Electrical System Problems of Mercedes Benz S500 - part 1

Vehicle stall - engine cut off - on highway at speed (50-55miles/hr) posing driver and passenger safety. No obd error code or ecu error similar incidents reported by mercedes owners S500 model across USA as posted on mercedes forums.

See all problems of the 2006 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

New S500 benz, 1700 miles on the car, 2 months on the road only. Issues started right off the batt after purchasing this new S500. Car refuses to start daily, check engine light, 12v battery light, 48v battery needs service light, come on even tho the cars voltage is not low and is driven daily on highway. Took to the dealer, dealer says car needed to be driven more even tho its driven daily. Dealer stated voltage of the 12v battery was low, they charged the battery manually and stated that the cars ecu recorded a voltage problem. They cleared the ecu and released the car after 1 week in the shop under warranty. Next day the car was driven after it came out the shop, the car again gave a check engine light, 12v battery light, 48v battery needs service warning message. After driving the car for a bit the car completely went haywire. All interior electrical went out. Center counsel not working, dash console showed over 30 warning lights and messages ranging from electrical to low brake fluids including check engine light, srs inoperable message, and many many more messages telling me to stop driving the car. Car is scheduled to be taken back to the dealer for another checkup. This time car must be towed in since it refuses to even turn on or to unlock the doors or windows. This car seems to be having major electrical issues as well as major computer problems. This car is unsafe to drive since it can stall out while driving. At this point I will be contacting mercades benz corporate to speak to someone about these major issues. As it stands the dealership is unaware of how or why the car is acting this way and do not know how to fix it. A true lemon indeed. Please view pics attached.

See all problems of the 2022 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

Please help me my 2000 S500l mercedes’ benz dashboard have been blinking for 4 months now it has finally completely went out I am complaining on my behalf in my daughter in wife please NHTSA we cannot see anything on our car dashboard our vehicle have been inspected at two independent service dealer theses symptoms appear to have been happening 1 year after purchasing from dealer please nhsta we need a recall on our dashboard cluster. I cannot attend work until the cluster gets fix it’s so dangerous driving with a broken cause this recall will be a blessing to our family.

See all problems of the 2000 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

The contact owns a 2022 mercedes-benz S500. The contact received a notification for NHTSA campaign number: 21v00j000 (electrical system, communication) however, the parts for the repair were unavailable. The dealer had been notified about the recall and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The contact also mentioned that he experienced a blowout failure with the passenger’s side front pirelli pzero tire, tire size: 255/35/r21, dot number: 1un13874k. The contact stated that he replaced the tire with the spare; however, the vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that approximately a week later, the driver’s side tire experienced the same blowout failure and was taken to an independent mechanic. The contact stated that the driver’s tire had the same tire information as the front passenger’s side tire. The mechanic informed him that there were bubbles formed on the rear passenger’s side tire; tire size: 255/30/r21, dot number: ixty8464l. The mechanic suggested that all the tires be replaced. The tire and vehicle manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The tire failure mileage was approximately 2,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Last night we had tropical storm eta in florida. We had about 10 inches of rain. The temperature was between 70f and 80f. The car was parked on high ground but in the rain. The inside of the car flooded with water under the carpet. I have not determined the source of the leak or the source of the short yet but the car is in my shop. I drilled holes in the floor to drain the water for now. The entire electrical system went crazy. The abs was malfunctioning, the wipers were turning on and off, the brake lights and other lights were turning on and off on there own, the car stayed running with the key out of the ignition, the lights would turn on and off with the key out of ignition, the sos light was turning on and off, the airbag light was turning on and off, the speakers were popping, the throttle controls were acting odd and not corresponding with the throttle control, they would not respond or stay on longer than normal, the transmission was getting stuck in gears, the air suspension was acting weird, I pressed the trunk release and the tail lights started flashing, the gas gauge read empty and I had a full tank, the speed and rpm were working normal, outside temp was going on and off as well as the clock, the ac blower speed was changing and turning off, the windows would work then not work, the interior lights were turning on and off, basically the car would start and run but almost every system in the vehicle was malfunctioning. This is the second mercedes I have owned that did this. I took videos but they were too big to share.

