RoadVitals

1995 Mercedes-Benz S420 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.
5
Latest Jan 30, 2017
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
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 Sep 1, 2014

What this page shows

Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1995 Mercedes-Benz S420. 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 1–5 of 5

ElectricalEnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Jan 30, 2017

ELECTRICAL WIRING HARNESS USING SOY BASED INSULATION DEGRADES THEREBY ALLOWING WIRES TO SPONTANEOUS AND/ OR INTERMITTENT SHORTS. THIS HAS CAUSED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATIONS. VERY DIFFICULT TO TROUBLESHOOT UNLESS AND UNTIL ONE DISCOVERS INSULATION FAILURE. THIS HAS BEEN AND IS WIDELY KNOWN TO BE A PROBLEM WITH THIS ERA OF CARS. EXTREMELY BAD ENGINEERING DECISIONS WERE MADE. VERY SERIOUS AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. MERCEDES SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MALFEASANT AND A RECALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE. I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW; HAD SERVICE ONLY AT THE DEALER; WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. I HAVE OLDER CARS WITH MORE MILEAGE WHICH DO NOT HAVE THE PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH THE MERCEDES. VERY DISAPPOINTING. WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MERCEDES; ALL HYPE! *TR

NHTSA ID
10948416
Incident
Dec 1, 2016
Mileage
210,000 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalFuel system
Filed Sep 1, 2016

THROTTLE BODY WIRE HARNESS WENT BAD AND WAS ON INTERSTATE AND COULD NOT DO SPEED LIMIT AND NEARLY GOT DEMOLISHED BY A SEMI TRACTOR TRAILER. AFTER A HORRIBLE EXPENSE I NOW FIND OUT THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE CAR IS BAD AS WELL. WELL DONE MERCEDES BENZ YOU HAVE ENDANGERED MY FAMILY'S LIVES WITH YOUR SUB STANDARD BUSINESS PRACTICE. YOU SHOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL AND REPAIR ALL SAFETY ISSUES.

NHTSA ID
10902985
Incident
Jun 15, 2016
Mileage
98,356 mi
Electrical
Filed Nov 27, 2015

I HAVE TAKEN MY 95 S420 TO TWO DEALER LOCATIONS BECAUSE OF THE DISINTEGRATING ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. THEY ALL CLAIM THAT THEY NEVER HEARD OF IT. THE DEALER IN NANUET, NY TELLS ME THAT THEY CANNOT HELP ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE "EVERY" MAINTENANCE DONE THROUGH THEIR DEALERSHIP. I MUST SAY, FROM ALL THE DEALERSHIPS I'VE BEEN TO... MERCEDES DEALERSHIPS TREAT PEOPLE WITH OLDER CARS LIKE GARBAGE. ANYWAYS, THE PROBLEM STARTED WHEN THE CAR STARTED TO RUN ROUGH. I WAS DRIVING HOME AND THE CAR STALLED AT AN INTERSECTION. SO EMBARRASSING, BUT GLAD I DIDN'T CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. SO I TOW THE CAR TO A SHOP. MY MECHANIC USED A DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER TO CHECK FOR ERRORS. HE THEN TOLD ME MY ENGINE WIRING HARNESS IS DISINTEGRATING. HE SAID THESE WERE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MERCEDES CARS FROM CERTAIN YEARS IN THE 90'S. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH OF "DISINTEGRATING ENGINE HARNESS", AND I SAW TONS OF MERCEDES(ONLY) OWNERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. I HOPE MERCEDES WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS DANGEROUS ISSUE.

NHTSA ID
10807249
Incident
Feb 4, 2015
Mileage
170,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Jan 30, 2015

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 MERCEDES BENZ S420 (N/A). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY FOB FAILED TO UNLOCK THE DOORS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000. UPDATED 03/30/15*LJ UPDATED 10/20/2015*JS

NHTSA ID
10680073
Incident
Dec 1, 2014
Mileage
88,000 mi
Heating & air conditioning
Filed Sep 1, 2014

A/C QUIT WORKING. TOOK TO THE MERCEDES DEALER. WAS NOTIFIED OF VAPOR CORE FAILURE AND TOLD IT IS MOST COMMON ON ANY MILEAGE OF THIS MODEL. COST $3500.00 IF IT IS MOST COMMON IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON IT. COMPANY KNEW ABOUT THE PROBLEM BUT DID NOTHING TO CORRECT IT.

NHTSA ID
10644049
Incident
Aug 20, 2014
Mileage
53,000 mi

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 .