2001 Mercedes-Benz S Class electrical system problems
23 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2001 Mercedes-Benz S Class, which is 50% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 23 50% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 22 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When electrical system problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 22 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 80,000 miles, and 27% were reported before 60,000 miles.
None of the electrical system complaints mention a crash, fire, injury or death.
What owners wrote
Mercedes s-class w220 (2000 and up)instrument cluster failed including spedometer, flashers, signal control, engine temperature, and other information critical to safe vehicle operation. Upon investigating it was determined that this is an extremely common problem caused by a series of defective transistors which the manuafacturer has since discontinued and replaced with a similar model. Inadequate heatseaking for the transistors coudl also explain the problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 mercedes benz s-class. The contact was driving 55 MPH when the instrument panel lights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer confirmed that the illumination cluster needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 108,976.