When I was driving my Mercedes Benz ML350, the malfunction light came on regarding the rear lift gate. Shortly thereafter, I smelled smoke and took the car to the dealer. The dealer informed me that there was some kind of liquid spill in the cargo area. The liquid that spilled got into the central processing unit, causing an electrical short in the system and the rear lift gate would not open. The vehicle cpu caught fire due to the spill. There are no warning messages posted in the cargo area, cautioning the owner that the car could catch on fire if there is a liquid spill in this area. Additionally, there is no information in the owners manual notifying of this potential disastrous event. Seeing that the cargo trunk is the most common place where liquids would be transported from the grocery store, Mercedes should properly protect that part of the vehicle from liquids if it contains computer circuitry and a spill can cause a fire. This should have been considered a safety hazard. As a result of this incident, the computer system, rear lift gate latch and body component will need to be replaced.

- Covina, CA, USA