The instrument cluster only works when it is really hot.

Takata recall. I was riding my vehicle when all of a sudden the instrument cluster went haywire. I thought it was battery but it wasn't the cause it drained 4 batteries I had on warranty and 1 I had to purchase. I found out the instrument cluster drains the battery and loss of power. I reached to a mechanic and he let me know that the instrument cluster is causing the power loss and needed to be replaced. I did some research and realize their was a recall for the instrument cluster for this defect. This defect could have a serious incident if wasn't properly aware. I would to have a recall if possible.

See all problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

I just bought my mercedes S500 two weeks ago. It only had one owner, 98,000 miles and good car fax. I was pulling out of my driveway and noticed the dashboard lights were completely dark and all of the gauges were not working!! I cant tell how much gas I have nor how fast I am driving! I research today and find that there was a recall on this issue that is now expired. How and why does a recall expire??!! this is a major safety issue. I wont be able to drive at night, I have children to transport and I don't want to get into a accident or receive a ticket for driving too fast! its so unfair that I just purchased this car and was not aware of a recall. How is this fair to a buyer who would have no knowledge of this!!! so I guess if me and my children got into an accident and died, mercedes would say "OH well, the recall expired". Bullshit!!! I am so angry. And they don't care!!!!.

One night while I was driving, suddenly the dashboard light slowly dim, flicked, and 95% lights were shut off included speedometer, the rest were very dim hardly see anything. Inside my car was totally dark at that point, I almost got into an accident. Immediately, I had to stop on the side of the road. That was very scary!! due to this kind of defective, the car is no longer in driving condition at night. This car is only 90k mile. After this incident, I searched on the internet and I had found few forums discussed about the similar problem with S500. But I could not find any recall for my car which related to this safety issue in NHTSA. This is a safety concern. This was almost caused myself getting into an accident. Would you please review this safety matter. Greatly appreciated.

My dash lights went out I can't see anything not my speed dash is dark night and day.

See all problems of the 2002 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

1999 mercedes-benz 2500. Consumer writes in regards to various safety defects on vehicle. The consumer stated the vehicle has several safety defects concerning electric stability control, brakes, body, steering, suspension, wheels, engine, power train, and the electrical system. Updated 10/23/2017.

See all problems of the 1999 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

I was at a stop light on 225 and chambers and when the light turned green as soon as a hit the gas my entire dashboard went blank. I no longer had light and my gauges were not responding either. After doing some research I seen some forums about the recall so I call the manufacturer and was told that even though acknowledged as a safety concern the recall was closed June 2011. I purchased the car June 2010 and no one reached out. I have only one car and I can not drive it because I cant see the speed or if I even have gas. I have kids and like everyone else I work but I can not afford to pay $1800. 00 to fix this and I shouldnt have to. I cant understand how a safety recall can expire. Seems as if there is no true regard to safety.

While driving at approximately 45 mph my instrument panel went black. I could not determine my speed, time of day fuel usage, miles traveled, or signal lights. I did not buy the vehicle from a mercedes dealer. I called a dealer about a recall. He stated that there was a recall but it had expired. I understand a recall expiring, but it seems that Mercedes Benz would support their product no matter when the defect occurred. It is a safety issue that could have caused running out of fuel without being able to detect it and no way of being aware of the speed of the vehicle. The signal lights don't function on the cluster. I believe it was a defect that Mercedes Benz was aware of and that they should replace the instrument cluster at no cost to me. The cost to replace the instrument cluster is outrageous for a component that is obviously defective. Owners should not be responsible for defective components that are or have been a part of a recall.

See all problems of the 2005 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

Changing the maf sensor I encountered burnt engine harness through out the engine compartment . Vehicle now does not run and harness will cost $700 + labor.

