IllustrationGOING 35MPH WHEN VEHICLE HIT POOL OF WATER & HYDROPLANED. RETURNED TO GROUND IN CORRECT LANE; VEHICLE HIT 2 MORE POOLS OF WATER & HYDROPLANED INTO EMBANKMENT, FRONT FIRST & THEN HIT A POLE W/DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR. SPUN AROUND INTO A FENCE & NEITHER AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. HAVE POLICE REPORT. VEHICLE TOTALED. *AK
1986 Mercedes Benz 380
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all 380 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 0 of 1 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
1 reportsOfficial recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2EA88034 · Sudden Acceleration
Opened Jul 15, 1988 · Closed Jul 31, 1990
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Vehicle Speed Control:linkages
THE CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY PETITIONED NHTSA TO OPEN AN INVESTIGATION INTOSUDDEN ACCELERATION ON VARIOUS MERCEDES-BENZ MODELS.THE PETITION WASGRANTED WITH RESPECT TO THE 1986-1987 300E MODEL AND ENGINEERING ANALYSISEA88-003 WAS OPENED COVERING JUST THE 1986 AND 1987 300 E VEHICLES.SUBSEQUENTLY, CFAS REPETITIONED NHTSA TO EXPAND ITS INVESTIGATION TO COVERALL 1984 THROUGH 1987 MERCEDES GASOLINE POWERED VEHICLES.DEFECT PETITIONNUMBER DP88-013 WAS THEN ASSIGNED.ON JULY 14, 1988, THE CFAS WAS ADVISEDTHAT PETITION DP88-013 HAD BEEN GRANTED AND THAT A NEW ENGINEERING ANALYSIS(EA88-034) HAD BEEN OPENED.THE PRECEDING PETITIONS AND THE ENGINEERING ANALYSIS HAVE BEEN MERGED INTOEA88-034.===
DP87019 · Sudden Acceleration
Opened May 22, 1987 · Closed Oct 29, 1987
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Vehicle Speed Control:linkages
There is no summary currently available