RoadVitals

1993 Mercedes-Benz S 500 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.
2
Latest Feb 9, 2019
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
1
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.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1993 Mercedes-Benz S 500, 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

  • Electrical2100.0%

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

Electrical

Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

VEHICLE STALLED TO DEAD THREE TIME, ONE ON AN INTERSECTION. SYMPTONS STARTED WITH ROUGH IDLE, MISFIRING AND STALL. AFTER INSPECTION OF UPPER WIRING HARNESS (RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND) THE CONCLUSION WAS BARE AND DESINTEGRATED WIRES CAUSING SHORT CIRCUITS EVERYWHERE IN THE CAR, PUTTING ME AND MY FAMILY AT RISK. IT IS AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL MBUSA GIVES A SOLUTION WHICH I'VE HEARD THEY LOOK LIKE UNAWARE. I OWNED OTHER MERCEDES MODELS AND WE ALWAYS HEAR THAT THIS W140 SERIESWERE THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD. BUT THIS ISSUE COULD HAVE COST MY LIFE.

NHTSA ID 11175966 · filed Feb 9, 2019

WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING AT IDLE, THE ENGINE WILL MISS IN A RANDOM MANNER UNTIL THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE ENGINE STOPS. SOMETIMES THE ENGINE WILL CONTINUE TO RUN, CONTINUE TO MISS, UNTIL THE ENGINE EVENTUALLY STOPS. WHEN RUNNING AT SPEED AND THE ENGINE IS UNDER LOAD THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE ENGINE MISSES, BUT THE ENGINE WILL KEEP RUNNING. THE MB DEALER AND AN INDEPENDENT SHOP BOTH INDICATED THE WIRING HARNESS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS DETERIORATED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER THE HARNESS WAS REPLACED THE CAR OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS AND THEN STARTED FAILING IN THE SAME MANNER. ALL CONNECTORS WERE OPENED, CLEANED, AND RECONNECTED. THE CAR AGAIN OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ABOUT THREE MONTH AND HAVE STARTED FAILING IN THE SAME MANNER. AS OF WRITING THIS COMPLAINT, THE CAR IS NOT FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

NHTSA ID 10763582 · filed Sep 14, 2015

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 .