RoadVitals

1999 Mercedes-Benz 170 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
2
Latest Jul 30, 2012
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
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jan 6, 2009

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1999 Mercedes-Benz 170. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

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

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–2 of 2

Visibility
Filed Jul 30, 2012

THE INSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR IN MY 1999 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK 230 (R170 MODEL) IS A SELF-DIMMING MIRROR THAT HAS NO MANUAL BACKUP. THE MIRROR CONTAINED A FLUID WHICH LEAKED OUT CAUSING THE SELF-DIMMING MIRROR TO FAIL TO PROVIDE DIMMING AGAINST REAR APPROACHING HEADLIGHTS RESULTING IN THE DRIVER TO EITHER BE BLINDED OR TO HAVE TO TURN THE MIRROR AWAY WHICH GREATLY ELIMINATES REAR VIEW CAPABILITY IN THE INTERIOR. THERE ARE MANY DOCUMENTED CASES OF THESE MIRRORS FAILING IN VARIOUS MAKES AND MODELS AS A RESULT OF USUALLY FROM THE INTERNAL FLUID LEAKING. THIS SPECIFIC CAR, THAT I PURCHASED NEW, HAS BEEN CONSTANTLY GARAGED AND SELDOM DRIVEN AT NIGHT. THIS VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 25,000 MILES. GIVEN THE LOW ROAD-HEIGHT OF THE DRIVING POSITION, LIGHTS FROM BEHIND, WITH NO WAY TO DIM THE MIRROR, POSE A VERY DANGEROUS HAZARD AT NIGHT. THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO REPAIR THE MIRROR, AND IF SUCH DEFECT IS AS COMMON AS IT APPEARS, THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE FORCED TO REPLACE THE AUTO-DIMMING MIRROR WITH A MIRROR THAT ALSO HAS THE CAPABILITY OF MANUAL DIMMING SHOULD THE AUTO-DIMMING FEATURE FAIL AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID
10468354
Incident
Jul 25, 2012
Mileage
24,200 mi
Visibility
Filed Jan 6, 2009

THE INSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR IN MY 1999 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK 230 (R170 MODEL) IS AN ELECTRO CHROMIC SELF-DIMMING MIRROR THAT HAS NO MANUAL BACKUP. THE MIRROR CONTAINED A FLUID WHICH LEAKED OUT CAUSING THE SELF-DIMMING MIRROR TO FAIL TO PROVIDE DIMMING AGAINST REAR APPROACHING HEADLIGHTS RESULTING IN THE DRIVER TO EITHER BE BLINDED OR TO HAVE TO TURN THE MIRROR AWAY WHICH GREATLY ELIMINATES REAR VIEW CAPABILITY IN THE INTERIOR. THERE ARE MANY DOCUMENTED CASES OF THESE MIRRORS FAILING IN VARIOUS MAKES AND MODELS AS A RESULT OF USUALLY FROM THE INTERNAL FLUID LEAKING. I CONTACTED THE OEM MIRROR MAKER, AND SPOKE WITH A STEVE CHENLO, FROM MAGNA DONNELLY (HIS DIRECT LINE IS 616-786-7495), WHO REFUSED TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE PROBLEM. HIS ADVICE WAS TO PURCHASE ANOTHER MIRROR AT APPROXIMATELY $200, AND PAY FOR INSTALLATION, WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY $100 FROM THE DEALERSHIP. ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I HAVE DOCUMENTATION THAT MAGNA DONNELLY WAS REPLACING THESE MIRRORS FOR FREE BUT STOPPED FOR UNKNOWN REASONS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10253961
Incident
Jul 1, 2008
Mileage
85,000 mi

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .