RoadVitals

1982 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.
2
Latest Sep 22, 2006
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 Aug 21, 2002

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1982 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 1–2 of 2

Suspension
Filed Sep 22, 2006

MY MB 380 SL HAD A LEFT FRONT SUSPENSION FAILURE AS I WAS ENTERING MY GARAGE. ON THE INTERNET I FOUND "KEITH MARTINS SPORTS CAR MARKET" THAT EXPLAINED MERCEDES HAS A STANDING RECALL CAMPAIGN FOR CRACKS IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER CONTROL ARM MOUNTING POINTS AND THAT ANY MB DEALER CAN TELL IF IT HAS BEEN PERFORMED AND UPDATED. MINE IS NOT ONLY CRACKED BUT BROKEN ALL THE WAY SO THAT THE WHEEL IS NOT SUPPORTED. IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A DEADLY ACCIDENT HAD IT HAPPENED ON THE FREEWAY. BARIER MOTORS AND PHIL SMART MOTORS IN BELLEVUE AND SEATTLE REFUSE TO DO THE REPAIR FOR FREE AND SAY THERE IS NO RECALL. A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP IN SEATTLE SAYS THIS DESIGN ERROR HAS BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE THE 380 SL WAS DESIGNED. I HAVE TRIED TO GET AN ANSWER FROM THE MERCEDES COMPANY AND HAVE RECEIVED NOTHING. PLEASE HELP. *NM

NHTSA ID
10168980
Incident
Sep 20, 2006
Mileage
124,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Aug 21, 2002
Fire reported

WHEN VEHICLE WAS PARKED VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

NHTSA ID
8016871
Incident
Jul 27, 2002

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 .