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz S500. While driving 35 mph, the instrument panel seized without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was instructed to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 52,000.

During rain storm, water seepeed ino air cowl into cabin-passenger side- flooded floor eventually sam electronic module under floor was damaged and shut off electronics in automobile while driving at high speed on freeway- with out power controls operating it made driving and stopping the car a very dangerous feat eventually went off road into guardrail and stopped. Mercedes benz has been aware (a lawsuit was filed in CA) of design defect of air cowl drain clogging and flooding cabin but has kept this dangerous flaw from owners even though we learned they have for sale an update kit to prevent this at owners expense. Our case fortunately did not cause a fatality but it could have easily had if the vehicle was not being driven by an expert driver- loosing power controls on a rain storm/ wet road with no power accesories / brakes is not a safe condition which needs to be addressed ASAP following this mishap we contacted local merceds dealership in plano,TX autohaus who responded being unaware and had no history of such problem- apparently mercedes is being wrongfully secretive of this serious flaw not only to consumers but their own people 9.

See all problems of the 2004 Mercedes Benz S500 🔎.

While driving on the freeway, the back lights in the instrument cluster that illuminate the speed markings started to flicker for a few seconds and then turned off and went dark. Then after a few minuets, the whole instrument cluster went dark and the speedometer stopped working completely. It was impossible to know what speed you are going at.

When backing up in reverse the car begins to smoke from tail pipe. Once in drive it begins to shake and moves slowly in traffic then slowly picks up speed after an unusually long duration. Dashboard is almost totally blacked out cannot read gauges (gas level,speed odometer, engine temperature, mileage). Finally, the air conditioning suddenly stopped blowing.

The contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz S500. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, all of the warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 151,000.

While returning from taking my husband to have a surgical procedure on I-75. I noticed that the instrument cluster component instantly went black. I came close to being involved in a car accident. I was unable to see any important information such as speed and gasoline level on vehicle. I called my mechanic who is mercedes certified and he informed me of the recall on the instrument cluster component. I asked if he could repair the cluster. He explained that it was nothing he could do, it would have to be towed to the Mercedes Benz dealership cause of the risk of driving. I called the nearest dealship in macon, GA and was quoted a price of $1,312. 00 for the repair. When I inquired about the recall I was told that it expired four years ago. I took it upon my self to look into the recall and discovered that the recall came out in November 2005 and then expired February 2006. Which in other words was not good for the owners. If the recall was a safety issue, then why was there a expiration date? it should'nt matter the time frame when the owner comes in to have it repaced. The point is that you issued a recall and for the integrity and utmost safety of your conumer and their family which consist of small children. We chose your vehicle for that reason" safety". When I wanted to purchase a vehicle for "my family" I chose Mercedes Benz. But now you tell me you have a recall on this vehicle and refuse to repair it at no cost to the consumer. The point is that you new of the recall that's why it was issued and only allowed four months for repairs. What if there was accidents or people being killed. You would have to write a huge check for law suites. So to me why go through that when you can replace a part for a little to nothing than lives that are irreplacable. The company stands to profit milllions if we pay for"their recall!" all I'm asking is to keep my family safe!.

The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz S500. While operating the vehicle, the instrument panel lighting became very dim and shut off. The electrical fuse was replaced and the failure was remedied, but eventually recurred. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 98,000.

For the second time the instrument cluster lighting had to be replace by the dealer. It did the same thing it did under the original recall. No lighting in instrument cluster.

