RoadVitals

1999 Mercedes-Benz 202 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 Feb 2, 2001
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
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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.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1999 Mercedes-Benz 202, 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

WINDSHIELD WIPER MOVES TO CENTER OF WINDSHIELD THEN HESITATES FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN SLOWLY DRAGS ACROSS THE REST OF THE WINDSHIELD, THEN DOES THE SAME THING WHEN IT RETURNS TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR WARANTY SERVICE AND WAS TOLD IT WAS NOT COVERED. IF I WANTED IT FIXED IT WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY $700.00 FOR A PART THEY CALLED THE WIPER TRANSMISSION PLUS LABOR. I CHECKED WITH OTHER DEALERS/REPAIR FACILITIES AND WAS TOLD THE SAME THING. WHEN I CHECKED WITH AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP THE MECHANIC FIXED THE PROBLEM IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES BY CLEANING THE BASE OF THE WIPER AND LUBRICATING IT WITH WD-40. THE WIPER WORKED FINE AFTER THAT. I WENT BACK TO THE DEALER AND TALKED TO THE OWNERSHIP TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND THEIR MODE OF REPAIR WHICH WAS EXCESSIVELY PRICED. I WAS TOLD THAT THE REPAIR DONE WAS ONLY A TEMPORRARY FIX AND WOULD LAST LESS THAN A MONTH OR TWO. THAT WAS OVER TWO YEARS AGO!! JUST RECENTLY THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN AND I REPAIRED IT MYSELF IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. WHEN I CONTACTED MERCEDES BENZ NA CORPORATE OFFICE TO TELL THEM OF MY PROBLEM I GOT THE RUN AROUND FOR TWO WEEKS OF REPEATED PHONE CALLS,BUT WHEN I FINALLY CONTACTED SOMEONE I WAS TOLD THAT THE DEALERSHIP WAS TOLD TO REPLACE RATHER THAN REPAIR THE WIPER MECHANISM IN ALL CASES RELATING TO THIS PROBLEM, AT COST TO THE CONSUMER. I HAVE HAD CONTACT WITH OTHER MERCEDES OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM AND THEY WERE TOLD THE SAME $700. PRICE FOR A REPLACEMENT PART WHICH WAS UNNECESSARY. I HAVE OWNED THREE DIFFERENT MERCEDES OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE PAID QUITE A BIT FOR REPAIRS AND MAINTANANCE, BUT I NOW WONDER IF I HAD BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF IN MANY CASES TO THE TUNE OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. TO ME THIS SEEMS LIKE A FACTORY DEFECT OR A DESIGN DEFECT AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED IN THE WARRANTY.

NHTSA ID 740351 · filed Feb 2, 2001

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 .