1993 Mercedes-Benz S 500

Routine

Owners filed 2 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System2
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Feb 9, 2019163,000 milesFL

VEHICLE STALLED TO DEAD THREE TIME, ONE ON AN INTERSECTION. SYMPTONS STARTED WITH ROUGH IDLE, MISFIRING AND STALL. AFTER INSPECTION OF UPPER WIRING HARNESS (RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND) THE CONCLUSION WAS BARE AND DESINTEGRATED WIRES CAUSING SHORT CIRCUITS EVERYWHERE IN THE CAR, PUTTING ME AND MY FAMILY AT RISK. IT IS AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL MBUSA GIVES A SOLUTION WHICH I'VE HEARD THEY LOOK LIKE UNAWARE. I OWNED OTHER MERCEDES MODELS AND WE ALWAYS HEAR THAT THIS W140 SERIESWERE THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD. BUT THIS ISSUE COULD HAVE COST MY LIFE.

Electrical System
Filed Sep 14, 2015232,637 milesMD

WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING AT IDLE, THE ENGINE WILL MISS IN A RANDOM MANNER UNTIL THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE ENGINE STOPS. SOMETIMES THE ENGINE WILL CONTINUE TO RUN, CONTINUE TO MISS, UNTIL THE ENGINE EVENTUALLY STOPS. WHEN RUNNING AT SPEED AND THE ENGINE IS UNDER LOAD THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE ENGINE MISSES, BUT THE ENGINE WILL KEEP RUNNING. THE MB DEALER AND AN INDEPENDENT SHOP BOTH INDICATED THE WIRING HARNESS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS DETERIORATED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER THE HARNESS WAS REPLACED THE CAR OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS AND THEN STARTED FAILING IN THE SAME MANNER. ALL CONNECTORS WERE OPENED, CLEANED, AND RECONNECTED. THE CAR AGAIN OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ABOUT THREE MONTH AND HAVE STARTED FAILING IN THE SAME MANNER. AS OF WRITING THIS COMPLAINT, THE CAR IS NOT FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

2 of 2 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2000
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20231300Routine
202220800Do not drive
20211700Routine
20072000Routine
200612000Routine
200511000Routine
200412000Routine
200310000Routine
200225010Routine
200134010Routine
200055010Routine
19992000Routine
19961000Routine
19954000Routine
19942000Routine
1993 — this page2000Routine

Compare every S 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.