RoadVitals

1985 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.
7
Latest May 1, 2009
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 Mar 13, 1997

What this page shows

Our database holds 7 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1985 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 1–7 of 7

Body & structure
Filed May 1, 2009

1985 380SL SUB FRAME DEFECT ACKNOWLEDGED BY MERCEDES BENZ WITH THEIR RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER 191185120001. IS THIS REPAIR STILL A RESPONSIBILITY OF MERCEDES BENZ? *TR

NHTSA ID
10267495
Incident
Jan 1, 2000
Mileage
100,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Oct 5, 2004

WHEN STEPPING ON THE GAS THROTTLE STICKS. ALSO, STICKS WHILE DRIVING. NO CONTACT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. *AK

NHTSA ID
10095062
Incident
Sep 10, 2003
Mileage
195,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 20, 2002

CONSUMER STATES AFTER PRESSING THE ACCLERATOR, THE ENGINE RACED, THREW DRIVER FORWARD AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED IN REVERSE AT A HIGH SPEED. VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A VEHICLE PARKED IN AN ADJACENT ROW. DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO REACH THE BRAKE PEDAL SECONDS BEFORE THE IMPACT BUT DID NOT HAVE TIME TO OVERCOME THE ROARING ENGINE. MECHANIC REPLACED IDLE SPEED CONTROL UNIT AND IDLE VALVE. *TT

NHTSA ID
567549
Incident
Jul 15, 2002
Body & structure
Filed Jul 24, 2000

THE MANUFACTURER OF THE VEHICLE REFUSED TO REPLACE THE DAMAGED SUB FRAME (CAMPAIGN PROGRAM) ON THE BASIS OF AGE AND MILLAGE OF THE VEHICLE. YH

NHTSA ID
553164
Driver assistance
Filed Feb 11, 1999

VEHICLE TOOK OFF, CAUSING THE COSNUMER TO ALMOST HIT A TREE WHILE DRIVING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. CONSUMER CAN'T DRIVE THE VEHICLE BECAUSE IT TAKES OFF AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED ,AND THE DEALER CAN'T DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *AK

NHTSA ID
832526
Incident
Apr 12, 1996
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 8, 1997

WHILE DRIVING THE CRUISE CONTROL LOCKED UP, CAUSING SUDDEN ACCELERATION. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

NHTSA ID
816125
Incident
Sep 8, 1993
Driver assistance
Filed Mar 13, 1997
Crash reported

OWNER STATES THAT WHILE STARTING THE VEHICLE AND PLACING FOOT ON BRAKE THE ENGINE HAD VERY HIGH REVS WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE, OWNER HIT A SIGN. DEALERS COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID
809956

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 .