2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550 Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Airbags125.0%
- Body & structure125.0%
- Engine125.0%
- Other / unspecified125.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
ON JULY 10, 2015 DURING 5 PM TRAFFIC MY WIFE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN FROM THE TURNING LANE INTO OUR COMPLEX WHERE WE LIVE, UPON MAKING HER LEFT TURN, SHE HAD TO CROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC, BOTH LANES HAD STOPPED TO ALLOW HER THROUGH SAFELY, AS SHE WAS CLEARING THE SECOND LANE LOOKING AS SHE PROGRESSED, NO ONE WAS IN THE OUTER LANE TURNING INTO OUR COMPLEX, A MAN PULLED OUT OF LINE AND ATTEMPTED TO ALLUDE TRAFFIC BY GOING AROUND IT AND STRUCK HER CAR IN THE PASSENGER DOOR, HE NEVER HIT HIS BRAKES TO STOP AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THROUGH A TURNING LANE WHICH ENTERS OUR COMPLEX ONLY, THERE IS A SIGN STATING THAT THIS LANE IS FOR ENTERING THE COMPLEX AND HAS MARKINGS ON THE ROAD THAT SHOWS WHERE THE LANE BEGINS FURTHER PAST OUR TURN IN ENTRANCE, INSTEAD HE WAS GOING TO DRIVE OVER THE MARKINGS TO AVOID WAITING IN TRAFFIC. MY WIFE'S CAR WAS HIT HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK BOTH MOTOR MOUNTS AND CAUSE THE ROLL BARS TO POP UP, BUT THE AIRBAG NEVER DEPLOYED, THE OTHER DRIVER'S BAGS ALL DEPLOYED UP FRONT IN HIS VEHICLE.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Body & structure
Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim.
From owner reports, verbatim
ON JULY 10, 2015 DURING 5 PM TRAFFIC MY WIFE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN FROM THE TURNING LANE INTO OUR COMPLEX WHERE WE LIVE, UPON MAKING HER LEFT TURN, SHE HAD TO CROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC, BOTH LANES HAD STOPPED TO ALLOW HER THROUGH SAFELY, AS SHE WAS CLEARING THE SECOND LANE LOOKING AS SHE PROGRESSED, NO ONE WAS IN THE OUTER LANE TURNING INTO OUR COMPLEX, A MAN PULLED OUT OF LINE AND ATTEMPTED TO ALLUDE TRAFFIC BY GOING AROUND IT AND STRUCK HER CAR IN THE PASSENGER DOOR, HE NEVER HIT HIS BRAKES TO STOP AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THROUGH A TURNING LANE WHICH ENTERS OUR COMPLEX ONLY, THERE IS A SIGN STATING THAT THIS LANE IS FOR ENTERING THE COMPLEX AND HAS MARKINGS ON THE ROAD THAT SHOWS WHERE THE LANE BEGINS FURTHER PAST OUR TURN IN ENTRANCE, INSTEAD HE WAS GOING TO DRIVE OVER THE MARKINGS TO AVOID WAITING IN TRAFFIC. MY WIFE'S CAR WAS HIT HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK BOTH MOTOR MOUNTS AND CAUSE THE ROLL BARS TO POP UP, BUT THE AIRBAG NEVER DEPLOYED, THE OTHER DRIVER'S BAGS ALL DEPLOYED UP FRONT IN HIS VEHICLE.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
ON JULY 10, 2015 DURING 5 PM TRAFFIC MY WIFE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN FROM THE TURNING LANE INTO OUR COMPLEX WHERE WE LIVE, UPON MAKING HER LEFT TURN, SHE HAD TO CROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC, BOTH LANES HAD STOPPED TO ALLOW HER THROUGH SAFELY, AS SHE WAS CLEARING THE SECOND LANE LOOKING AS SHE PROGRESSED, NO ONE WAS IN THE OUTER LANE TURNING INTO OUR COMPLEX, A MAN PULLED OUT OF LINE AND ATTEMPTED TO ALLUDE TRAFFIC BY GOING AROUND IT AND STRUCK HER CAR IN THE PASSENGER DOOR, HE NEVER HIT HIS BRAKES TO STOP AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THROUGH A TURNING LANE WHICH ENTERS OUR COMPLEX ONLY, THERE IS A SIGN STATING THAT THIS LANE IS FOR ENTERING THE COMPLEX AND HAS MARKINGS ON THE ROAD THAT SHOWS WHERE THE LANE BEGINS FURTHER PAST OUR TURN IN ENTRANCE, INSTEAD HE WAS GOING TO DRIVE OVER THE MARKINGS TO AVOID WAITING IN TRAFFIC. MY WIFE'S CAR WAS HIT HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK BOTH MOTOR MOUNTS AND CAUSE THE ROLL BARS TO POP UP, BUT THE AIRBAG NEVER DEPLOYED, THE OTHER DRIVER'S BAGS ALL DEPLOYED UP FRONT IN HIS VEHICLE.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Other / unspecified
Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.
From owner reports, verbatim
The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the dashboard suddenly illuminated red indicating that the tire air pressure was alarming. The contact also felt an imbalance with the weight of the vehicle as if one side of the vehicle was lower than the other. The contact discovered that the rims had fractured. The failure had occurred while driving on roads with rough surfaces. The contact had taken vehicle to a body shop to repair the rims by welding the fractures a total of 4 times. The contact was told that the fractures occurred due to the factory rims being fragile, causing the rims to fracture easily. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .