2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Owner Complaints

Airmatic Suspension sprung a leak and could not be driven safely due to the vehicle getting severely low where the tire and rim tucked into the wheel well. When the airmatic suspension fails the vehicle can get so low that it can scrape the roadway, hit bumps and damage parts under which can dislodge and cause an severe accident or pile up. Requesting a Nationwide Recall on all Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with Airmatic Suspension.

NHTSA ID

11482020

Incident

Aug 27, 2022

POWER ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT MALFUNCTION. CAR WILL NOT CRANK/ NO START. CAR WAS STATIONARY-PARKED.

NHTSA ID

11386271

Incident

Feb 11, 2020

Mileage

115,000 mi

THE COMPUTER CONTROL UNIT FOR THE HYBRID MOTOR HAS FAILED ON MY AND MANY S400S. THIS CAUSES CAR TO STALL OUT AT STOPLIGHTS OR WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11375214

Incident

Nov 4, 2020

Mileage

100,009 mi

STRONG GAS ORDERS FROM INTERIOR AFTER FILL UP. STATIONARY, IN MOTION, STOPPED. TO THE POINT OF NAUSEA AND LIGHT HEADEDNESS. 2011 IS ON RECALL LIST FOR GAS PUMP AND SENDER REPLACEMENT, PLUS WARRANTY EXTENSION TO 15 YEARS FOR THIS PROBLEM. THIS NEEDS TO ALSO INCLUDE THE 2010 S400 HYBRIDS VEHICLE HAS ONLY 87,000 MILES ON IT, AND CANNOT BE DRIVEN DUE TO POSSIBLE FUEL INGITION AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A CATASTROPHIC FIRE. PLEASE RESPOND WITH THE UTMOST OF HASTE, LIVES ARE AT STAKE. DEATH BY FIRE IS HORRIFIC.

NHTSA ID

11362925

Incident

Sep 15, 2020

Mileage

87,000 mi

THE CAR FIRST STARTED TO STOP INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT ANY WARNING AT ALL AT THE TRAFFIC INTERSECTION, THEN I WAS ABLE TO START IT AGAIN AFTER SHUTTING EVERY THING DOWN. THEN A MONTH LATER, THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN BUT THIS TIME I WAS NOT ABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN. THIS COULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS SAFETY SITUATION IF THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. MERCEDES ONLY PROVIDED TEMPORARY SOLUTION BY REPLACING THE CAR HYBRID INVERTER POWER ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT THROUGH A CAMPAIGN BULLETIN 2012080004. THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO MERCEDES S400, 2010-2012 YEAR MODEL. HOWEVER, THE MAIN PROBLEM STILL REMAINS AND POSES A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FOR ALL THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATE PROBLEM. ITS A VERY KNOWN PROBLEM FOR LOTS OF OWNERS FOR THOSE MODEL YEARS. MY CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS IS "[XXX]" SHOULD YOU NEED TO CONTACT ME. PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENT FOR THE INVERTER. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *CC *TR

NHTSA ID

11352769

Incident

Aug 30, 2020

Mileage

109,000 mi

FIRST THERE WAS NO POWER TO THE CAR SO WE REPLACED THE BATTERY. THEN THE CAR WAS RUNNING AND SHUT OFF ONE DAY AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN IT WOULD NOT RESTART. WE HAD IT TOWED TO MERCEDES DEALER. THEY ARE STATING IT THE POWER ELECTRONICS MODULE. THERE ARE TWO RECALLS RELATED TO THIS PART BUT WHEN CHECKING THE VIN OURS IS NOT PART OF THEM. THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. THE MERCEDES DEALER EVEN STATED THERE WERE ISSUES WITH THIS PART THAT'S WHY MERCEDES ONLY MADE THESE CARS FOR TWO YEARS. PLEASE SEE CAMPAIGN NO. 2012080004. *TR

