1991 Mercedes Benz 500Sl

Routine

Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system › wiring › front underhood. It has been recalled 1 time.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Vehicle Speed Control1
000
Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood1
010
Electrical System1
000

1 safety recall

Part 573 reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Power Assist93V067000
Filed Apr 28, 199314,300 vehiclesMercedes-Benz Usa, Inc.

Defect. DURING THE REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION OF THE AIR FILTER HOUSING WHILE SERVICING THE VEHICLE, IT IS POSSIBLE TO MISROUTE THE PREFORMED VACUUM HOSE AND DAMAGE THE CHECK VALVE IN THE VACUUM HOSE. IF THE CHECK VALVE IS DAMAGED, LOSS OF SUFFICIENT BRAKE POWER ASSIST WILL OCCUR.

Risk. LACK OF SUFFICIENT BRAKE POWER ASSIST WILL INCREASESTOPPING DISTANCE AND COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.

Remedy. REPLACE THE PREFORMED VACUUM HOSE WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED PREFORMED HOSE WITH A RELOCATED CHECK VALVE WHICH WILL ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF THE CHECK VALVE BEING DAMAGED.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Oct 29, 2009212,000 milesTX

ENGINE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE, MULTIPLE SYSTEMS AFFECTED. CAR WILL SPUTTER, STALL, NOT RESTART. HAPPENS WHILE GOING DOWN THE ROAD, TURNING CORNERS, COMING TO A STOP, WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP.... THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS HAS BARE WIRES ALL OVER THE PLACE. MB REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THESE CARS, ALTHOUGH I'VE SPOKEN WITH MANY MERCEDES OWNERS WHO HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF PROBLEMS. CALLS TO MERCEDES BENZ NEVER GET ME ANYWHERE. THEY ARE RUDE AND ONLY SAY THAT THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANOTHER BENZ WITH AN ENGINE WIRING HARNESS PROBLEM BEFORE. I CANNOT DRIVE THIS CAR, PERIOD. I WOULDN'T DRIVE IT TO THE CORNER FOR MILK EVEN IT WOULD START AND RUN CONSISTENTLY. THE WIRING HARNESS WAS MADE WITH "BIODEGRADABLE" INSULATION ON ALL THE WIRES. WHEN CAN I EXPECT THE AIR BAGS ON MY NEWER MERCEDES TO FAIL DUE TO SOME TYPE OF "BIODEGRADABLE" MATERIALS BEING USED? *TR

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Aug 5, 2007138,000 milesVA

WHILE DRIVING, MY 1991 500SL CONVERTIBLE FOR NO APPARENT REASON WILL NOT ACCELERATE AND THE ASR LIGHT COMES ON. IF I SHUT DOWN AND RESTART IT GOES AWAY BUT WILL COME RIGHT BACK IF I GOOSE THE GAS AT ALL. THIS HAPPENS A LOT! LOOKS LIKE THE SAME PROBLEM MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING WITH 91-96 VARIOUS MODELS WITH THEIR WIRING HARNESSES. *TR

Electrical System › Wiring › Front UnderhoodFire
Filed Feb 7, 200798,000 milesTX

TERRIBLE CRACKING OF MAIN WIRE HARNESS!!!!!!*JB

3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1992
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
19925100Routine
1991 — this page3110Routine
19903100Routine

Compare every 500Sl 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.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Apr 28, 1993. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.