| Issue ID | 945859 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10479961 |
| Manufacurer | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| Brand | MERCEDES BENZ |
| Model | E500 |
| Model Year | 2004 |
| File date | 06/10/12 |
| Component | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Car was not moving when we noticed a strong odor of gasoline coming from the rear seat area, when we pulled into our garage the odor was so strong we moved the car to the outside to prevent a possible fire in our home, i called the dealer and the service manager immediately told me that he thought the gas tank sender/sensor was leaking and possibly that both sensors were leaking and possibly the tank. He also told me that gasoline could be pooling on top of the gas tank causing the odor. He later called me and confirmed that all of the above had happened and could be repaired for approximately $3250. 00 i ask if this was a recurring problem on this model he said that there were no recalls or warning but they had seen this problem before. I then went on line and found a lot of blogs describing my problem almost identically. In my opinion this is a serious defect in the construction of this car and could and probably will cause serious injury and possibly death to some one riding in this model. I believe there is enough evidence in the recurring blogs that mercedes is quite aware of this serious safety problem and are probably ignoring this very expensive fix, please do not ignore this complaint until someone or several are hurt or killed. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 82000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | MESA, AZ |
| VIN pattern | WDBUF70J24AXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | 8 |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 0 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |