RoadVitals

1981 Mercedes-Benz 380 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.
3
Latest May 19, 2023
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 Apr 22, 1999

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1981 Mercedes-Benz 380. 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 1–3 of 3

Other / unspecifiedSteeringSuspension
Filed May 19, 2023

Mercedes has acknowledged and agreed to repair at their cost the defect in the subframe connections to the wheel control arms. This structural weakness, once snapped, results in the loss of control, wheels falling off and suspension components dropping to the ground. MBZ agreed to fix this issue on all R107 and C107 cars (US Models 450SL/SLC) from 1973 thru 1980- Mercedes Recall#191185120001, SIL 33/001 Subframe Modification Dated 11/1/85 - but did not include the R107 and C107 between 1981-1985 (US Model 380SL/SLC) that developed the same potential life threatening catastrophic defect. Mercedes did, however, update the the 1986-1989 models with strengthened subframes, a de facto admission of their bad unsafe design. My recently purchased 1981 380SLC was just inspected for this issue and cracks are clearly present, requiring immediate strengthening.

NHTSA ID
11522934
Incident
May 1, 2023
Engine
Filed Jan 31, 2001

THE TIMING CHAIN FAILED, AND THE WHOLE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED. AT THE TIME, IN 1987, I BELIEVED MERCEDES THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A ONE TIME ISSUE, AND THAT THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO A POOR DRIVER WHO HAD OWNED THE CAR PREVIOUSLY. LAST WEEK, A FRIED OF MINE, HAD A 1986, 380 SL FAIL WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. AFTER MORE INVESTIGATION, I FOUND OUT THAT MERCEDES CHANGED THE DESIGN OF THE TIMING COMPONENT TO USE A DOUBLE INSTEAD OF A SINGLE CHAIN. THE CHANGE WAS MADE LATE IN THE 1980'S. AFTER INVESTIGATING THIS WEB SITE, I SEE THAT THERE IS A HIGH FREQUENCY OF TIMING CHAIN FAILURES ON THE 380 SL MODELS IN THE 1980'S. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SUMMARY OF ALL THE FAILURES OVER THOSE YEARS, AND I THINK THAT MERCEDES OWES SOMETHING TO ALL OF US WHO HAVE HAD TO REPLACE ENGINES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.*AK

NHTSA ID
740260
Incident
Aug 29, 1987
Engine
Filed Apr 22, 1999
Fire reported

ENGINE FIRE, CONSUMER STATED THAT HE HAD JUST GOT THE MUFFLER REPLACED THAT DAY. (OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT). MJS

NHTSA ID
545267
Incident
Mar 19, 1999

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 .