Owners filed 19 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the exterior lighting › headlights. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Air Bags › Frontal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Visibility › Windshield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Visibility | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Suspension › Front › Springs › Coil Springs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Suspension › Front | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure › Frame and Members | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure › Body › Hatchback/Liftgate | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4/3/2012 FOR 2 DAYS RATTLE FROM LEFT FRONT END. HAD IT CHECKED AT INDEPENDENT TIRE DEALER. SAID STRUT BUSHING DRY. LUBED IT. A FEW HOURS LATER NOSE INTENSIFIED AND SPRING AND OTHER PIECES FELL ONTO ROAD AS I WAS TURNING LEFT INTO CONDO DRIVEWAY. HAVING IT TOWED TO DEALER. HAD I BEEN AT SPEED AND/OR IN TRAFFIC THINGS COULD HAVE TURNED OUT VERY BAD. ALL 97 E320'S SHOULD HAVE THIS AREA INSPECTED. *TR
TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 MERCEDES 320. THE CONTACT'S SPRING PERCH THAT HOLDS THE SPRING IN FOR THE FRONT SUSPENSION WELL TIP BROKE AND CAME APART FROM THE FRAME. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 10 MILES PER HOUR. PER THE CONTACT, IT SEEMD TO BE A KNOWN PROBLEM BY MERCEDES AND A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS VERY CONCERNED OF THE RISK AND DANGER INVOLVED WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT MERCEDES WILL REPAIR SOME BUT NOT ALL OF THE SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL MERCEDES. THE CONTACT IS CONCERNED THAT THEREWAS NO RECALL. THE CONTACTWAS AWARE OF THE DESIGN FLAW OF THE WELD STRUCTURAL PART OF THE FRAME WHICH CAME APART.
THE CONSUMER STATED THE FRONT COIL SPRINGS WERE CORRODED. THE CONSUMER WAS CONCERNED THAT THE FRONT END WILL COLLAPSE WHILE DRIVING. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB
"BLACK ELECTRICAL JUNCTION/HARNESS BOX" WAS FOUND WITH A STRONG ELECTRICAL SMELL OF ELECTRICITY BURNING THROUGH PART OF THE BOX.*AK. ALSO THE VEHICLE HAD AN OIL LEAK.*JB *TS
VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A 40 MPH FRONTAL COLLISION IN WHICH FRONTAL DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S AND SIDE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
SINCE PURCHASE VEHICLE HAS BEEN PULLING TO RIGHT. TOOK TO DEALER 4- 5 TIMES, DID WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND CHANGED TIRES. VEHICLE WILL NOT RETAIN A WHEEL ALIGNMENT, CONSTANTLY PULLS TO RIGHT. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
MBZ REPLACED TRANSMISSION & ELECTRONIC SENDING UNIT AT WHICH POINT I BECAME AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. I HAD HAD NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PROBLEMS AND IT JUST SEEMED TO BE ESCALATING. I TURNED THE CAR IN FOR VOLUNTARY REPOSSESSION AND PAID A $15,000 PENALTY.
FOR NO APPARENT REASON THE AIR BAG ON DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR DEPLOYED.VEHICLE WAS IN DRIVE, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT MOVING AT THE TIME. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
WHEN DRIVING AT 40 THE VEHICLE IS SHAKING AND THE RUBBER IS PULLING AWAY FROM THE TIRES ON THE VEHICLE. *AK
POOR PERFORMANCE OF WINDSHILED CAUSES LACK OF VISIBILITY THROUGH THE WINDSHILED WHEN IT RAINS.
HATCH DOOR RELEASE FAILED.
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR FAILED. *YC
AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY IN A FRONT END COLLISION AT 20 MPH.
DESIGN PROBLEM WITH WINDSHIELD WIPER; THE SINGLE BLADE DOES NOT KEEP UP WITH THE HEAVY RAIN FALL, CAUSING CONTINUOUS INTERMITTENT LOSS OF ROAD VISIBILITY. *AK *JB
CAR ENGINE WOULD BEGIN VIBRATING SEVERELY AND REVVING EVEN AFTER FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR, REVVING WOULD NOT STOP UNTIL VEHICLE'S TURNED OFF, PROBLEM IN TRANSMISSION.
VISUAL SYSTEMS: DOUBLE PANE WINDOW,REAR WINDSHIELD,REAR VIEW MIRRORS: BLURRED IMAGES,CAN'T TELL HOW MANY VEHICLES ARE COMING UP BESIDES DRIVER, DISTORTED HEADLIGHTS. MANUFACTURER DOESN'T SEE A PROBLEM ,BUT IT CAN BE A HAZARD. *AK
WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED VEHICLE PULLS VERY HARD TO THE RIGHT, CANNOT KEEP VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY. *AK
19 of 19 complaints, reproduced as filed.
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.