Just my opinion...............

[ILUVMILS]

I've been reading the comments and opinions concerning the MB engine wiring harness issue on this Forum for a couple of years now with great interest. I've seen several posts warning of potential fire hazards. Over the years I've seen rear window heater relays fail and melt wires. I've seen blower motor wiring overheat and melt. I've seen power seat wiring chafed and burned up. I've seen seat heater elements overheat and toast seat covers. I've seen water soaked fuse boxes get hot enough to melt the plastic covers. A few years ago I replaced the entire frame floor/body harness on an 02' S500, along with the rear fuse box and SAM because of melted wires. (MB bought the car back because we couldn't get the smell of burnt plastic/smoke out of the car) I've seen countless wires burn up due to pinching, chafing, crushing, etc., and sometimes cause minor damage from the heat produced. One thing I've NEVER seen is a fire caused by a defective engine wiring harness. Never. Not one. Not even a hint of something getting hot enough to burn.


As far as it being a safety issue? The OVERWHELMING majority of affected vehicles exhibit relatively minor problems at first. An intermittent crank/no-start is probably the most serious problem when the harness begins to deteriorate. Check engine lights are much more common and usually amount to little more than a nuisance. I've never seen any MB simply die without warning while driving down the highway(which IS a serious safety issue)due to a defective harness. To put it simply, the symptoms are minor at first, and increase in severity as the harness deteriorates further. If, for whatever reason, the owner ignores the warning signs, they shouldn't be surprised when the problem gets worse. Please remember, this is only my opinion, but it's based on what I've seen in the seventeen years I've spent working on these cars.


Lastly, don't be surprised at MB side-stepping the issue. I could be wrong, but it's my guess that the people complaining the loudest aren't even the original owners of the cars in question. In the eyes of MB, there's no comparison between the original buyer and a second-hand buyer(unless it's a STARMARK/CPO). You may reply, "what difference does that make?" or "true, but why would I ever buy a new MB if they won't stand behind the old ones?". They'll tell you they offer one of the best factory warranties in the industry and they'd be right. MB is probably guessing that most of the people complaining will never be in the market for a new MB anyway. Besides, MB has had way too many quality issues in recent years to worry about cars that have been out of warranty for at least five years.