NHTSA complaint: 2007 MERCEDES BENZ SL550 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
THIS VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE ON ITS OWN WHILE PARKED IN A LOCKED GARAGE. THE FIRE WAS IN THE TRUNK AND INVOLVED VARIOUS ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL COMPONENTS AND WIRING HARNESSES. THE CAR FILLED WITH DENSE SMOKE WHICH COATED EVERYTHING WITH THICK SOOT. THE SMOKED SEEPED INTO EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE CLOSED CONSOLE COMPARTMENT AND GLOVE COMPARTMENT. I BELIEVE THE FIRE ITSELF DID NOT SPREAD BECAUSE OF A LACK OF OXYGEN AS THE CAR WAS PARKED WITH TOP FOLDING METAL TOP UP AND THE WINDOWS CLOSED. THE FIRE OCCURRED ON FEB. 16, 2018, AND WAS NOT DISCOVERED UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE CAR WAS NOT ECONOMICALLY REPAIRABLE, AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY PROVIDED A SETTLEMENT IN EXCHANGE FOR THE CAR, WHICH, I PRESUME, WAS SOLD AT A SALVAGE AUCTION. THIS HAS OCCURRED BEFORE. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES. ON YOUTUBE, THERE IS A MERCEDES SL550 CAR THAT SUFFERED EXACTLY THE SAME FIRE. IT IS AT HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=WVT6ZEBJR3A. WHEN THE CAMERA IS AIMED AT THE TRUNK AREA AT 24:10 OR SO INTO THE VIDEO, THE DAMAGE IS PRECISELY WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAR. THE CAR IN THIS VIDEO WAS NEWER THAN MINE, BUT THE SAME MODEL. ANOTHER YOUTUBE VIDEO OF A 2008 MERCEDES MCLAREN SLR FIRE IS AT HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=E90X636MNZQ. IT DOES NOT SHOW THE TRUNK DETAIL, BUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING IN THE VERY SAME AREA AS WHERE THE FIRE IN MY CAR OCCURRED AS WELL AS IN THE OTHER YOUTUBE VIDEO. THIS MCLAREN IS A VERY HIGH-END MERCEDES ROADSTER OF THE SAME GENRE OF THE SL550. I NOTED IN SO
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation