RoadVitals

1997 Mercedes-Benz 129 Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
1
Latest Jan 30, 2009
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
1
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1997 Mercedes-Benz 129, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Visibility1100.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Visibility

Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

THE INSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR HAS INADEQUATELY SIZED SPRING CLIP POSTS RESULTING IN EASY BREAKAGE, WITH LEAVES THE MIRROR VERY LOOSE, DISTRACTING AND UNUSABLE IN DAILY DRIVING. THE SNAP-ON MIRROR GLASS SURROUND TRIM WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED SPRING CLIP POSTS IS MARKED WITH P/N 129 811 0635, AND WOULD HAVE A LIKELY PRICE OF AROUND $15, HOWEVER MERCEDES BENZ ONLY SUPPLIES THE MIRROR ASSY @ $942. TWO M/B DEALERS AND AN INDEPENDENT M/B GARAGE SAYS THIS MIRROR IS USED ON MANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS, AND THE CLIP BREAKAGE IS VERY COMMON. THEY ALSO INDICATED IT WAS RARE/NEVER THE CASE WHERE A CUSTOMER WOULD SPEND $1000 (INCL LABOR) TO FIX THE PROBLEM, THEREFORE THIS COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE IN TERMS OF SAFETY AND DRIVER DISTRACTION. AT THE DIRECTION OF THE 2ND M/B DEALER, I CALLED M/B NA AND THEY BASICALLY SAID THEY HAD NO INTENTION OF MAKING THE POTENTIALLY DEFECTIVE PART AVAILABLE AS A SERVICE PART... EITHER SPEND THE $1000 OR DRIVE AN UNSAFE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID 10256981 · filed Jan 30, 2009

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .