general problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz S430

Five problems related to exterior lighting have been reported for the 2001 Mercedes Benz S430. The most recently reported issues are listed below.

1 Exterior Lighting problem

Failure Date: 09/04/2015

Cannot give the vehicle mileage because you cannot see the miles due to the instrument cluster lights not being on, cannot see the speedometer, gauges or anything else, the instruments are dark both at night and during the day. The car still operates but when you try to see the speedometer, you have to lean forward to see the mileage, which is dangerous because while you are straining to see the mileage, you are not looking at the road, this is a dangerous situation. I found NHTSA recall 060v028 which identifies the problem but mercedes says this was not a recall.

2 Exterior Lighting problem

Failure Date: 02/04/2015

The instrument panel (speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauges, etc) light went completely out. I cannot see how fast I'm going, how hot my engine is running, how much fuel I have left, etc. My make and model of car was known to have defective instrument panel lighting (under mercedes recall campaign 2006080004) but mercedes refuses to honor the recall campaign and wants $2000 to fix this defective instrument panel.

3 Exterior Lighting problem

Failure Date: 01/01/2014

Two years ago the instrument cluster just quit while in hevey traffic. No speed no tac no gas no nothing and it could cause accident injury and further damage to the car also. This item was a federal mandate recall and mercedes says not so after 10 years and wont honor the law which stipulates its forever, and dealers insist on a buy of a new one cant even get one at cost.

4 Exterior Lighting problem

Failure Date: 07/10/2013

The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz S430. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the gauges and indicators failed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the instrument cluster modules would need to be replaced. The contact was also informed of the recall for NHTSA campaign number: 06v028000 (interior lighting). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 45,000.

5 Exterior Lighting problem

Consumer states while driving the head light and the parking light willgo out without any warning. Had bulbs replaced 3 time, . Problem reoccured.