| Issue ID | 946146 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10480149 |
| Manufacurer | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| Brand | MERCEDES BENZ |
| Model | S500 |
| Model Year | 2001 |
| File date | 01/10/12 |
| Component | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | 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. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 62100 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | NEW YORK, NY |
| VIN pattern | WDBNG75J51AXXXXXX |
| 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 | 55 |
| 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 |