Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 29 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1995 Mercedes-Benz 320, most frequently naming the electrical, airbags and engine categories.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
When owners filed reports about this model year
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 1995 | 1 | 1 |
| Oct 1995 | 1 | 2 |
| Jul 1996 | 1 | 3 |
| Oct 1996 | 1 | 4 |
| Nov 1997 | 2 | 6 |
| Dec 1997 | 1 | 7 |
| Jan 1998 | 2 | 9 |
| Jan 2000 | 1 | 10 |
| Mar 2000 | 1 | 11 |
| May 2000 | 1 | 12 |
| Nov 2001 | 1 | 13 |
| May 2002 | 1 | 14 |
| May 2003 | 1 | 15 |
| Jun 2006 | 1 | 16 |
| Aug 2006 | 1 | 17 |
| Nov 2006 | 1 | 18 |
| Feb 2007 | 1 | 19 |
| Mar 2007 | 1 | 20 |
| Oct 2007 | 1 | 21 |
| May 2008 | 1 | 22 |
| Sep 2008 | 1 | 23 |
| Mar 2009 | 1 | 24 |
| Nov 2009 | 1 | 25 |
| May 2010 | 2 | 27 |
| Feb 2012 | 1 | 28 |
| Dec 2012 | 1 | 29 |
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
No recalls in our database for this model year
That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
CAR WAS CRUISING AT 10MPH BEFORE GETTING INTO OUR HOUSE DRIVEWAY, WHEN SMOG CAME UNDER THE HOOD, OPEN HOOD IMMEDIATELY AND NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE ELECTRICAL HARNESS WAS MELTING DOWN, SHUT OFF ENGINE AND DISCONNECTED BATTERY. *TR
DURING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, MISSING INSULATION WAS DISCOVERED ON WIRING TO A SENSOR IN THE AIR TUBE, VISIBLE OUTSIDE OF TAPE WRAP. I MADE SURE THAT WIRES WERE NOT TOUCHING AND INSULATED THE EXPOSED AREAS AT THE CLIP-ON CONNECTOR TO THE SENSOR. ENGINE MISSFIRE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO FUEL DELIVERY AND INJECTOR CLEANER WAS ADDED TO TANK. DRIVEABILTY CONTINUED TO WORSEN, AS ENGINE MISSFIRE BEGAN TO OCCUR MORE OFTEN. I WAS RECENTLY MADE AWARE OF THE WIRING ISSUES, SO I DECIDED TO REMOVE THE TAPE WRAP ON THE LEAD TO THE SENSOR. THE ENTIRE LENGTH THAT I EXPOSED, HAS CRACKED AND MISSING INSULATION. I THEN STOPPED, AS DISTURBING ANY ADDITIONAL WIRING WILL WORSEN THE PROBLEM. I CHECKED WITH MY LOCAL MERCEDES DEALER REGARDING THIS PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD THAT MERCEDES ISN'T DOING ANYTHING TOWARD FIXING THE DEFECTIVE WIRING, AND THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE DISPOSED OF THEIR VEHICLES OR JUST QUIT DRIVING THEM RATHER THAN SPEND THE MONEY TO HAVE REPAIRS MADE. MY CAR HAS LESS THAN 90,000 MILES ON IT AND HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT. DUE TO THE RISK OF FIRE, NOW IT JUST SITS IN MY DRIVEWAY UNTIL I DECIDE IF I WANT TO HAVE IT HAULED AWAY. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1995 MERCEDES BENZ 320SL. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED AUTOMOTIVE CENTER WHERE THE COMPUTER WAS REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 50,000.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1995 MERCEDES BENZ 320SL. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE HOME AND HAVE IT TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE COMPUTER IN THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 50,000.
THE ENGINE WIRE HARNESS IN THE CAR IS KNOW NOT GOOD THAT COULD CAUSE FIRE IN THE CAR. BENZ SHOULD REPAIR IT AT NO CHARGE. *TR
WHILE DRIVING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL MERCEDES DEALER. I WAS TOLD THE LIGHT CAME ON DUE TO A "BAD" WIRING HARNESS. COST TO REPAIR WAS $1,500.00. WAS TOLD IF THE REPAIRS WERE NOT DONE THE VEHICLE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE PROBLEMS. PRIOR TO SPENDING THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE WEB AND FIND THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS REGARDING 1991-1996 WIRING HARNESSES. I BELIEVE AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE VAST NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS WOULD CLEARLY INDICATE MERCEDES SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR
WIRING HARNESS WAS NOTICED TO BE DAMAGED DURING SERVICE AT MERCEDES SERVICE CENTER AND WAS REPLACED. EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE PART AND WAS TOLD BY REPAIR FACILITY THAT IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM. HFM CONTROL UNIT IS NOW DAMAGED, ANOTHER VERY EXPENSIVE PART, AND WAS TOLD THE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY THE DEFECTIVE WIRING HARNESS. *TR
ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DETERIORATED TO THE POINT OF CAUSING UNEVEN IDLE AND ENGINE SPEED. *TR
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.