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2001 MERCEDES BENZ M CLASS — LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LATCH

crash1 injured · 548231 · 2005-08-06

Vehicle

Make
MERCEDES BENZ
Model
M CLASS
Year
2001
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Component
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LATCH
Miles at failure
86,000
Speed
55 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

JUST AS REPORTED IN CONSUMER REPORTS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS FAILED ON THIS VEHICLE CAUSING ALL SAFETY SYSTEMS (IE., BRAKE ASSIST, SAFETY BELTS, AIR BAGS) TO FAIL. THE PROBLEM CAUSED TWO ACCIDENTS LAST YEAR WHEN THE 4,400 LB. VEHICLE COULD NOT STOP. OTHER ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS ARE ALSO FAILING. FURTHER, THE REAR GATE LATCH WAS NOT LOCKING AND THE DEALER NEVER VERBALLY TOLD US WHEN WE PICKED UP THE VEHICLE FROM BEING SERVICED, NOR DID THEY EVER ASK IF WE WANTED IT FIXED. WE JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS. ONE WOULD EXPECT MORE FROM A MERCEDES PRODUCT. AFTER THE TRUCK WAS "FIXED" TWICE, WE THEN PAID TO HAVE IT GONE OVER ($300) AND FOUND THE PROBLEM WITH THE SAFETY SYSTEMS WHICH HAD BEEN NOTED AS BEING FIXED PREVIOUSLY. IT WAS A $100 STOP SWITCH. MEANWHILE, WE WILL PAY HIGHER INSURANCE RATES FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. MERCEDES USA SHOULD HAVE RECALLED THESE VEHICLES FOR THE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, BUT THEY JUST BRUSHED IT UNDER THE RUG. I THOUGHT WE WERE BUYING A QUALITY PRODUCT. I GUESS NOT.*JB

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10131784
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown