2000 Mercedes-Benz S Class problems
NHTSA has received 101 complaints about the 2000 Mercedes-Benz S Class, and 33% of them involve electrical system. Next are suspension (27%) and lighting (18%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 101 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 33% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 84,000 miles 83 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 17 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 83 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 84,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (27 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2000 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Mercedes-Benz S Class with enough data (22 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
A simple traffic accident which LED to an explosion car air bags, and injuring my daughter in the right eye, and loss of vision, because the driver's side air bag has sharp edges with the stitch on the surface of this to beat touching the passenger and his face.
Vehicle was hit by a semi-truck on driver side throwing drivers head and body into side door/glass windows. No air bags deployed! Car was severely damaged and was repaired by farmers insurance repair. Air bags were not replaced!!!! Driver suffered upper body trauma, particularly rib cage. Total air bag failure.
A simple traffic accident which LED to air bag exploded, and injuring my daughter in the right eye, and loss of vision, because the driver's side air bag has sharp edges with the stitch on the surface of this to beat touching the passenger and his face.
This car has an air suspension system which has a severe problem. The car has no springs, instead each shock absorber has a pneumatic system that supports the weight of the vehicle. When both rear shock absorbers fail at the same time the whole rear of the car drops down and the car has to be stopped, posing no hazard.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 mercedes-benz s430. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact heard a scraping noise and noticed that the vehicle was lower to the ground than usual. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to an authorized dealer. The contact was informed that the airmatic suspension system had allowed the frame to rub the top of the tires. The vehicle was repaired. The failure occurred again five years later.