On may 16, 2014, I purchased a 2004 Mercedes Benz S500 with 61,649 miles from car credit nation. After a few weeks of driving the vehicle, and visiting with the Mercedes Benz dealership for routine inspections, we found further issues with this vehicle, that we felt were life threatening and hazardous to the road, other drivers, and our safety. Mercedes benz stated that the rotors and brakes were extremely bad on the vehicle, which they notice at the time of their inspection of the vehicle. We noticed that there were electrical issues with the vehicle, where the lights in the vehicle would not cutoff,the alarm system would continue to run after the vehicle was cut off and locked, the command center shutting off while operating the vehicle, and the srs and tire pressure light displaying on the dashboard center. Also while out one night at a family event, has we were leaving the event driving home we approached a traffic light to come to a complete stop and the car would not stop,the breaks were touching the floor and we stopped several feet through the light nearly crossing the intersection. This was life threatening and frightening for all passengers. On January 29, 2015 the vehicle stopped in the middle of traffic completely shutting off, causing a dangerous situation, which could have caused further damages to the vehicle, our safety and others. Fortunately we were within distance of the Mercedes Benz dealership who immediately assisted us. He stated that the cause for the shut off may be caused by electrical failures, such as the alarm system, and other electrical failures. The 2004 Mercedes Benz that we purchased on may 16, 2014 in our estimation is a total lemon and is not worth the money we have paid. Our vehicle has been in the repair facility for 30 days, before being repossessed.

Please re-open investigation #pe05-062 as my instrument cluster has completely failed at 45k miles on the car and you and mbusa decided to discriminate which cars were included in the major recall - why not all vehicles. My car is in pristine shape, always been garaged, not to mention a very expensive vehicle. I have many photos if you need me to email them to you. This should not happen and the dealer insists on $1500 to repair. This is highway robbery not to mention life threatening and dangerous. Please help. Thank you.

My transmission would not shift out of second gear. I turned it off and back on and it did not clear. I got a "pre-safe unavailable" message. I did some research and learned this is a "transmission control module" failure. It is very unsafe in that the car cannot keep up with traffic and is a danger to myself and others.

All four doors and trunk of car will not lock or engage using the car key remotely but the lights will blink when key is depressed. I have to manually push down on all four locks to lock the car. Also, I have to manually use/insert the car key to open the trunk of the car. Front passenger car seat will not move or recline when door panel buttons are pushed. Engine light stays on all the time and no fault can be found. Sun visor stays down and can not stay up. I believe these are all electrical problems.

I was having an instrument cluster problem and I looked it up to see if there was a recall. I found out there was and I wrote down the NHTSA recall number (06v028000) and went to the dealership in my area to have it fixed. The dealership stated that my VIN was in the recall but the recall had expired. This was July 2014. I also called mercedes (1-800-367-6372) and they stated the same thing. How do I go about getting this recall fixed? in addition to this I would like to know if my VIN expired or do I have time to get it fixed.

My 2000 Mercedes Benz S500's instrument cluster started flashing on and off in may 2013 at around 44k. Then, January 2014, the cluster went dark forever. Yes, you read that correctly; the car is 14 years old, in perfect shape, 44k (now 45k) miles, and the cluster completely failed! the car has always been garaged so this was quite shocking that such an important data center would fail at such low mileage on my beautiful $90k car. The instrument cluster controls the interior door and floor lights, steering column controls, locks, trunk; there is too much to list that now doesn't work. Note: the trunk will not open unless you use the stick key and it is very difficult and awkward. Beware: if you're in a dark parking lot at night and want to put something in your trunk, forget it, as you have no lights and it takes so long to open the trunk that you'll probably get mugged in the meantime, plus, there's probably a mugger in your car too as you can't lock the car and the alarm doesn't work; only the trunk locks, permanently. Also, since the instrument cluster is completely dark, you have no idea how much gas you have, how fast you're going, engine light trouble, overheating, etc. My VIN number seems to be excluded from being corrected by mbusa. This is very exclusionary given my car is the same model and year plus the part is the same as those S500's included in the recall; why? I am requesting NHTSA widen the recall range to be fair to all owners of the same model and year where some are being recalled and some are not. This Mercedes Benz USA "VIN discrimination" is unfair & unethical, I respectfully request and implore you to please reconsider and widen the recall immediately. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Situation first started over the summer time when I was driving from bellingham to seattle for work and I got into the car, but the a/c didn't even work. I had to have the windows rolled down. I tried everything from economy mode, automatic, regular air, etc. Once I hit 10 miles away from my destination, all of the sudden, the air came back on. It worked the rest of the day and the next day. Then 2 days later and it stopped working again, but came back on a few days later or later that day. This same problem kept going on until about late October 2012. In late October, the whole system stopped working completely (defroster, a/c, and heater). No air came out whatsoever and was completely dead. I had my dad do some work on the passenger side and some water came drained out and let it dry for a while, then it started working again, but then a week after that, it stopped working again. We tried fixing it and still nothing is working. Then on February 8th, 2013, I came back from tokyo and got into my car at the airport, and the nothing had changed. Later that night, I got into my car, and nothing on the dashboard was working. No lights, no spedometer, no temperature, no time, no rpm indicator. Nothing. Problem still is happening. Then the following day, the trunk would not open at all automatically. No keyless way and no door latch. I had to use my physical metal key to get it open, but then I did that and all the windows and sunroof opened up too.

