| Issue ID | 1198703 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10733487 |
| Manufacurer | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| Brand | MERCEDES BENZ |
| Model | S500 |
| Model Year | 2004 |
| File date | 14/04/15 |
| Component | SERVICE BRAKES |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | During rain storm, water seepeed ino air cowl into cabin-passenger side- flooded floor eventually sam electronic module under floor was damaged and shut off electronics in automobile while driving at high speed on freeway- with out power controls operating it made driving and stopping the car a very dangerous feat eventually went off road into guardrail and stopped. Mercedes benz has been aware (a lawsuit was filed in ca) of design defect of air cowl drain clogging and flooding cabin but has kept this dangerous flaw from owners even though we learned they have for sale an update kit to prevent this at owners expense. Our case fortunately did not cause a fatality but it could have easily had if the vehicle was not being driven by an expert driver- loosing power controls on a rain storm/ wet road with no power accesories / brakes is not a safe condition which needs to be addressed asap following this mishap we contacted local merceds dealership in plano,tx autohaus who responded being unaware and had no history of such problem- apparently mercedes is being wrongfully secretive of this serious flaw not only to consumers but their own people 9 |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 98000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | GARLAND, TX |
| VIN pattern | WDBNG75J14AXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | Y |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| 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 | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 65 |
| 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 |