NHTSA ID

11307016

Incident

Jan 10, 2020

WHEN COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, THE HYBRID SYSTEM SHUTS DOWN THE ENGINE AND FAILS TO RESTART. THIS PLACES THE DRIVER, PASSENGER AND OTHERS AT RISK OF COLLISION AS VEHICLE WILL REMAIN STOPPED IN TRAFFIC. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MERCEDES-BENZ AS IF IS A FAILURE OF THE POWER ELECTRONICS MODULE. IT HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO TWO SERVICE CAMPAIGNS: 2012880004 NOVEMBER 2012 2015030006 JUNE 2015 HOWEVER IT APPEARS THAT THE DEFECTIVE PART IS REPLACED WITH A SIMILARLY DEFECTIVE PART. FURTHERMORE MERCEDES-BENZ NO LONGER MAKES THIS PART AVAILABLE FOR THIS MODEL WHICH WAS PRODUCED THROUGH 2013. THIS DEFECTIVE PART THIS MODEL AT HIGH RISK FOR THE SAFETY OF ITS OWNERS, PASSENGERS AND OCCUPANTS OF OTHER VEHICLES AS THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED IN THE ROAD. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE AND HAS BEEN EXPERIENCED BY MANY. OF NOTE THERE WERE FEW OF THIS VEHICLE MADE (S400 IS AN EARLY HYBRID MODEL MADE BY MERCEDES-BENZ) SUCH THAT A LOW NUMBER OF REPORTS REPRESENTS A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF THIS MODEL. THE FREQUENCY IF EVENTS CAN BE SEEN IN A SEARCH OF S400 POWER ELECTRONICS MODULE PROBLEMS I HAVE CONTACTED MBUSA WHO STATES THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE AND THEY HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEFECTIVE PART. THEY HAVE ALSO STATED THAT THEY HAVE NO LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTINUE TO PRODUCE PARTS FOR A MODEL THAT ENDED 6 YEARS AGO.

NHTSA ID

11287409

Incident

Oct 15, 2019

Mileage

70,000 mi

2010 S400 HYBRID WONT START FIRST INSTANCE WAS LESS THAN 24 HOUR OF PURCHASING CAR FROM LOCAL DEALER. LIGHTS ALL ON BUT NO CRANK. STARTED AFTER AND TWO WEEKS LATER IT HAD TO BE TOWED BECAUSE IT COMPLETELY WONT START. MBUSA FORUM CHAT AND SEVERAL SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS ALL AROUND THE WORLD HAS THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL AND IT COMES DOWN TO AN ELECTRONICS POWER MODULE THAT COST MORE THAN WHAT THE CAR IS WORTH TO REPAIR. PLEASE ADVISE!

NHTSA ID

11286606

Incident

Dec 2, 2019

Mileage

47,426 mi

I HAVE A 2010 MERCEDES S400 THAT WAS PURCHASED NEW IN NYC AND I WAS PROMISED A 10YR/150K MILE WARRANTY BECAUSE OF A CARB ADOPTION NY AND 10 OTHER STATES WERE INVOLVED IN. MY VEHICLE HAS ONLY 37K MILES AND IS NEVER BEEN CRASHED OR PAINTED. I WENT TO MERCEDES OF MANHATTAN LOCATED ON 770 11TH AVE NYC, NY 10019. MY VEHICLE WAS DENIED THIS WARRANTY COVERAGE THE SERVICE MANAGER STATED BECAUSE IT'S AT HIS DISCRETION TO GRANT THIS OR NOT. I THEN PLEADED WITH HIM AND HE BEGAN TO INSULT ME SAYING MY VEHICLE IS FAR FROM PERFECT AND HE CAN'T GRANT AN ASSISTANCE. I MADE HIM AWARE OF MY WARRANTY INFORMATION I HAD AND HE SAID THERE IS NO NEED BECAUSE HE SEES EVERYTHING I HAVE ON HIS COMPUTER AND MERCEDES'BENZ DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES. I THEN ASKED FOR A SPECIFIC REASON WHY I'M BEING DENIED AND HE THEN TOLD ME MY VEHICLE WASN'T UP TO DATE ON MAINTENANCE. I SHOWED HIM THE SERVICE RECORDS THAT SHOWED THE VEHICLE WAS UP TO DATE WITH MAINTENANCE AND HIS DEALER EVEN REPORTED IT ON CARFAX. HE THEN SAID HE WILL CALL ME BACK AND THEN REACHED THE CONCLUSION THAT THE 3 SCRATCHES ON MY REAR BUMPER WAS REASON ENOUGH TO DENY ME WARRANTY COVERAGE AND SENT ME A STATEMENT SHOWING IF ANY PART WAS DAMAGED DUE TO MISUSE OR DAMAGE THEN WARRANTY IS VOIDED. I THEN EXPLAINED TO HIM MY SCRATCHES ON THE BUMPER WOULDN'T HAVE ANY AFFECT OR INFLUENCE ON MY VEHICLES HYBRID BATTERY. HE SAID HE HAS THE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND HE CAN DENY ME FOR THAT. I NEED HELP PLZ. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE MERCEDES PARTS DEPARTMENT THAT THE HYBRID BATTERY AND INSTALL COULD RANGE IN PRICE OF $32,000.00. MY QUESTION IS WHY DID MERCEDES GIVE CUSTOMERS A 10YR/150K MILE WARRANTY ON A VEHICLE THAT THEY ARE GOING TO NOT ACCEPT. MY VEHICLE IS 8 YEARS OLD BUT WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED FOR $100,000.00. I FEEL THIS IS UNFAIR AND THINK I NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF YOUR DEPARTMENT PLEASE.

