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2001 Mercedes Benz 600

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

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: 6 of 8 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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Exterior Lighting. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 2 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 reports0 injury reports

Suspension complaints

1 reports
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27,600 miles · Aug 27, 2008
Suspension

1. THIS PROBLEM STARTED IMMEDIATELY AFTER I PURCHASED THE AUTO. SOMETHING IN THE FRONT PART OF THE AUTO MAKES A THROBBING NOISE. IT CAUSES EITHER THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL OR THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL TO LOSE ITS BALANCE. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. IN A ONE HOUR TRIP, IT WILL HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE AND FOR A PERIOD OF FROM 5 MINUT…

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1. THIS PROBLEM STARTED IMMEDIATELY AFTER I PURCHASED THE AUTO. SOMETHING IN THE FRONT PART OF THE AUTO MAKES A THROBBING NOISE. IT CAUSES EITHER THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL OR THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL TO LOSE ITS BALANCE. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. IN A ONE HOUR TRIP, IT WILL HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE AND FOR A PERIOD OF FROM 5 MINUTES TO 20 MINUTES. 2. ONE OF THE FRONT WHEELS OR BOTH LOSE THEIR BALANCE. IT FEELS AS IF THE SOME OF THE LUGS HOLDING THE WHEEL ARE LOSE. I WAS STOPPED ONCE BY THE POLICE BECAUSE THE POLICE THOUGHT IT WAS DANGEROUS. I WAS ON MY WAY TO THE AUTO DEALER. IT OCCURS WHEN I CHANGE LANES AND GO OVER THE LANE MARKERS. THE WHEELS START VIBRATING. IT CAUSES EITHER THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL OR THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL TO LOSE ITS BALANCE. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. IN A ONE HOUR TRIP, IT WILL HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE AND FOR A PERIOD OF FROM 5 MINUTES TO 20 MINUTES. THE CONSEQUENCE IS THAT THE PROBLEM CAUSES THE FRONT TIRES TO BE EATEN UP FROM JUST THE SIDE AND NEED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 5,000 MILES. ALSO THE RIMS BECOME BENT AND I HAVE TO REPLACE THE RIM AT MY EXPENSE EVEN THOUGH MY AUTO WAS UNDER ORIGINAL WARRANTY. I HAVE LEARNT SINCE FROM THE DEALER THAT THERE IS A COMPUTER THAT HAS SOFTWARE THAT BALANCES THE TIRES, THAT THE SOFTWARE WAS MADE FOR GERMANY WHERE THERE ARE NO LANE MARKERS, AND SO HERE IN THE USA, THE LANE MARKERS TRIGGER THE SOFTWARE. HOWEVER, THE SOFTWARE CANNOT KEEP UP, BECAUSE THE SOFTWARE WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR SUCH A HAPPENING ( GOING OVER LANE MARKERS ), SO WHEN IT HAPPENS, THE COMPUTER GOES BESERK, AND THE TIRES LOSE COMPLETE BALANCE. DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED ON FUTURES YEARS OF S600. MY 2001 S600 WAS THE FIRST YEAR MAKE. 3. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10239926

Official recalls

0

No 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

1

PE05062 · Instrument Cluster Failure

Opened Nov 10, 2005 · Closed Feb 8, 2006

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Interior Lighting

THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED THIS INVESTIGATION BASED ON SEVEN REPORTS INDICATING THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2000-2001 MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS VEHICLES FAILED IN THAT CONSUMERS WERE UNABLE TO READ ANY OF THE GAUGES WHILE OPERATING THEIR VEHICLES AT ANY SPEED DURING THE DAY OR NIGHT.IN ITS 573 REPORT TO NHTSA DATED FEBRUARY 1, 2006, MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC (MERCEDES-BENZ)STATES THAT THERE ARE THREE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILURE MODES THAT WOULD RESULT IN UNDESIRABLE OPERATION.THESE THREE FAILURE MODES ARE SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN DATES OF PRODUCTION (SEE BELOW) FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLE, AND MERCEDES-BENZ IS RECALLING THOSE VEHICLES WITHIN THOSE DATES.SPECIFIC INFORMATION REGARDING THE FAILURE MODES IS DESCRIBED IN MERCEDES-BENZ'S REPORT (SEE NHTSA RECALL 06V028).THREE OF THE ODI COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED TO MERCEDES-BENZ INVOLVE VEHICLES THAT WERE PRODUCED BEFORE THE DATES OF PRODUCTION OF VEHICLES AFFECTED BY THE THREE FAILURE MODES.BASED ON REVIEW OF THOSE THREE COMPLAINTS, MERCEDES-BENZ WAS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY A RELATION OF THOSE THREE TO THE DEFECTS IDENTIFIED IN THE RECALLED VEHICLES.ALL OF THE MERCEDES-BENZ COMPLAINTS WITH VINS IDENTIFIED WERE WITHIN THE RECALL POPULATION (ONLY 2 VEHICLE VINS WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO POSITIVELY IDENTIFY VEHICLE BUILD DATE).THE RECALL POPULATION WILL INCLUDE 36,911 S CLASS AND CL CLASS MERCEDES-BENZ VEHICLES BUILT IN THE PRODUCTION DATES RANGING FROM JUNE 2000 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2000, JANUARY 2002 THROUGH APRIL 2002, AND MAY 2004 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2004.THESE DATES OF PRODUCTION COVER VEHICLES FROM THE 2000-2002 MY AND THE 2004-2005 MY.TO CORRECT THE CONDITION, MERCEDES-BENZ WILL REPLACE ALL AFFECTED INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS WITH IMPROVED ONES THAT ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE FAILURE MODES.MERCEDES-BENZ WILL BEGIN OWNER NOTIFICATION DURING THE 1ST QUARTER OF 2006.