# 1995 MERCEDES BENZ C CLASS — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
> NHTSA complaint `677786` · 2008-07-12 · Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** Yes
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** MERCEDES BENZ
- **Model:** C CLASS
- **Year:** 1995
- **Manufacturer:** Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
- **Component:** ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- **Miles at failure:** 185,000
## Narrative
I OWN A 1995 C280 MERCEDES, PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY MY DAUGHTER FOR 5 YEARS.  THE CAR ALWAYS IDLED ROUGH, OCCASIONALLY BACKFIRES, LACKS OVERALL POWER.  MY DAUGHTER HAD IT TO THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES AND THEY NEVER REALLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM.  TWO DAYS AGO I STARTED IT, HEARD A LOUD POP AND SAW SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE HOOD AND SMELLED ELECTRICAL WIRES BURNING. IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE NEAREST MERCEDES DEALER.  THEY WANT A TOTAL OF $3300 TO REPAIR IT.  THE ISSUE IS THE WIRING HARNESS.  I HAVE READ HUNDREDS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE.  IN 1993-1995 C280 MODELS MERCEDES TRIED A  NEW INSULATION COVERING ON THE WIRES AND IT DOES NOT HOLD UP.  IN FACT, I HAVE SEEN THE RESULT IN NUMEROUS PICTURES OF THE CONDITION THE WIRES.  THE INSULATION JUST DESINTERGRATES.  I READ THAT UP UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO MERCEDES WAS REPLACING THEM BUT THEN THEY JUST STOPPED.  WHY ISN'T THIS AN OFFICIAL RECALL FAILURE.  *TR
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*