NHTSA ID

11165054

Incident

Dec 21, 2018

Mileage

37,000 mi

THE S400 HYBRID HAS A HABIT OF STALLING WHEN IN A STOP POSITION. THIS REQUIRES A COMPLETE RE-START AT A STOP LIGHT OR AFTER HAVING COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. IN ADDITION THE AIR CONDITIONING SHUTS OFF AND DOES NOT COME BACK ON UNTIL YOU STOP FOR A FEW MINUTES AND RE-START THE VEHICLE. THE CAR STALLING IS VERY UN-SAFE. THE CAR STALLS AT A STOP POSITION.

NHTSA ID

10891643

Incident

Jul 28, 2016

Mileage

61,000 mi

CAR STALLS CONSTANTLY, LOOSE FUEL CAP WARNING COMES ON, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. I HAVE REPLACED THE FUEL CAP, CHECKED VEHICLE CODES, BUT CANNOT GET THE ISSUE IDENTIFIED. A VEHICLE STALLING LIKE THIS IS A TREMENDOUS SAFETY HAZARD, AND IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THIS YEAR MODEL, JUST AS THERE WAS WITH THE 2011-2012 MODELS WHICH RESULTED IN A RECALL. THIS HAPPENS BOTH WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY AND IN MOTION.

NHTSA ID

10872438

Incident

Jun 1, 2016

Mileage

69,000 mi

VEHICLE BEGAN TO CUT COMPLETELY OFF WHEN STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. IT BEGAN TO TAKE LONGER AND LONGER TO RESTART WHEN TURNED OFF AND ON. EVENTUALLY THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AT ALL. WHEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE POWER CONTROL MODULE WAS BAD AND THE COST TO REPLACE WAS UPWARD OF $11,000. AFTER SPEAKING TO MANY MANAGERS AND MY CAR SITTING AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR NEARLY 30 DAYS, I WAS CALLED AND INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT FOUND IN THE POWER CONTROL MODULES WHICH WAS JUST EXTENDED TO COVER THE 2010 MODEL AND THAT THE MANUFACTURER WAS COVERING THE REPLACEMENT COSTS.

NHTSA ID

10785492

Incident

Jul 16, 2015

I WAS DRIVING, TRYING TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY, I TOOK EXIT WHICH IS A 270 DEGREE CIRCLE WITH SHARP TURNS, I AM NOT DRIVING FAST AT ALL BUT THE CAR JUST STALLED WHILE DRIVING, STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND I ALMOST FALL DOWN THE HILL, I ALMOST DIED, THIS PRODUCT HAS SERIOUS QUALITY ISSUES. I WAS DRIVING IN DOWN TOWN MANHATTAN WITH TWO OF MY MOST IMPORTANT CLIENTS, WE WERE GOING TO AN ART AUCTION, THE CAR JUST STALLED WHEN I STOPPED AT RED LIGHT AND WILL NOT RESTART, ME AND MY CLIENTS WERE WEARING 3 PIECE SUITS AND ITS MORE THAN 90 DEGREES OUT, WE WERE SWEATING LIKE CRAZY, I BELIEVE THE CAR'S POOR QUALITY MADE IT TO FAIL WITHOUT ANY SIGNS.

