-defect.html please get this to the next step before people loose their life! I could have died this night! This is their factory recall mercedes benz USA said they didnt have for my vehicle after the fire. Possible electrical fire from water damaged lift gate control module for models: mercedes-benz ml320 bluetec, mercedes-benz ml350, mercedes-benz ml550, mercedes-benz ml63 amg electrical & lights, may 1, 2009 repairpal expert overview: due to a faulty seal around the tail light assembly, water may enter the rear compartment containing the spare tire. The water could damage the lift gate control module, causing it to fail. The failed module could overheat, increasing the risk of a fire. Dealers will update the tail light seals and relocate the lift gate control module. This recall is expected to begin during april of 2009. The mercedes recall number is 2009030003.

Filed Mar 28, 2015 · Electrical, Seats · 118,021 miles · NJ · fire

I was driving with the driver's side electric seat heater turned on. I noticed a burning smell and felt a burning pain on my back. After exiting the vehicle I saw that the seat heater had burned a hole through the leather driver's seat and through my jacket.

Filed Jan 23, 2014 · Lights · 78,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mercedes benz ml350. The contact stated that the vehicle suddenly burst into flames. The vehicle was destroyed. The fire department was contacted, who verified that the fire originated from the rear tail light. No injuries were reported. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 78,000.

Filed Jan 6, 2014 · Electrical · 69,000 miles · MA · fire

Night before incident the automatic rear lift gate opened when front driver door would be opened or closed. While vehicle was parked and shut off, tail hazard light were activated along with warning alarm for tailgate malfunction or open. During the morning of the incident, vehicle continued to show same issues. When vehicle was later entered, issue with tailgate opening seemed to have stopped, after driving an approximate 5-7 miles, odder of smoke emerged, tailgate warning alarm sounded along with normal traffic horn, in addition cabin lights turned on and warn messages appeared on dash for flat tire,blown bulbs, etc, driver pulled to side of road and turned off vehicle to investigate. Soon after turning off vehicle smoke began to fill cabin, driver immediately exited vehicle, flames over took vehicle within minutes. Remains show upper half of cabin (seats and up) took primary burn, flooring was not burned. Engine bay only has minor fire damage from large flames and heat going out of front windshield.

Filed Dec 8, 2013 · Electrical, Lights · 75,000 miles · CA · fire

Owner had arrived home at 7:00 p.m. From work and was inside his residence. At 10:00 p.m. Police and fire personnel came to his door to inform him that his car was on fire. One resident said that, as he was walking in the parking lot, he noticed there was fire in the passenger side rear tail light (around 10:00 pm) and when he looked inside, there was fire in the vehicle directly behind the rear tail light. He ran for a fire extinguisher and also yelled for help and for someone to call 911 for the fire department. Both fire and police arrived. Car had not been driven for 3 hours and was parked, was driven only 7 miles three hours earlier with no stops. Car has been considered totaled by insurance due to the amount of damage incurred and had been owned for only one year, serviced regularly by mercedes benz, and all recalls had been up-to-date! The servicing mercedes dealership promptly informed mercedes benz USA who also promptly contacted the owner to fill out the appropriate paperwork and submit pictures for review. This paperwork/pictures were also promptly submitted. However, due to the seriousness of this fire and possible loss of life and property that could have been catastrophic, this report is also being sent to your agency for follow-up. (note that there was a recall on the tail lights in the ml350 for possible fire for 2007 and years above, but not the year of this vehicle, 2006. A similar problem is reported in the c-class automobiles and may be more widespread than previously thought).

Filed Mar 14, 2013 · Seat belts · 178,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mercedes benz ml350. The contact was driving approximately 65 MPH with the heated seat in activation. The contact noticed smoke emitting from the front driver's seat, in which the heater overheated and caused a burned hole in the cushion and padding. The contact sustained a minor burn to the left hip as a result of the excessive heat penetration. There were no flames present. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the heated seat wire was disengaged. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 178,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Nov 16, 2012 · Seats · 69,900 miles · MA · fire · 1 injury

After driving for a few minutes, my husband smelled something burning. He could not figure out where it was coming from until he felt his back being burned. He immediately turned off the heated seat and pulled over. There was smoke and a hole burned through the seat about 2 inches in diameter. The seat burned a hole through his fleece jacket & t-shirt leaving what looked like a cigarette burn on his back. If my husband had not been driving my car, I probably would not have made the connection that it was caused by the heating mechanism, because I thought that only the bottom of the seats were wired for that. This occurred on the back portion of the seat on his left side. I just fear that someone would panic or it could turn into a full blown fire (I am sure we were just seconds away from seeing flames if the mechanism had not been turned off so fast). Furthermore, if we were driving on the highway at a higher speed it very easily could have caused a fatal accident because it caused him to veer into the other traffic lane (luckily no cars were in the lane at the time). I have read many stories about this happening to other people and I have checked all online sources for safety recalls on this car. What a disservice it would be if mercedes does not replace this seat and make it right free of charge. One bad accident is too many, we should not wait until someone gets badly burned or killed before something is done. We have an appt. To drop off the car next week for evaluation of the problem and the service advisor at the dealer has been very helpful so far, so I am hoping for a positive outcome. But I could not go without reporting this because it is a very serious safety risk and I would hate to see anyone else get injured. It is clearly a manufacturing/electrical problem and the driver has no control over it's spontaneous occurrence.

Filed Feb 21, 2011 · Seats · 57,940 miles · NY

I'm the owner of a 2006 mercedes benz ml350 4matic, currently at 58,645 miles with outside extended warranty until 2013. Recently I had the heated seat turned on which I started the car and after about 2 minutes I smelled a burning smell coming from inside the cabin and then started seeing smoke coming from the left side of the driver side seat bolster around the waist area. I found a hole burnt the size of a nickel and smoke was coming out from it. It was bright red as I could see inside the hole I immediately turned off the heat seat and slowly the burning went away. I took my car to a mercedes benz dealer the next and they denied that there is no heating element in that part of the seat and refused to cover under outside warranty. At the dealership I did try to turn the heated seat on but no smoke was coming out so I wasn't able to proof the seating element was actually causing the problem. But I read numerous incidents online with the same exact problem.

Filed Feb 7, 2011 · Electrical · 37,000 miles · NY · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 mercedes benz ml350. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when it ignited in small flames underneath the hood area; a bypasser extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and they informed that the fire originated from the fuse box which completely destroyed the wiring harness and caused other damages. The insurance company continued to investigate the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 37,000. Updated 03/24/11*lj updated 1/4/11