RoadVitals

1972 Mercedes-Benz 350SL 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 Jun 14, 2012
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.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1972 Mercedes-Benz 350SL, 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

  • Body & structure1100.0%

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

Body & structure

Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO I PURCHASED AN EXCELLENT CLASSIC 1972 MERCEDES 350SL. I HAD A SAFETY INSPECTION BY A LOCAL MERCEDES DEALER (AUTOHAUS ON EDENS IN GLENCOE IL) BEFORE I COMMITTED TO BUYING THE CAR. AT THE TIME, NO SERIOUS PROBLEMS WERE IDENTIFIED OR REPORTED. A FEW WEEKS AGO, I TOOK THE CAR TO A CLASSIC MERCEDES SPECIALIST (AXEL'S AUTOMOTIVE) WHO DISCOVERED AN OPEN RECALL ON THE CAR FOR THE SUBFRAME. HE REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO THE SAME MERCEDES DEALER (AUTOHAUS) WHERE I ORIGINALLY HAD THE CAR INSPECTED. THEY (AUTOHAUS) ARE DECLINING THE RECALL REPAIR BECAUSE THE CAR IS NOW 40 YEARS OLD AND THEY SAY THAT ONCE THEY START WORKING ON IT, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL REPAIRS REQUIRED THAT ARE NOT A PART OF THE RECALL. THEY WANT ME TO PAY NEARLY $8,000 (WORST CASE) IN THE EVENT THEY HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE REPAIR. NOW THEY WON'T RELEASE THE CAR UNLESS I SIGN A LIABILITY WAIVER. THE CAR IS BEAUTIFUL AND RUNS FINE, BUT IS NOW SITTING IN BACK OF THE MERCEDES DEALERSHIP. IS THIS SOMETHING YOU CAN HELP ME WITH. KIND REGARDS, {XXX}"PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552 (B) 96)." *JB

NHTSA ID 10461819 · filed Jun 14, 2012

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 .