1996 Mercedes Benz 500

Routine

Owners filed 6 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the power train › automatic transmission. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Visibility › Power Window Devices and Controls1
000
Visibility1
000
Structure › Body › Door1
000
Power Train › Driveline › Driveshaft1
000
Power Train › Automatic Transmission1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed May 3, 2012MA

WHEN IT RAINS THE CAR SHAKES AND THEN EVENTUALLY THE ENGINE WOULD JUST SHUT DOWN, DUE TO A HARNESS PROBLEM. DUE TO THE SAME PROBLEM THE SPEED OF THE CAR IT STARTS TO SLOWS DOWN BEFORE THE ENGINE DIES OUT AND WHEN I TRY TO CLOSE OR OPEN THE WINDOW IT WOULD DO IT SLOWLY, NOT AT NORMAL SPEED. ALSO ANOTHER PROBLEM, THERE'S A MISFIRE IN THE ENGINE. *TR

Visibility
Filed May 25, 2011MD

1996 MERCEDES BENZ S500. CONSUMER STATES TEMPERATURE/ CLIMATE CONTROL MECHANISM MALFUNCTIONED *TGW THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED THERE WAS A MECHANICAL ISSUE WITH THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW. *JB

Power Train › Driveline › Driveshaft
Filed Aug 13, 1999VA

WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH AND WITHIOUT PRIOR WARNING THE DRIVESHAFT FELL OUT FROM TRANSMISSION. *AK

Visibility › Power Window Devices and Controls
Filed Sep 22, 1997CA

WINDOW BUTTON FAILED.

Structure › Body › Door
Filed Sep 10, 1997CA

AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS FAILED.

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Nov 27, 1996CA

WHINING NOISE FROM TRANSMISSION.

6 of 6 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1993
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
200311000Routine
20009000Routine
19997000Routine
19982000Routine
19978000Routine
1996 — this page6000Routine
19958001Fatalities reported
19946100Routine
199323111Fatalities reported
199215111Fatalities reported
19910100Routine
19901200Routine

Compare every 500 year →

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.