So Ford recently announced yet another recall for the Focus yesterday, something electrical that could go awry and start a fire, battery related I think. There have been other safety recall for this vehicle and others that are VERY QUICKLY addressed these days.

The point is, manufacturers are responding almost immediately since the Pinto/Explorer debacle, and the side-tank on Chevy trucks exploding cases.

There are now at least 7 NHSTA documented safety incidents attributed to the faulty 93-95 wiring harness, including stalling at speed and risk of fire. Um, a safety issue, one would think, separate from the fact that when it fails it causes very expensive and often hard to diagnose electical glitches.

That it is a MAJOR safety issue would be obvious to anyone, except it seems, to MBUSA, who simply refuse to acknowledge the problem openly, offering a cowardly and evasive 'good-will' repair policy on a dealer-by-dealer, case-by-case basis.

All I want to know is, where's the outrage???? Lots of people bring up this problem, but that's it, in a larger context, its just ignored. It's never mentioned in 'The Star' magazine, and MBCCA leadership also seem to ignore it on their site, although harness-related messages do appear in the online tech forum. As a systemic failure, it doesn't seem to register anywhere.

I mean, our '95 Ram has had 7 safety-related recalls, including an ignition switch wiring problem which may or MAY NOT cause a small fire, in fact, the probability of something going wrong are almost nil, but there is recall anyway, that's really proactive and just plain good customer relations, from DODGE, no less.

The ignition wiring harness on ALL 93-95 MB M104-M119 motors with over roughly 70k miles is guaranteed to turn brittle and fall apart. When the harness is moved around, especially to get it out of the way of the routine head gasket replacement we also suffer from, the insulation just might as well not be there, and major electrical problems will surely follow.

MBUSA, we really love our cars, would like to love them more, and we would like just a little warm and fuzzy from you (especially you, I mean come on!!) over this issue, its time to step up to the plate, honor long-term customer loyalty, show some industry leadership, and do the right thing.

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1995 MB E320 Wagon
2001 BMW 530i
2007 MINI Cooper S (!)

quick question... what's "The Star" magazine and how do I get it?

When you join the Mercedes Benz Club of North America, it comes with a subscription to the Star magazine.

http://www.mbca.org/

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Does this wiring harness thing apply to the V8s in the w124s too, or just the 6 cylinder engine cars?

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

Here, here...

Yes, it has affected the V8's, too, but in my opinion, they haven't failed at the same rate as the 6 cylinders.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".