RoadVitals

1990 Mercedes-Benz 420 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.
3
Latest Nov 9, 2005
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
2
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.
0

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1990 Mercedes-Benz 420, 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

  • Other / unspecified266.7%
  • Seat belts133.3%

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

Other / unspecified

Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

ON OCT. 20, 2005, I ASKED MERCEDES BENZ OF USA AND MERCEDES BENZ OF EUGENE(OR), TO SHOW/TELL ME SPECIFICALLY WHERE THE TETHER ANCHORS ARE IN MY 1990 420 SEL MERCEDES. ALSO,ON OCT. 21, 2005, I FILED A SIMILAR COMPLAINT, BY EMAIL, AT THIS SITE OF NHTSA. TO DATE, I HAVE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE FROM MBNA OF USA. ALSO, MB OF EUGENE HAS NOT, APPARENTLY, BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET OR ATTACH THE ANCHORS THAT ARE TO HAVE BEEN ALREADY INSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE, ACCORDING TO THE "OWNER'S MANUAL". MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE ANCHORS WERE/ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS VEHICLE TO BE IMPORTED AND SOLD IN THE USA. APPARENTLY, THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN MBNA 91/4B PERTAINING TO THIS ISSUE. I NEED THE EVENFLO TRIUMPH SEAT TO BE PROPERLY INSTALLED FOR THE SAFETY OF MY GRANDDAUGHTER. PLEASE INFORM ME OF WHAT TO DO FOR THE SAFETY OF MY GRANDDAUGHTER. *JB

NHTSA ID 10141356 · filed Oct 31, 2005

THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR MY 1990 420 SEL, ON PAGE 46, STATES:"THIS VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH TETHER ANCHORAGES FOR USE WITH CHILD RESTRAINTS THAT HAVE A TOP TETHER STRAP. CONSULT YOUR AUTHORIZED MERCEDES-BENZ DEALER FOR THE EXACT LOCATION OF THESE ANCHORAGES." AFTER REPEATED PHONE CALLS, EMAILS AND FAXES AND A VISIT TO THE DEALER, NEITHER THE EUGENE DEALER, MERCEDES BENZ OF EUGENE, OR THE MERCEDES-BENZ OF USA, HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TELL/SHOW ME THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE ANCHORAGES. ALSO, THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT MERCEDES BENZ OF EUGENE AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT MERCEDES-BENZ OF USA TOLD ME THAT THE 1990 420 SEL DOES NOT HAVE THE ANCHORAGES. ON MY OWN RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED SERVICE BULLETIN # 91/4B THAT INDICATES INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANCHORAGES WHICH I REPORTED TO MERCEDES BENZ OF EUGENE. THE ANCHORAGES APPEAR TO NOT BE PRESENT ON MY 1990 420 SEL. I NEED THEM TO PROPERLY ATTACH AN EVENFLO TRIUMPH CAR SEAT. *JB

NHTSA ID 10140476 · filed Oct 21, 2005

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Seat belts

Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

NO TETHER ANCHORAGES ARE PRESENT ON THIS VEHICLE AND NO TETHER ANCHORAGES HAVE EVER BEEN PRESENT ON THIS VEHICLE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND MBNA SERVICE BULLETINS STATE THAT THIS VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH TETHER ANCHORAGES FOR USE WITH CHILD RESTRAINTS THAT HAVE A TOP TETHER STRAP. TETHER ANCHORAGES ARE NEEDED TO PROPERLY ATTACH MY FORWARD-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT. MERCEDES-BENZ-USA AND MERCEDES-BENZ OF EUGENE, OR STATE THAT THIS VEHICLE DID NOT COME EQUIPPED WITH THE TETHER ANCHORAGES. WERE/ARE TETHER ANCHORAGES REQUIRED TO BE ATTACHED TO THIS VEHICLE FOR THIS VEHICLE TO BE SOLD IN THE USA AT TIME OF SALE PER FEDERAL STANDARDS AND/OR BECAUSE THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND SERVICE BULLETINS STATE THAT THIS VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH TETHER ANCHORAGES? THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT SAFETY ISSUE. *NM

NHTSA ID 10142298 · filed Nov 9, 2005

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 .