My wife was driving home from shopping and noticed an accumulation of dust on the rear window. She used the rear wiper to clean it but it came right back, she repeated twice and gave up. Approx 3-4 miles later she heard a POP and red lights came on the dash, when she pulled over ASAP in a safe spot smoke started coming from under the hood. She shut the engine off and tried to exit the car to find the hood release under the dash but there was fire coming out from under the car. She closed the door, grabbed her purse and cell phone and got out quickly as possible, burning her ankle and singing her long skirt. She got approx 50 feet away, looked back and the entire car was ablaze, centered mid vehicle, as well as 4-5 spot fires along the road she had just traveled. Previous to the POP the car was driving, steering, and braking normally, no warning lights of any kind. Visiting the site the next day revealed sound deadening/insulation material in and along side the roadway for 2-300 yards as well as dripping molten aluminum, corresponding to the area traveled after she first heard the POP. The vehicle had extensive repairs of cascading failing emissions system components only 7-9 months earlier, culminating with 42 days at Mercedes San Rafael where one component after another failed and was replaced. Myself and all knowledgeable persons i talk to assume it was an overheated catalytic converter that caused the problem. So far Mercedes has not been aggressive i trying to determine the cause. I've hired a forensic company and a joint inspection is pending. Cal Fire was able to contain the vegetation fire started by the vehicle at 85 acres, known as the Veteran's Fire-Igo as it occurred near the Veteran's Cemetery, using multiple fire engines, bulldozers, helicopters and a boride bomber. We are thankful she was alone in the car at the time without grandchildren buckled into car seats in the back or the results surely would have been much more tragic.

- Igo, CA, USA

Driver drove 2012 Mercedes Benz ML350 to condominium and parked vehicle in parking space, placed vehicle in "park" and turned off the vehicle using the "keyless go" button. Driver opened the door, exited the vehicle and locked it. The area where the vehicle was parked was flat with only enough grade to cause water to run off of the pavers. A short time later, I looked out the window and saw that the 2012 Mercedes Benz ML350 had rolled away backwards approximately 30 feet into bushes and shrubs on the other side of the circular drive of the condominium complex. Fortunately, no one was injured and the only damage was a scratched bumper. Upon seeing the results of the rollaway, I grabbed my car key, called to the driver to look out the window and went to the vehicle. I unlocked the vehicle and opened the door of the ML350. I looked at the dashboard and it showed that the vehicle's transmission was in the "park" position. I note that the Mercedes Benz M-class "operator's manual states that the transmission shifts automatically in the "park" position if you open the driver's side door. Whether this would cause a rolled away vehicle to "automatically" shift into "park" is a question for Mercedes Benz to answer. The local mb dealer has examined the vehicle, mbusa sent an engineer to inspect the vehicle and separately and together they have not been able to "find anything wrong with the vehicle" and they performed no repairs. FMVSS 114 at 49 cfr 571.114 requires that vehicles of this type move no more than 150 mm when place in "park" on a 10 percent grade without benefit of the vehicle's "parking brake" (aka "emergency brake"). our ml 350 is either not in compliance with FMVSS 114 due to it's inability to maintain its position while in "park" or it's inability to remain in "park" on a grade considerably less than the required 10 percent grade. Is this a design defect??

- Naples, FL, USA