| Issue ID | 877537 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10421253 |
| Manufacurer | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| Brand | MERCEDES BENZ |
| Model | S500 |
| Model Year | 2001 |
| File date | 13/08/11 |
| Component | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT PANEL |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | My instrument panel lights (dash board) went out on my 2001 s500 mercedes benz car. The lights would flicker on occasionally and go back out. I was able to recover the signal lights by changing the fuses. While on a road trip my kids noticed a smell and smoke coming out of the dash board. We exited the car and flagged down a police officer. We were told to get as much as we could out of the car because it was going to catch fire. Within in seconds my dash board was in flames. I could not believe it. The instrument cluster had an electrical malfunction and ignited into flames. I contacted mercedes to find out about a possible recall and to report that there is a more serious danger associated with the malfunction of the instrument cluster. I was asked what did i expect for them to do? The fire department removed the cluster from the dash board to assure the fire would not restart and identified the instrument clusters as the cause of fire. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 106000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | LAUDERHILL, FL |
| VIN pattern | WDBNG75J51AXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | Y |
| Was incedent reported to police? | Y |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| 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 |