NHTSA ID

10749166

Incident

May 29, 2015

Mileage

101,000 mi

S400 IS A HYBRID FROM MERCEDES BENZ AND WHEN DRIVEN OVER 40 MILES IN DISTANCE THEN THE AC WILL TURN ON NO MATTER WHAT. WE TRIED TO TURN IT OFF BUT CAN NOT. MB DEALER TOLD US IT IS NORMAL OPERATIONS BUT THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE AS IN THE WINTER THE AC ALSO TURNS ON. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES AND MB DEALER HAS NOT ADDRESSED IT. *JS

NHTSA ID

10585468

Incident

Mar 28, 2014

Mileage

42,000 mi

FIRST TROUBLE: ENGINE DID NOT START ON 11/13/2010. THE TROUBLE HAPPENED WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH AFTER DELIVERY. TWO REPAIRMEN ON THE ROAD SERVICE SHOWED AND COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THIRD REPAIRMAN WHO SAID AS THE NUMBER-ONE REPAIRMAN ON THE ROAD SERVICE FINALLY FIXED THE PROBLEM, TAKING ABOUT 3 HOURS. SECOND TROUBLE: ENGINE DID NOT START ON 9/10/2011. A REPAIRMAN ON THE ROAD SERVICE COULD NOT FIX. SO THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE REPAIR SHOP OF THE DEALER. IT TOOK SEVERAL DAYS TO FIX THERE. THIRD TROUBLE: ENGINE DID NOT START ON 5/29/2013. A REPAIR PERSON ON THE ROAD SERVICE COULD NOT FIX. SO THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE REPAIR SHOP OF THE DEALER. IT TOOK 3 WEEKS TO FIX THERE. WHAT THE SAME TROUBLE HAPPENED THREE TIME IS INDICATIVE FOR THAT THE CAR HAS TROUBLE WITH ENGINE DESIGNS OR SOMETHING OF ENGINEERING DESIGN. WE BELIEVE THAT THE CAR HAS SAFETY PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

10567353

Incident

Nov 13, 2010

Mileage

413 mi

PURCHASED A MERCEDES BENZ S400 HYBRID LAST YEAR WITH 20,000 MILES DRIVEN. THIS CAR RETAILS NEW FOR $119,000. THE CAR HAS NOW BEEN IN THE SHOP AT EWING MERCEDES BENZ OF PLANO SINCE MAY 2013 OVER 6 TIMES FOR THE SAME ENGINE LIGHT AND CODE. THEY ARE UNABLE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE AFTER EXTENSIVE TESTING FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SERVICE OVERSIGHT. SINCE THESE REPAIRS MERCEDES BENZ CORPORATE IN GERMANY TOOK THE CAR OFF THE MARKET AND NO LONGER MAKE IT AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE IN THE UNITED STATES. EWING GAVE ME AN APPRAISAL THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE VEHICLE AND IT HAS DROPPED 50% OF ITS VALUE SINCE I PURCHASED IT ON 11/02/2012 BECAUSE THE ABOVE MENTIONS. MERCEDES BENZ OFFERED TO GIVE $2,000.00 FOR THEIR TRADE ASSIST PROGRAM YET I AM UPSIDE DOWN AFTER JUST A YEAR AND THEY NO LONGER OFFER THIS MODEL? SO MUCH FOR GOING GREEN TO SAVE THE PLANET, MYSELF GAS OR BEING EFFICIENT I HAVE NOT EVEN ENJOYED THE LUXURY THIS VEHICLE STATED IT ALLOWED WHEN PURCHASED.. ID LIKE JUSTICE AND THIS TO BE REVIEWED ON A HIGHER LEVEL SO THAT OTHER CONSUMERS DO NO MAKE THE SAME DECISION I DID. FURTHER INFORMATION I HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER OF EWING FOR OVER 10 YEARS OWNING EVERY MODEL THEY OFFER BESIDES THE CLS AND E CLASS. I HAVE OWNED C CLASS, R CLASS, ML CLASS, CURRENTLY OWN GL CLASS AND S CLASS.. THIS IS THE TYPE OF CUSTOMER APPRECIATION I AM GIFTED AFTER SO MANY LOYAL YEARS AS A CUSTOMER???? *TR

NHTSA ID

10553236

Incident

Mar 25, 2013

Mileage

33,597 mi