The tail lights of my Mercedes Benz C300 2008 stopped working. When I went to my local Mercedes dealer to see what is wrong with the car, the service person at the dealership immediately told me that they were fully aware what was wrong with the car without even looking at it. They said that the plastic covers of both real tail lights along with the wire harness had melted. In fact, the service person put his hand back there and he got burned because the entire wire assembly was melted and was short. I asked them to repair the car for free because this is a defect since the wire harness assemblies and plastic tail cover lights should not melt under any conditions. This is both a collision hazard and a fire hazard and it is very common in this model. Mercedes Benz usa refused to fix the vehicle for free as they have an obligation to do since this is a defect. Please issue a recall for the plastic cover and wire harness of the real tail lights of this vehicle because this situation is dangerous both in terms of a fire hazard and in terms of a collision hazard.

- Redondo Beach, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes C- class. The contact stated that the rear tail lights failed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to have the light bulbs changed and the dealer advised that the wiring harness failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The current mileage was 62,000 and the failure mileage was unknown.

- North Brunswick , NJ, USA

Right rear tail lamp assembly. Lights appeared dim for a couple months and figured lights were about it go out. Went to buy new light bulbs to replace the dimming bulbs and when I opened the right side to install the light I noticed the electrical cord attached to the assembly had melted. Lights were still dim and checked to see what it sounded like when I turned the lights on and it makes a crackling electrical sound. I assume that's why it smelt like something was burning and why the 8 prong piece melted. 1-6 on the electrical piece look good. 7 is damaged due to number 8 completely melting off.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

On or around 8/30/12 I noticed I had no rear brake lights. Thinking a bad bulb I checked the rear taillight bulbs. I noticed an overheat condition on the bulb holder and connector. It is melted showing extreme heat and current draw. I contacted the dealer expecting it to be covered under warranty as it is a defect and unsafe. They would not cover it under warranty and gave me an estimate of over $400 or more. This is a safety issue and a design flaw and should be Mercedes' responsibility. Who is liable if I get rear ended or if the vehicle catches fire? updated 3/28/13 updated 3/29/2013...updated 05/08/13 updated 05/20/13

- Delphos, OH, USA

Both right and left rear tail lights malfunctioned. First, I noticed that one or the other of the right side turn signals failed to function because I heard a rapid clicking as I made a right turn into a parking lot. Once stopped, I noticed that the Mercedes command system said to check the left rear tail and brake light bulbs. I saw no mention of the right turn signal. When I left the parking lot an hour later, there was no indication on the command system as to anything being wrong. At home, I removed the left printed circuit board and saw that the tail light/brake light bulbs were very dark and gave the appearance of having failed. On testing them with an ohmmeter, I discovered that they in fact had not failed. Even so I wanted to replace them, and on the 10th, which turns out to be 1 day after my 4 year warranty expired, I went by the dealership and the service rep gave me two replacement bulbs. I changed out the old bulbs and all appeared okay. However, the next time I drove the car long enough to get it thoroughly warmed up, I got indications from the command system that not only had a left brake light failed but also the right rear turn signal and also a right side marker. I removed the right rear tail light circuit board and found a burned wire and burned spot on the board itself. I saw nothing on the left rear board. On the 13th, I considered having the car towed to the dealership but decided to drive it. Standing outside the car I saw that the right rear turn signal wasn't working at times, but the rear brake lights appeared to function. In summary, there appeared to be a malfunction in one or both tail light assemblies that occurred due to heat. The dealer replaced the printed circuit board on the right and made other necessary and returned the car in what appears to be good condition. My cost was 50% of the total.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

Turn signals and wipers / windshield washers cease to operate until car is restarted. Wipers continue to operate in rain sensing mode but not via the wiper control level. Dealer was not able to find any diagnostic codes afterward. Failure recurred a few days after dealer inspection, and occurs sporadically both in urban and highway driving. Time between failure ranges from hours to multiple months.

- Marblehead, MA, USA