RoadVitals

1997 Mercedes-Benz SL600 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.
3
Latest Jan 22, 2020
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 Dec 31, 2007

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 Mercedes-Benz SL600. 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 1–3 of 3

Seat belts
Filed Jan 22, 2020

WE TOOK A ROAD TRIP TO SAN ANTONIO, TX, ON 10/15/2019, AND WERE RETURNING HOME ON 10/17/2019 WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. SAN ANTONIO IS ABOUT 2 HOURS AWAY FROM LLANO, TX, WHERE WE LIVE. WE HAD DRIVEN IN SAN ANTONIO TRAFFIC FOR ABOUT 45 MINUTES AND STOPPED FOR BREAKFAST AT IHOP AROUND 10:30 AM. AFTER LEAVING IHOP, WE HEADED NORTH ON THE FRONTAGE ROAD OF HIGHWAY 281. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, WE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT IN THE MIDDLE LANE. AS SOON AS WE PULLED AWAY, WE HEARD A LOUD BANG THAT SOUNDED LIKE A GUN SHOT. MY HUSBAND, GLEN, WAS DRIVING AND I WAS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. MY SEATBELT RETRACTED AND I SAW AND SMELLED SMOKE COMING FROM THE HARNESS AREA BY MY RIGHT SHOULDER. GLEN MERGED OVER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND WE PULLED OVER ON A SIDE ROAD. WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AND I GOOGLED "MERCEDES SEATBELT EXPLOSION" AND FOUND THAT IT HAD HAPPENED TO OTHERS IN THE PAST WHICH ACTUALLY MADE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT CONTINUING ON WITH OUR DRIVE HOME. I COULD NOT WEAR MY SEATBELT. I THOUGHT GLEN'S HAD ALSO LOCKED UP BECAUSE I CHECKED IT WHEN WE STOPPED BUT LATER IN THE TRIP HE TRIED IT AND HE WAS ABLE TO WEAR HIS. ONE THING WE NOTICED: THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAD COME ON THAT MORNING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE DECEMBER 2017 WHEN WE HAD THE CAR SERVICED. IT WENT OFF IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE EXPLOSION BUT THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON.

NHTSA ID
11301246
Incident
Oct 17, 2019
Mileage
93,361 mi
Engine
Filed Apr 16, 2015

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1993 (NA) MERCEDES BENZ SL600. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS LEAKING OIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE CYLINDER HEAD GASKET NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 113,000.

NHTSA ID
10706143
Incident
Apr 16, 2015
Mileage
113,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Dec 31, 2007

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 MERCEDES BENZ SL600. THE DRIVER SIDE AND REARVIEW SELF DIMMING MIRRORS FAILED. THE MIRRORS APPEARED TO HAVE AN OILY SURFACE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE WIRES FAILED, BUT WAS UNSURE WHICH WIRE FAILED AND WHAT REPAIRS WERE NEEDED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 112,000.

NHTSA ID
10213304
Incident
Nov 4, 2007
Mileage
112,000 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 .