Mercedes Benz / S430 / 2001
2001 Mercedes Benz S430 problems
Owners have filed 101 complaints about the 2001 Mercedes Benz S430 with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 37.6% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of interior lighting at 10.9%.
Complaints101
Crashes2
Fires4
Injuries5
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 37.6% · 38
Interior lighting 10.9% · 11
Suspension 7.9% · 8
Exterior lighting 5.9% · 6
Visibility 5.9% · 6
Power train 4.0% · 4
Unknown or other 4.0% · 4
Fuel system, gasoline 3.0% · 3
Severity
Of those complaints, 2 describe a crash, 4 describe a fire and 5 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Filings have fallen off, 12 in the last three years against 23 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 88,000 miles.
In owners' own words
The instrument panel (speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauges, etc) light went completely out. I cannot see how fast I'm going, how hot my engine is running, how much fuel I have left, etc. My make and model of car was known to have defective instrument panel lighting (under mercedes recall campaign 2006080004) but mercedes refuses to honor the recall campaign and wants $2000 to fix this defective instrument panel. Electrical system · reported at 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 mercedes-benz S430. While driving various speeds, the instrument cluster and gauges stopped working. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000. Updated 10/06/16*lj Electrical system · reported at 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz S430. While driving approximately 30 mph, the gauges and lighting on the instrument panel suddenly failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vin was not included in the nhtsa campaign number: 06v028000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was 160,000. Electrical system · reported at 160,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…