RoadVitals

1996 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.
1
Latest Jul 10, 2019
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 Jul 10, 2019

What this page shows

Our database holds 1 NHTSA owner-reported complaint for the 1996 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 1–1 of 1

ElectricalOther / unspecifiedSteering+1 more
Filed Jul 10, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 MERCEDES-BENZ S420. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE SRS, VSR, TIRE AND OTHER UNKNOWN INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND POWERED OFF THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE NORMALLY. WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, THE FAILURES RECURRED A FEW TIMES. THE CONTACT CALLED AAA AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN, ONE OF THE TIRES CAME OFF THE RIM, THE RIM WAS CRACKED, AND THE WINDOWS FAILED TO GO UP AND DOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A MERCEDES-BENZ DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 147,000.

NHTSA ID
11230817
Incident
Jul 6, 2019
Mileage
147,000 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 .