| Subject: | Loss of rear tail light functionality |
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| Investigations Summary: | This investigation was opened on Jul. 11, 2013. It was closed on Dec. 30, 2013. Odi initially received 21 reports of rear light assembly failure due to a melted electrical connector or housing. Since opening the initial , odi has received a total of 114 complaints reflecting an ongoing and increasing trend. In each report, one or both rear light assemblies fail completely (I. E. , all lights housed within the assembly extinguish, including the stop, tail, and turn signal functions) when the electrical ground connection is compromised as a result of high resistance and subsequent thermal over-heating. According to mercedes-benz, the over-heating of the ground wire is caused by corrosion between the connectors in the ground circuit to the tail light. Odi is aware of a total of 5 reports alleging fire including one injury allegation as a result of this issue. Analysis of subject vehicle complaint data indicates an increased likelihood of failure as the vehicles age. As a result of the evidence presented, this investigation has been upgraded to ea13-008. |
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