Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 Mercedes-Benz 400, most frequently naming the 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
Not enough dated records to plot a meaningful trend — 2 months of data.
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
WHILE TRAVELING 55 MPH AND WHEN MAKING A SUDDEN STOP AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT ANY INDICATION, CAUSING INJURY TO CONSUMER'S FACE. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
I HAVE A MERCEDES S420 AND HAVE HAD A CONTINUING PROBLEM WITH BAD FUMES IN THE CAR THAT ARE MAKING MY WHOLE FAMILY REALLY SICK. THE PROBLEM STARTED WHEN WE FIRST GOT THE CAR AND RECENTLY HAS BECOME SO BAD THAT I HAVE HAD TO GET AN INHAILER FROM MY DOCTOR TO BREATHE. WE HAD IT AT THE DEALER WHEN WE FIRST GOT IT AND 3 TIMES FOR MANY DAYS AT A TIME RECENTLY AND COMPLAINED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS COMING ON BUT THEY SAID THEY DID NOT THINK THERE WAS A PROBLEM. WE ARE GETTING REALLY SICK WITH OUR EYES BURNING SO WE HAD THE CAR LOOKED AT BCERTIFIED MECHANICS WHO SAID THE "HEAT COIL" IS BAD AND LOOKS LIKE IT MAY BE DEFECTIVE CAUSING COOLANT DRIP OUT AND BURN AND CAUSING FUMES IN THE CAR THAT COULD BE MAKING US SICK. THIS MAY BE A PROBLEM FROM WHEN WE FIRST GOT THE CAR. THE "HEAT SHIELD" ON THE FLOOR OF THE CAR MAY BE DEFECTIVE ALSO SO HEAT AND FUMES FROM THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER MAY BE COMING IN THE CAR TOO. MY LUNGS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY DAMAGED AND WE ARE HAVING GREAT DIFFICULTY WITH THE MERCEDES DEALER GETTING THEM TO HELP US. I JUST WANT HELP FIXING THE CAR AND DO NOT CARE ABOUT COST AND FEEL THEY DON'T WANT TO FIX IT BECAUSE IT IS UNDER WARRANTY BUT MY LUNGS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY DAMAGED AND I JUST DON'T WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO BE HARMED FROM FUMES EITHER AND THOUGHT IT MAY BE HELPFUL FOR YOU TO KNOW IN CASE THERE ARE REAL PROBLEMS WITH THIS MERCEDES MODEL. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD TROUBLE BREATHING IN IT AND RECENTLY IT BECAME SO BAD MY DOCTOR TOLD ME NOT TO RIDE IN THE CAR. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ANY WAY TO GET THE CAR TESTED FOR DANGEROUS FUMES OR ANYTHING YOU MAY RECOMMEND IF THIS MERCEDES MODEL HAS HAD PROBLEMS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND I REALLY WANT TO HELP PREVENT OTHER PEOPLE FROM GETTING SICK IF IT IS A DEFECT THAT CAN HURT PEOPLE'S LUNGS AND BREATHING. THANK YOU. PATRICIA BORLAND. *AK
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.