Structure › Frame and Members
Filed Sep 10, 2002IL
A CRACK IN LEFT REAR FRAMES. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK *JLG
1999 Mercedes Benz 420
Routine
Owners filed 5 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the power train › automatic transmission. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheels › Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure › Frame and Members | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Power Train › Automatic Transmission | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline › Fuel Injection System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electrical System › Ignition › Switch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsWheels › Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs
Filed Nov 11, 2001IL
ON 10/24, 2001, WHILE DRIVING MERCEDES S-420 WITH 65 MILES PER HOUR ON PENNSYLAVANIA TURNPIKE, PASSANGER SIDE WHEEL WITH TIRE AND WHEEL CAP SEPARATED FROM THE CAR AND FLEW OUT TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF ONCOMING TURNPIKE. AFTER THE CAR WAS TOWED TO SUN MOTOR CARS, INC. AT 4444 CARLISLE PIKE, CAMP HILL, PA,(717 737-3030) IT WAS FOUND OUT THAT THE 4 BOLTS FIXATING THE WHEEL TO CAR WERE CUT AND SHEARED. AND ONE HOLE WAS RUSTY. THIS MIGHT SUGEST THAT MANUFATURER USED SUBSTANDARD BOLTS WHICH COULD NOT WITHSTAND THE PRESSURE. I HOPE NO OTHER PEOPLE HAD SAME EXPERIENCE LEADING TO THE INJURIES AND DEATH. *AK
Electrical System › Ignition › Switch
Filed Jun 8, 2000OK
STRANGE ELECTRONIC WHIRRING SOUND WHEN STARTING VEHICLE ON 6/7. SIDE VIEW MIRRORS SUDDENLY MOVED AND THEN CLOSED HALFWAY. NO RESPONSE FROM INTERIOR CONSOLE CONTROL. STEERING WHEEL ALSO BEGAN TO MOVE UP AND DOWN ON ITS OWN. REAR BRAKES CONTINUED TO SQUEAK AND GRAB. WERE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY LAST NOVEMBER.
Fuel System, Gasoline › Fuel Injection System
Filed Apr 28, 2000NJ
CONTINUING IDLING AND ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. ON JANUARY 21, 2000, ONE MONTH AFTER SECOND REPAIR ATTEMPT, WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE IT SUDDENLY LOST POWER THEN VIOLENTLY JOLTED FORWARD CAUSING TEMPORARY LOSS OF CONTROL. (NOTE: DRIVER'S FOOT DID NOT TOUCH ACCELERATOR). DRIVER THEN NOTICED "ENGINE" CHECK LIGHT SUDDENLY COME ON (SUBSEQUENTLY LEARNED THIS INDICATES A FUEL INJECTION PROBLEM). IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED DEALER BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS. ON APRIL 26, "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT AGAIN CAME ON AND CAR BEGAN TO DRIVE TERRIBLY, E.G., POOR AND INCONSISTENT ACCELERATION. *AK
Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Apr 7, 1999TX
TRANSMISSION SLIPS INTO NEUTRAL WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAS OCCURRED 5 TIMES IN TWO WEEKS. IT IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER FOR REPAIR OF THIS DEFECT, AGAIN. *AK
5 of 5 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
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.