Right & left rear tail light assembly wiring harness plugs have melted where attached to the tail lamp assembly, causing brake, turn signal, hazard, and running lamps to not work intermittently. Brown wires get too hot to touch. Safety issue with electrical connectors.

- Avon, OH, USA

Randomly I started receiving check bulb messages for the rear lights on both sides of my car. I didn't think much of it as I don't think they had ever been changed so I changed them and all was fine and then a few weeks later the messages started to pop up again. I rechecked the bulbs to make sure they were securely in place and they were so I started doing a little research and discovered that this was a known issue. Presently the entire left rear side is out and it looks like the wiring has overheated and been singed (looks like it had burned).when calling all the local southern cali dealerships (orange county/long beach) none of them will admit to it being a widespread problem and fixing it for free because the parent company, Mercedes Benz, hasn't yet. I have no desire to pay for a problem that should have never occurred in the first place. My major concern is about potential fires in the trunk due to this. All it will take is one spark to catch on something in the trunk and then well car is on fire. As much a Mercedes Benz claims to be about safety, I'm shocked, one at the design flaw and two that they are going through the motions of pretending like the thousands of owners who have reported this are making it up. They need to get on this asap.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

The tail light and blinkers out and I am getting several error msgs. On my dashboard stating there is an issue with my lights. I cannot drive my care without lights are it is a safety issue and legal issue. I took my car into walters Mercedes Benz in riverside last week. I was told that the issue is caused by a melted electrical connector. I called Mercedes Benz usa corporate and was assigned to [xxx](regional case mgr). He told me they are not aware of this issue and due to the fact that my car is out of warranty I will have to pay for the $500 repair. Needless to say, I am not happy with paying for a replacement of a factory defected part. I would greatly appreciate it if you look into this issue. Thank you. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Hesperia, CA, USA

Check right taillight indicator appeared on dash. Rear right lights out. Inspected to find all bulbs were operational but wire had overheated and melted into housing.

- Troy, NY, USA

Right tail light connector, brown wire has melted and has affected the brightness of the bulbs on the right side of the car.

- Albertville, MN, USA

From reviewing the site, this is the same complaint you have already had about these cars. It appears to already be under investigation. In our case, a number of the rear lights, including lights on both sides of the car, went out at once. This means turn signal lights, brake lights, side lights. The first clue was that multiple warnings came up on the dash. We stopped car, and on inspection, several lights also had stopped functioning. The was no obvious visual or olfactory sign of overheating or fire.

- Sausalito, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes Benz C300. The contact stated that both rear tail lights malfunctioned and a burning odor was emitted. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 200,000.

- Thousands Oaks , CA, USA

Rear light housing assembly wiring smelling like smoke, open the truck and plastics housing was melting and very hot.

- Freeport, NY, USA

The brown wire in the right hand brake light melted through the wire harness and started to melt the light board. This is a fire waiting to happen, I smelt burning in my car when I was driving. The break light no longer works.

- Princeton, IN, USA

Multiple system warnings on dash saying to check right rear tail light, brake lamp, and signal light. Upon replacement of light bulbs, noticed that the ground wire cable covering was melted as well as burns and melting on the bulb housing unit. All right rear lights worked intermittently or dimly and now don't work at all. Now, there are system warnings for left rear lights as well. This is a safety issue as a fire can start in the trunk of the car as well as having rear lights working intermittently or not at all with no warning. Vehicle is no longer under warranty and authorized dealership won't repair at no charge unless there is a recall. This is a known issue with these vehicles, by both the manufacturer and authorized dealers. Recall should be issued.

- Visalia, CA, USA

Warning message displayed in instrument panel advising to check rear right hand side marker lights, on initial inspection in the truck their was a smell of burning plastic emigrating from the right hand side rear light cluster on removal of the fuse panel cover and inspection the wires which connect the wiring harness to the lighting backplatei I was unable to hold the connector with a naked hand due to the excessive temperature. After leaving things to cool down for 60 minutes I was able to remove the wiring harness connector from lighting cluster back plate to find that the earth pin (brown wire extreme right hand side ) was melted and also the pin to which it mated too had also began to melt the plastic which supported the pin on he lighting back plate. The earth (brown wire) is of an extremely low gauge for the potential load this wire would potentially need to carry under maximum load (all lights lit).

- Fort Worth , TX, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes Benz C300. The contact stated the rear driver and passenger's side fog lights would not illuminate because the sockets had melted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.

- Coral Gables, FL, USA

Rear lights circuit board burnt and wire for lights melted.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

Right rear lights went out on car, started smelling melting plastic. Stopped and checked the plug that went into the lights has melted.

- Ruther Glenn, VA, USA

Right read brake lamp harness melted causing malfunction of the brake lamps. Warning indicator in the dash. I am worried about a fire. Also low beam headlamps stopped working for no reason. Checked the bulbs and they are both good.

- Bridgeville, DE, USA

My right rear tail lamp was malfunctioning. The directional was blinking rapidly. The malfunction required the removal and replacement of the right rear bulb carrier. The car was no longer on warranty and I had to pay for the repair out of pocket. I understand that tail light failure is a common problem with this model and year, usually caused by wiring defect. The dealer never informed me that this was a common occurrence in this model. I had similar problems prior to the malfunction however they were covered under warranty.

- Worcester, MA, USA

Rear lighting failure (taillight). Failure causing my vehicle lights to very dim and some bulbs are not illuminate at all. Occurs with left taillight (brake light). I see some burning on plastic panel that bulbs goes in.

- Irving , TX, USA

Started to get the message to check my rear, right turninf signa, fog lamps, brake lights. Checked all the bulbs and they are fine. Put the harness back and realized it was a little hot and when I looked the wire to the far right I think is expose and on the other side it is burnt through the plastic. Message comes off and on during driving.

- Vista, CA, USA

There was a burning smell and my instruments indicated my rear tail lights, brake lights etc went out. I checked and saw the wire harness was burnt and the wires going into the connector were melted.

- Valencia, CA, USA

Connector (harness) is melted and shorted the circuit board for tail lights and is now inop.

- Chicago, IL, USA