Well, we're about to buy one...

[volAlex]

A lovely white automatic 480ES from 1994 . But I have read of and I'm not absolutely sure I'm correct about this but Do some electrical problems lead to headlights failure at night while driving ????
I sure hope not .
Are there any known modifications to prevent some of the famous electrical issues in the 480 ??

Thanks
Alex

[AcidicDavey]

They can sometimes be riddled with electrical faults yes. Most commonly are failed trip computers/Info Centres (including the fuel gauge!), headlight motors and electric window motors.

With the pop up headlight motors they won't just fail out of the blue, or at least they shouldn't. In the past one of mine failed, leading up to this it was getting slower and not coming up at the same time as the other, if this is happening then it's most likely going to stop coming up altogether soon. My Poppy is electronically perfect!

If one does fail though you'll still be able to use the car at night, there is a manual override on each motor to wind it up by hand. If a motor fails the light won't suddenly drop down so don't worry yourself, they aren't that unpredictable!

Hope this has helped,
Dave

[volAlex]

This car has been very well looked after by people who only have volvos . My mother loves it . And it isn't too big. Last two cars she had was a Nissan micro in the Honda Civic . I'm the car person in the family and she can't believe how nice this car really is . I hope you guys aren't angry with me ,she will take very good care of it .
Thank you for the answer on the headlights it's a great relief .
Are the other electrical issues difficult or very expensive to rectify if they should occur???
Let's face it the 90s was an era of "experimentation" . Mercedes made a mess of it with all its electrical additions in the late 90s & and on for about 10 years+ other compromises .

[dcw]

Hi Alex

Sounds good!

As long as it has been well looked after you're halfway there already. If and when you get problems you'll find a lot of help on here....

...but there is no guarantee you will have any problems!

I hope your mum enjoys the car!

David

[CharlesStevenson]

Hi Alex, I see you're in the US, just to say there's a lot of websites in Europe that carry a wealth of info about the 4xx range. Most are focused upon the 480 but if you find ones about the 440/460 there's a lot of overlap that can help you if you get stuck.

If you take some time going over old post here or turbobricks I'm sure you'll find them all. Or ask on here if you're stuck.

Good luck with your purchase; I was tempted with a 480 a while ago but family size (3 kids plus luggage etc) meant I've stayed on the 740/940 path for now.

Rgds