Trunk Wiring Problems of Mercedes Benz C300

I received a warning on my dashboard that my right rear tail light, right turn signal and back light needed to be checked and malfunctioning. The message came and went for several days. When I opened the compartment where the tail bulb carriers and assembly were, I saw that some of the lights were very dim. The carrier itself was piping hot. So my first reaction was to replace the bulbs. I did. Same problems, nothing was fixed. The next day, everything cleared up. . . So I thought it might be fine. A week later, it came back. When I opened up the compartment again, it was super hot, and I noticed that the wiring was browning and it burnt my finger. I immediately stopped driving the car. I went to the dealership and they said it will cost hundreds to replace and not covered.

See all problems of the 2009 Mercedes Benz C300 🔎.

Right rear tail light was dim; strong smell of burning wiring in the trunk, wiring harness was hot to the touch, at least one wire on the harness was charred / burned. Dash warning light eventually came on. Brought to m-b dealer; not covered by any factory warranty, recall or the 3rd party extended warranty.

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.

See all problems of the 2008 Mercedes Benz C300 🔎.

On 8/8/2013 my information display indicated my right taillight, blinker and brake lights were out. When I opened the compartment to see what type of bulbs to replace I found the problem to be much bigger than expected. The plastic housing that hold the wiring pin, the wiring pin and the brown ground wire were all burnt up causing the lights to fail. I than opened the left tail light compartment and the same thing is happening, there is already signs of the housing burning. I remember smelling something burning in the car a few weeks ago. I now know what it was. I am surprised it did not catch fire. I contacted mercedes service only to find I am responsible paying to have this issue corrected. I only hope the left side does not cause a fire before I am able to get it fixed. This is clearly an unsafe electrical issue.

The information system in my car gave me the symbols for the right back lights. I stopped to check and realized my lights were out. I opened the wiring in the trunk and realized that the brown wire on the outer side burned through the connector and the lamp carrier.

Randomly I started receiving check bulb messages for the rear lights on both sides of my car. I didnt think much of it as I dont think they had ever been changed so I changed them and all was fine and then a few weeks later the messages started to pop up again. I rechecked the bulbs to make sure they were securely in place and they were so I started doing a little research and discovered that this was a known issue. Presently the entire left rear side is out and it looks like the wiring has overheated and been singed (looks like it had burned). When calling all the local southern cali dealerships (orange county/long beach) none of them will admit to it being a widespread problem and fixing it for free because the parent company, Mercedes Benz, hasnt yet. I have no desire to pay for a problem that should have never occurred in the first place. My major concern is about potential fires in the trunk due to this. All it will take is one spark to catch on something in the trunk and then well car is on fire. As much a Mercedes Benz claims to be about safety, I'm shocked, one at the design flaw and two that they are going through the motions of pretending like the thousands of owners who have reported this are making it up. They need to get on this ASAP.