RoadVitals

2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK250 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 Dec 31, 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 Apr 2, 2016

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK250. 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

Body & structure
Filed Dec 31, 2020

MARS RED PAINT FAILURE-

NHTSA ID
11385751
Incident
Mar 6, 2020
Engine
Filed Apr 2, 2016

THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE AIR TO AIR INTER-COOLER DESIGN THAT CAUSES WATER TO COLLECT AND THEN BE INGESTED INTO THE ENGINE UNDER SUDDEN ACCELERATION. THE INGESTION OF THE WATER CAUSES THE COMPUTER TO BELIEVE THERE IS AN ENGINE PROBLEM AND PUTS IT INTO "LIMP MODE"; SUDDENLY AND SEVERELY CUTTING POWER. WHEN THIS HAPPENS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (60/70 MPH), IN TRAFFIC, IT CAUSES SITUATIONS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS. THE PROBLEM IS EXACERBATED AT NIGHT AND/OR DURING BAD WEATHER WHERE VISIBILITY IS BAD AND ROAD CONTROL IS REDUCED. NOTE THAT THIS ONLY HAPPENS DURING VERY HUMID (RAINY/FOGGY/MISTY/..) WEATHER AND IT CAN TAKE TWO PLUS HOURS OF CONSTANT DRIVING, DEPENDING ON SPEED AND HUMIDITY, FOR WATER TO COLLECT TO A POINT WHERE THE PROBLEM CAN OCCUR. MERCEDES IS AWARE. A BULLETIN HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE SOUTH EAST US BUT NO FIX IS AVAILABLE OR PLANNED. THIS AFFECTS ALL R172 SLK250, FROM LATE 2012 THROUGH 2015. WE HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN 3 TIMES OVER TWO YEARS (OCT/13, NOV/14, NOV/15) AND WE'VE ONLY RECENTLY DISCOVERED REASON FOR THE OCCURANCES. THE LAST TWO EVENTS WERE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, IN RAIN, ON INTERSTATES, AT 65/70 MPH AND BOTH VERY NEARLY RESULTED IN ACCIDENTS. WE FEEL THAT THIS IS A SEROUS SAFETY PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE FIXED. WE HAVE TALKED TO OUR DEALER (VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW) AND BASICALLY TOLD TO SELL/TRADE OR LIVE WITH IT. NOTE ALSO THAT THIS PROBLEM ALSO OCCURS ON SOME MERCEDES BENZ C300 MODELS FOR WHICH A 'HACK' HAS BEEN ISSUED. A HOLE, SIZE UNKNOWN BUT PROBABLY IN THE 2-4 MM RANGE, IS DRILLED IN THE LOW POINT IN THE INTER-COOLER ALLOWING THE WATER TO BE BLOWN OUT BY THE COMPRESSED AIR. THIS 'HACK' IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE SLK 250.

NHTSA ID
10853090
Incident
Nov 7, 2015
Mileage
10,000 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 .