RoadVitals

1996 Mercedes-Benz Sl Class 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.
2
Latest Jul 11, 2008
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 Aug 1, 2007

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1996 Mercedes-Benz Sl Class. 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 1–2 of 2

Engine
Filed Jul 11, 2008

MY 1996 MERCEDES SL600 FAILED EMISSIONS TESTING BECAUSE THE OBDII SYSTEM CHECK REPORTED 5 MONITORS WERE "NOT READY". AFTER GREAT EXPENSE ATTEMPTING TO FIX THE PROBLEMS INDICATED BY THIS OUTPUT, I DISCOVERED THROUGH INTERNET SEARCHES AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH ILLINOIS EPA THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH EARLY 1996 V12 EQUIPPED AUTOMOBILES (I WAS TOLD THAT MY CAR WAS MANUFACTURED IN NOVEMBER 1995). ON THESE EARLY 1996 CARS, THE GENERIC OBDII PORT DOES NOT ACCURATELY REPORT THE STATUS OF THE ENGINE SYSTEM MONITORS. THE PROPRIETARY MERCEDES PORT REPORTS THAT ALL MONITORS ARE READY, BUT THE EMISSIONS TESTING FACILITY CAN NOT ACCESS THIS WITHOUT THE PROPRIETARY MERCEDES SCANNER. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT ALL MANUFACTURES SELLING CARS IN THE U.S. WERE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A WORKING GENERIC OBDII OUTPUT. IN MY OPINION, MERCEDES FAILED TO MEET THIS STANDARD WITH THESE EARLY 1996 V12 EQUIPPED CARS AND SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO BRING THEM UP TO THIS STANDARD AT NO EXPENSE TO THE OWNERS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10233876
Incident
Jul 2, 2008
Mileage
55,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Aug 1, 2007

1996 MERCEDES BENZ SL 600 WIRING HARNESS FAILURE AUTHORIZED DEALER REPORTS THAT THIS IS A TYPICAL FAILURE OF AN OLDER MERCEDES WITH ONLY 60,000 MILES. THIS FAILURE IS KNOW THROUGH OUT THE INDUSTRY BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN RECOGNIZED BY MB CONSEQUENTLY NO RECALL. THE CAR RUNS SLUGGISHLY AND I HAVE BEEN WARNED THAT IT IS A FIRE HAZARD. COST OF REPAIR IS ESTIMATED AT $3100????? *JB

NHTSA ID
10198184
Incident
Aug 1, 2007

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 .