RoadVitals

1997 Mercedes-Benz S320 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.
6
Latest Jun 7, 2016
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 Jan 14, 2000

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 Mercedes-Benz S320. 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 1–6 of 6

Heating & air conditioning
Filed Jun 7, 2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 (NA) MERCEDES-BENZ S320. WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE, THE AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED, BUT A FAILURE COULD NOT BE FOUND. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 195,000.

NHTSA ID
10873088
Incident
May 6, 2016
Mileage
195,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Mar 25, 2005

THE SRS LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD AND REMAINED ON WHILE DRIVING. DRIVER TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, BUT MECHANIC COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK

NHTSA ID
10115891
Incident
Mar 25, 2005
Transmission
Filed Sep 2, 2004

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DIDN'T SHIFT PROPERLY FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND GEAR. DEALERSHIP HAS WAS NOTIFIED. *AK

NHTSA ID
10090288
Incident
Sep 2, 2004
Fuel system
Filed Apr 9, 2004

WHILE DRIVING CONSUMER SMELLED A GAS ODOR COMING FROM THE VENTS. CONSUMER DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT FUEL RAIL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. CONSUMER INFORMED THE DEALER THAT THE PROBLEM RECURRED AFTER FUEL RAIL WAS BEING FIXED. *AK

NHTSA ID
10066914
Incident
Apr 9, 2004
Seat belts
Filed Jul 11, 2002

FRONT SEAT DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT FULLY EXTENDED AND FAILED TO RETRACT.*AK

NHTSA ID
764075
Incident
Jul 3, 2002
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Jan 14, 2000
Crash reported1 injury reported1 death reported

HI CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT FORCE AND ACCELERATION CAN MAKE THE AIRBAG DEPLOYING ON A S320? NOW THERE IS A S32O HIT THE BARRIER AND FELL IN A DITCH WITH HEAD FORWARD.THE HEAD(INCLUDING BONNET) WAS DAMAGED, BUT THE VERTICAL STRUCTURE COULD NOT BE FOUND BACKWARD'S OUT OF SHAPE .THE BELTS ARE BROKEN AND THE AIRBAGS CAN'T DEPLOY.THE DRIVER IS DEAD.MB SAID THE AIRBAG SYSTEM NO PROBLEM.SORRY THE VIN AND ZIP CODE AND THE DEALER INFORMATION ARE WRONG.I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!! *AK

NHTSA ID
717329

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 .