RoadVitals

1997 Mercedes-Benz 280 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.
5
Latest Oct 22, 1999
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.
1
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 Sep 3, 1997

What this page shows

Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 Mercedes-Benz 280. 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 1–5 of 5

Seat belts
Filed Oct 22, 1999

THE MERCEDES BENZ 280 CAN NOT HAVE A CHILD CAR SEAT TETHER INSTALLED. THE TETHERS ARE REQUIRED TO BE SOLD WITH CAR SEATS AFTER SEPT 99, BUT MERCEDED WILL NOT INSTALL THESE. IN CANADA, THE TETHER ATTACHMENTS ARE FACTORY INSTALLED OR THERE IS A RETROFIT KIT BECAUSE CARS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE DRIVEN WITHOUT THESE ATTACHMENTS. TOYOTA, GM, AND OTHERS ALL INSTALL AFTER-MARKET TETHER KITS AT NO CHARGE. MERCEDES WILL NOT. PLEASE HELP. ALL CARS WILL BE REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS ATTACHMENT FACTOR-INSTALLED BY YEAR 2002. IN THE MEANTIME, THE CAR SEATS TELL YOU TO INSTALL THE ATTACHMENT AFTER MARKET.

NHTSA ID
713698
Visibility
Filed Oct 17, 1999

WINDSHIELD WIPERS CONSTANTLY BANG WHEN IN USE. MERCEDES CAN'T FIX. ON 2 OCCASIONS THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FROZE AND SO DID THE FLUID. *AK

NHTSA ID
713431
Incident
Dec 1, 1997
Transmission
Filed Feb 1, 1999

TRANSMISSION FAILED.

NHTSA ID
608166
Incident
Jun 4, 1998
Steering
Filed Feb 1, 1999

LINKAGE BUSHINGS FAILED. YH

NHTSA ID
607263
Driver assistanceTransmission
Filed Sep 3, 1997
Crash reported

WHILE IN REVERSE POSITION, THE VEHICLE TOOK OFF IN REVERSE ABOUT 20 MPH, CAUSING $3200 DAMAGES ON THE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID
815232
Incident
Aug 7, 1997

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 .