2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard

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2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard

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2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard - 2/2/2007 8:10:24 AM

ncrews

Posts: 5
Joined: 2/2/2007
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Fully loaded, 2 month old R320 explodes suddenly in our driveway during a Colorado blizzard. See the complete story and pictures at http://www.landxml.org/R320

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RE: 2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard - 2/2/2007 12:41:30 PM

mbz300sdl

Posts: 2467
Joined: 10/26/2004
Status: offline

Umm yeah

MBUSA needs to be contacted about this and a full investagation this could be a serious problem. With the R-class

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RE: 2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard - 2/6/2007 10:34:21 PM

AMGMercedes

Posts: 1550
Joined: 1/31/2006
From: Maryland
Status: offline

Suprising that the vehicle exploded only when there were no people around. Could the diesel fuel that was sprayed have caused a sensor malfunction? Were there any issues prior to the 20th?

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RE: 2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard - 2/8/2007 12:00:43 AM

MBZTech

Posts: 172
Joined: 8/2/2005
Status: offline

The car will lock itself if you unlock the car and never open a door....It will relock after a few min.... The transmission has an electronic motor that changes the gears....It was prabably shorted out since it was in deep snow..plus the snow prabably melted and shorted out the motor, causing it to go into reverse......Since you spilled fuel, another electrical short could have ignighted the fuel...

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RE: 2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard - 2/8/2007 4:57:44 AM

sleepwalker

Posts: 7080
Joined: 4/12/2004
From: Philippine Islands
Status: offline

very interesting.
the tire blows up. but the temperature is not low enough to to make the rubber/nylon brittle. not unless a liquid nitrogen was used.

you didn't shoot it from the stairs did you?

the thread wasn't worn out, so i guess the wheel doesn't have much friction on it.
however, i can see that the edge of the rim which could touch the ground is SHINY... it means that the wheel was rotating when it explodes. thus creating the spark but... there wasn't any smoke, was there???

red, orange flame and spark... the rim is clean and no fire at all. no burn marks or anything.
your fuel filler is on the other side...this can't be the cause. diesel aren't that easy to burn in cold weather.

when it shifts in reverse gear, the door automatically locks.

i think, it's a tire problem.
lots of pirelli tires got bulge on the side...and it touches something. this can only be confirmed by closer inspection.

let us know the progress.

< Message edited by sleepwalker -- 2/8/2007 5:02:30 AM >

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Forensics Report on 2007 R320 Explosion - 3/18/2007 9:52:28 PM

ncrews

Posts: 5
Joined: 2/2/2007
Status: offline

The car was purchased new from Mercedes of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Pictures and complete forensic expert report: http://www.landxml.org/R320

Summary:
A defective Mercedes "4Matic" system caused the rear tire to explode causing $25,000 in car damage and $1500 damage to home. Mercedes and the dealer will not stand by the car and only tell us that it is an insurance issue. Automotive warranty items, including factory defects are not covered by insurance - only the resulting damage is.

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