We have classified the 5 complaints from 2001 Mercedes-Benz S-Class about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM into the following categories.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 mercedes benz s class. the contact was driving 65 mph when he noticed that the lights on the instrument panel failed and smoke was coming from the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that they needed to replace the instrument cluster module. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and advised that the vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign id number: 06v028000 (interior lighting) but the recall had expired. the failure and the current mileage was 134,000. updated 07/13/12 *bf updated 07/31/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 mercedes benz s-class. the contact was driving 55 mph when the instrument panel lights failed to illuminate. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer confirmed that the illumination cluster needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 108,976.
I have a 2001 mercedess430 which has a failed instrument cluster. there appears to have been a recall issued in 2006 but it was limited to a certain number of vin# and does not cover the widespread issues i have uncovered via my research. this is a serious defect that could cause a major accident as the lights go out, no gauges work, and you have no idea how fast you are going, what gear you are in e.g. you could accidentally reverse, etc. i called mercedes benz along with several dealers and they indicate that they will not cover this and the cost is exorbitant. this is a fatal error and can not be corrected to work or function at all without full replacement of the entire instrument cluster. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt
On the 11th of aug, 2007. i was driving my family oringal owned 2001 meceds benz s 500, on the freeway here in california. without any of warning the lighting (instrument cluster) on the dashboard went off completely. i had no idea how fast that i was traveling, therefore i took the first exit off of the freeway, even the speedomter is sitting @ 75 miles per hour even i had my s500 completly stop, on top of that nothing is working in my insturment at all!!!(fuel, temperture, and rpm). i personal truely believe this, this is a very serious issue, what if it happens during at nite? because you ain't going to see anything!!! i called the local m.b. dealer as soon as i got home, and a sales assoicate told me that, you need to bring your car in on monday, because no one works at service dept during the weekend... *tr
Lighting (instrument cluster) on the dashboard of my 2001 mercedes benz s500[xxx] flickered for a couple of days then went out completely. it affected my automatic door locks and side mirror signal indicators. i cannot view the gauges/speedometer and use the preset buttons on the steering wheel while operating this vehicle. *nm updated 07/12/2012*js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Dt*: the contact stated without warning the dashboard panel lights darkened completely. the vehicle was taken to the dealership and the instrument panel needed to be replaced. there was a recall, 06v028000 regarding interior lighting. the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the vin.
Instrument cluster failure 2001 mercedes benz s500. once the instrument cluster fails, the gas gauge, check engine, odometer, inside indicators for turn signals, parking assist lights do not work. everything is linked to the instrument cluster. one day this is going to cause a real serious problem. mercedes charges around $1800 to replace the instrument cluster. phone interview update (september 23, 05): no warnings prior to instrument cluster blackout. the consumer said that he couldn't see the gauges and was told by m-b roadside assistance responder that the gauges were not working.
Vehicle is a 2001 s-500. almost word for word the same issue(s) as odi id number : 10100807. same car, same problems, same sentiment. replacing fuses only results in flickering instrument cluster lighting, and even then the backlight is still non-functional. gauge needles flicker as well, until they too go out completely. fuses last only for a couple of days, whereupon the entire instrument cluster remains entirely black. problem could be remedied simply by replacing faulty transistors, or redesigning an improperly laid-out instrument cluster, ie cooling the transistors much more adequately. this creates a tremendous safety risk by essentially creating an information black hole: the operator does not know his/her own speed, fuel level, if the parking brake is still on, if the directional signals are operational, if the check engine light is on, and other important information that mercedes is so keen on relaying only to the instrument cluster. the faulty instrument cluster has not yet created an accident, but it is only a matter of time until one of the other thousands of s-class owners runs out of gas on the highway, and gets into a collision all because he/she didn't know how much fuel they had.
Mercedes s-class w220 (2000 and up)instrument cluster failed including spedometer, flashers, signal control, engine temperature, and other information critical to safe vehicle operation. upon investigating it was determined that this is an extremely common problem caused by a series of defective transistors which the manuafacturer has since discontinued and replaced with a similar model. inadequate heatseaking for the transistors coudl also explain the problem. this is particularly odd because the car has only been in production since 2000 and production is continuing strong. the cluster has 5 of these transistors, 3 of which are in series and go bad causing the described failure. the transistors cost about 50 cents each when purchased in bulk... hardly justifying a $1600 repair. the siemens model: buz102s sipmos power transistor was replaced by the spd50n06s2-14 power transistor. this problem also causes the cars diagnostic computer and dash board controls to stop functioning. this could be dangerous. not knowing car speed couldl also be very dangerous. visitation (september 23, 05) update: the consumer indicated that there were no warnings prior to instrument cluster failure and that he couldn't see the gauges. the dealer indicated that the cluster has been superseded numerous times.