Mercedes BENZ S Class Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data

The sunroof shattered suddenly while driving. There was no external impact to the vehicle.

While driving on highways using cruise control and adaptive cruise control the vehicle decelerates without driver input. The system also misreads or fails to update speed limit signs causing incorrect cruise speeds and sudden speed changes. This behavior has occurred repeatedly during normal driving conditions and creates a risk of rear end collision from following traffic. The problem has been documented across multiple service visits. A repair attempt was made and I was informed that no repair is currently available. The issue recurred immediately after the repair attempt and remains unresolved. No consistent warning lights are displayed before or during the events. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The car was designed too low. When parked at a supermarket, Publix in surfside Miami Beach, when ready to leave the parking bumper pulled at the front bumper and disconnected it partially. A north miami Mercedes Benz service department said this is not unusual as this car is very low. A claim was filed with progressive auto insurance [XXX] and an escalation case opened with Mercedes Benz customer service case number [XXX] asking that at least they cover the $1,000 insurance deductible. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The tire (Pirelli 255/35R21) on my 2023 Mercedes Benz 580V4 developed a bubble on its sidewall. This tire was just replaced February 16, 2024, and has under 8,000 miles on it. This is the fourth tire I have replaced due to bubbles on the sidewalls.

On [XXX] I had a blowout on the passenger front side of my vehicle. The vehicle was towed to Sugarland MB and a new Pirelli 255/35 R21 purchased. The blowout happened after I hit a bump (not pothole) in the road on [XXX] at [XXX] . My 2023 MB 580V had 9701 miles on it and had just had it's first "A" service with no defects noted in any of the tires. On [XXX] I noticed a bulge on the front driver's side tire. I took it into Sewell MB and they notice additional defects on another tire. I had to purchase one front driver side 255/35 R21 and a rear passenger side 285/30R 21. After leaving the dealership I filed a complaint with the NHTSA file #11622692 and called Pirelli to report the failures and make a formal complaint. I also called MB customer service and opened case #[XXX]. A representative from Pirelli contacted me on 10/31/2024 @ 11:00am and basically stated the issue with multiple failures of these 21" tires across the US is a MB problem and not Pirelli's. As of this followup complaint I have not been contacted by any one else . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I had 9985 miles on my 2023 Mercedes S580V when the front passenger tire experienced a blowout earlier this year. The tire failed right after I had my first A service which did not show an issue with tires. Today is 10/30/2024 and I have 13978 miles on my vehicle. The driver side front tire Pirelli 255/35-R21/98Y has a bubble on the side wall. I took it to my dealership and they discovered that the rear passenger side Pirelli 285/30-R21/100Y has a bubble as well. I am having both tires replaced today.

Emergency stop assist

The "distronic" cruise control is so abrupt in its acceleration and declaration that vehicles behind me tend to take evasive action. The car doesn't sense vehicles far enough ahead to take smooth action, resulting in a jarring, favorite, and fearful ride.

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the message "Do Not Drive Car" was displayed temporarily. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that no issues were found. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V880000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The check engine warning was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The contact is requesting an update on the case.

When in eco mode the vehicle will occasionally shut off at a stop light. The vehicle "jumps" and then all of the warning signals come on followed by the vehicle shutting down. It takes about 20-30 seconds for vehicle to be able to restart again. The dealership had the vehicle for nearly a month and the only solution they came up with was to turn eco mode off every time I start the vehicle. They said their will be a future recall to fix this issue. Also, the vehicle will occasionally move forward on its own and then quickly break. This phantom braking is quite painful and feels as if you were just hit from behind. A previous problem was the vehicle would move forward after being taken out of car wash mode even with the brake engaged. The dealership said this was solved by a software download. There is a current recall which includes the make and model of this vehicle but Mercedes insists this vehicle is not included in the recall. The vehicle was manufactured within the time frame listed in the documentation from NHTSA but nonetheless Mercedes does not include this vehicle amongst the cars qualifying for replacing the fuel pump. I believe this car is dangerous and will hurt somebody.

2nd issue with objects in tire and losing air. There are known issues with this new model and the combination of the 21"rim, new model series, and Pirelli tire. Additional consumer issues can be found at: https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w223/845213-those-experienced-tire-blowouts-21n-pirellis.html

I leased a 2023 Mercedes from Grapevine Mercedes. When I test drove the vehicle the car had a check engine light on. The sales man said he would get that fixed. The salesman had the service tech clear the code without addressing the issue. A week later the check engine light comes on. The dealership has advised me that the car has a software issue and its unsafe to drive. They must wait for technicians in Germany to fix the problem. It will take weeks. There is a chance the car will shut off while driving.

While driving down the road I heard a loud explosion that sounded like a gunshot hit my read window. This caused me to jerk the car and almost hit the driving car next to me. I pulled over and realized that my sunroof had suddenly exploded and shattered onto the shade located in the ceiling.

The fuel pump My car stopped on the highway [XXX] on [XXX] with my children in the car with no warning at all. I was so lucky nobody hit us and it took 20 minutes of trying to start it to get off of the highway to a gas station where it cut off again The dealer said it is a known problem however my vin number was included despite the fact that they know that the 2020 mercedes benz s450 has an issue that should be recalled due to the severity of the situation and safety of the public. Warning lights did not come on until the car totally stopped. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz S 560. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the warning light was cleared; however, the failure recurred the following day. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil pump and an unknown wiring harness had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 29,100.

Had windshield breakage and replacement on 14 December 2023. On 29 January 2024, had an apparent windshield strike (pinhead size) and windshield cracked from middle to top. Within 20 minutes crack had spread all across the top of windshield. While parked crack spread down and completely across the bottom of windshield in about 30 minutes. Vehicle is now in Mercedes dealership for windshield service once again. I have been driving for 60+ years and never saw this massive of a windshield crack caused by a pinhead size strike. My belief is that either it was bad glass or installation. I have read numerous complaints regarding Mercedes glass and am concerned whether I can safely operate this vehicle. Would appreciate you looking into this issue.

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz S560. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound and shards of glass started entering the vehicle from the sunroof. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified in writing and he received a call back and was informed that no assistance would be offered. The failure mileage was 38,193.

INTERMITTENT (AT LEAST A HALF DOZEN TIMES SINCE FEB 2020 PURCHASE) UNINTENDED INCREASE IN SPEED BY AS MUCH AS 35 MPH; TAKEN TO SELLING DEALER WHO COULD NOT DETECT A PROBLEM OR DUPLICATE MALFUNCTION. *TR

AUTOMATIC DRIVE SHUTS OFF WHEN YOU BRAKE. HOWEVER, IN A ROLLING STOP AND BRAKE, IT DOES NOT RESTART IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS WHEN YOU ACCELERATE OUT OF THE STOP. IT IS INCONSISTENT, BUT SERVICE TEAM AT LOCAL DEALER HAVE RECREATED THE SITUATION. THE CAR IS DESIGNED TO AUTO RESTART AND THE FUNCTION CANNOT BE DISABLED.

The control unit in my 2024 Mercedes 2580e triggers an increased number of system resets as part of fallback behavior. The increased number of resets resulted in the digital instrument cluster's display temporarily cutting out, and I had an entirely blank cluster. It came back on only after I stopped the vehicle, locked it, and waited approximately one hour to restart the car. A recall was just issued for 144,000 AMG GT, C-class, E-class, SL-class, CLE-class, and GLC-class vehicles but NOT for the S Class. I have experienced twice that type of digital instrument cluster failure but my class of vehicle was not included. It should however given that it is the same type of instrument cluster as on the recalled vehicles.