Mercedes Benz SL Class
Owners filed 31 complaints across 10 model years of the Mercedes Benz SL Class. The 1998 drew the most (12).
Which Mercedes Benz SL Class years should you avoid?
Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 Mercedes Benz SL Class model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Mercedes Benz SL Class model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2009 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2006 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2005 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | Suspension › Front | Routine | |
| 2004 | 3 | 3 | — | — | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | Routine | |
| 2003 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | Routine | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Engine and Engine Cooling | Routine | |
| 1998 | 12 | 0 | — | — | Equipment › Electrical › Radio/Tape Deck/Cd Etc. | Routine | |
| 1997 | 2 | 2 | — | — | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1996 | 2 | 3 | — | — | Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.