I was driving the vehicle on the highway when all of a sudden the entire dash gauge cluster flickered and went totally dark and stopped working. I was so distracted that I almost ran into the car that was in front of me. The interior lighting went out as well. Now, there is no way of knowing the speed of the vehicle or of seeing any of the other important gauges including gear selection. It is impossible to drive the car safely. The mercedes dealer in manhattan and north America mercedes center in NJ says the car is not covered and that the extended warranty for this issue has expired. They have basically said" too bad" for me in a very arrogant and cold manner. Almost like I should be ashamed for asking them to fix it. This is a low miles well cared for vehicle that has always been pampered and garaged. It belonged to my father. The estimated repair price from the dealer for the instrument cluster is over $4,000. 00. The car is currently sitting in my garage unable to be driven. Frankly, I am surprised at mercedes' refusal to fix the car considering that there was a national recall concerning this very issue and that also there was a need for a mb extended warranty to fix this very same lighting/cluster issue. Not to mention the exorbitant price for the S500 both retail and when it was new. I expected when I purchased the car that it would provide the type of reliability and engineering that mercedes claims to have built it's reputation on.

Took my car to mercedes-benz of pembroke, pines florida I took my car to the dealer last mo mercedes-benz of pembroke pines florida for them to change the oil and filter in transmission. So, Monday I took it back in and told them to check my key door locks, because the door would open. "no key" but would not lock by holding the handle. Also, to check the transmission which was harsh when down shifting when it was cold. I got a call the next day telling me I needed a new transmission. I said I only have 52,000 miles on the car and I don't use it that much. The car cost $93,000. 00 this should not be. Something is wrong at that dealer, and they won't listen to me, the service mgr won't even return my call long story short, but the bill was $9,300. 00 I think I got ripped off. Thank you.

The instrument cluster panel has been shutdown, I am unable to see my speed or any other relevant information, while driving.

I owned 2002 mercedes model s430. About 6 months ago I noticed my car dropped lower to the tires as I started, then I turn it off and back on for the car to function normally. Now, for past 2 weeks the problem has come back and acted very often. I also talked to few friends and they said other vehicles with same model are experiencing same problem. Is this a recall from mercedes to correct the problem yet. I like to know a little bit more info on this problem and how to correct it.

Mercedes benz 2002 s430: tele aid sos system malfunction causing vital information on auto to be denied while vehicle is moving. No way to reset. Must go to auto dealer to correct. Dealer will charge to investigate and correct.

The instrument cluster in the company car I am driving which is a 2002 Mercedes Benz model S500 just recently went out completely. I have taken the car in to be repaired and a new fuse was put in and it blew within an hour. I have called Mercedes Benz directly and they said that the recall 06v028000 does not apply to me. I also called the fletcher jones motorcar dealership and they said the same thing. Both the dealership and Mercedes Benz refuse to replace the instrument cluster modules based on the safety recall 06v028000. The problem is I am unable to read the gauges and indicators, such as the speedometer, which could increase the risk of a crash.