1999 Mercedes Benz 500

Routine

Owners filed 7 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the equipment › appliance › air conditioner. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Seat Belts › Front › Retractor2
000
Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner2
000
Visibility › Rearview Mirrors/Devices › Exterior1
000
Visibility1
000
Seats › Front Assembly › Power Adjust1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Visibility
Filed Apr 25, 200610,894 milesCA

PLASTIC REAR VIEW WINDOW OF CONVERTIBLE TOP IS DISTORTED, HAZY AND IMPAIRS VISION. DEALER STATED THE MFG'S REPRESENTATIVE WOULD NOT AUTHORIZE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT. I PURCHASED AN EXTENDED 5 YEARS WARRANTY. DEALER SOLD ME A "DO IT YOURSELF" KIT TO RESTORE BUT DOES NOT WORK. FAULTY DESIGN. *JB

Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
Filed Feb 19, 200462,000 milesNY

THE DRIVER'S SIDE BELT RETRACTOR WAS NOT WORKING. THE PART WAS REPLACED AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE OF $425.00. THE DEALER INDICATED, THAT THERE WAS NO WARRANTY AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. *AK *SC

Seats › Front Assembly › Power Adjust
Filed Aug 7, 200335,000 milesOH

THE ELECTRICAL SEAT CONTROLLER LOCATED UNDER THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT, SHORTED OUT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND TURNED OFF. NO FUSE WAS BLOWN. THIS WAS CAUSED BY CORROSION DUE TO THE FACT THE UNIT WAS NOT SEALED FROM MOISTURE.*AK TOXIC FUMES AND SMOKE WERE INSTANTANEOUS. WHEN IT SHORTED OUT, TURNING THE KEY DIDN'T STOP ELECTRICITY FLOW. THE CONSUMER HAD TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. *PH *JB

Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
Filed Jan 15, 200371,000 milesNC

SEAT BELT PROBLEM WITH 1999 MERCEDES S500. SEAT BELT WOULD NOT RETRACT. I CALLED MERCEDES BENZ TECHNICAL SUPPORT (TWICE) TO ASK IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THEIR SEAT BELTS. THEIR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE WAS THAT THEY HAD NOT RECEIVED ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT SEAT BELT FAILURE. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO MY AUTO REPAIR SHOP, WHICH SPECIALIZES IN MERCEDES BENZ ONLY, I WAS TOLD THAT THEY REPLACE MANY SEAT BELTS. LAST NIGHT WE WENT TO DINNER WITH FRIENDS WHO WERE DRIVING A 1994 SE MERCEDES - WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR, I NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT WAS NOT RETRACTING AND WAS HANGLNG LOOSELY IN THE SEAT (THE SAME WAY MINE WAS BEFORE I HAD IT REPLACED LAST WEEK). IT COST ME $375 TO HAVE THE SEAT BELT REPLACED - IF IT HAD BEEN SOME OTHER FAILURE ON THE CAR, I WOULD NOT FEEL SO BADLY. BUT I FEEL THAT A SEAT BELT SHOULD LAST MORE THAN 3 TO 4 YEARS!! WE HAVE A 1981 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE THAT WE BOUGHT NEW - THE SEAT BELT IS STILL WORKING JUST FINE. IN FACT, I HAVE OWNED MANY CARS AND NEVER HAD A SEAT BELT FAILURE. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED.

Visibility › Rearview Mirrors/Devices › Exterior
Filed Aug 16, 2000NC

PLASTIC REARVIEW WINDOW HAS A DISTORTION IN IT WHICH CAUSES POOR DRIVER'S VISIBILITY. WINDOW WAS LOOKED AT BY A FACTORY REPRESENTATIVE. THIS WAS A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH ALL MERCEDES BENZ CONVERTIBLES. REAR WINDOW HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED. *AK

Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner
Filed Aug 31, 1999NC

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM HAS BEEN IN FOR REPAIR ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND IS STILL EXPERIENCING FAILURES. MJS

Equipment › Appliance › Air Conditioner
Filed Jul 6, 1999NC

A HOSE IS MISSING FROM AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM CAUSING SYSTEM TO BLOW WARM AIR, IT NEVER GETS COLD. *YC

7 of 7 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1993
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
200311000Routine
20009000Routine
1999 — this page7000Routine
19982000Routine
19978000Routine
19966000Routine
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.