1998 Mercedes Benz CLK

Routine

Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system › 12v/24v/48v battery. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
000
Electrical System › 12v/24v/48v Battery1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Aug 3, 200546,576 milesIN

DT: CONTACT STATED THE HARMONIC BALANCER HAD TO BE REPLACED . THE SERVICE DEALER STATED THERE WAS A SERVICE CAMPAIGN FOR THIS SPECIFIC COMPONENT. THE CONSUMER STATED SHE DID NOT RECEIVE THIS IN THE MAIL. THE HARMONIC BALANCER CAUSED THE CONSUMER TO NOT HAVE STEERING CONTROL WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Jun 2, 200494,850 milesMO

SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING DUE TO DISINTEGRATION OF HARMONIC BALANCER. NEAR ACCIDENT. DEALER REPLACED HARMONIC BALANCER AND OTHER DAMAGED PARTS INCLUDING OIL PAN.*AK

Electrical System › 12v/24v/48v Battery
Filed Aug 28, 2002FL

WHILE PARKED BATTERY EXPLODED.*AK

3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2008
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20084100Routine
20073100Routine
20061000Routine
20051000Routine
20032000Routine
20022000Routine
20012000Routine
20001000Routine
1998 — this page3000Routine

Compare every CLK 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.