IllustrationINSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS NOT WORKING. ONLY 20,000 MILES SINCE OWNING THE CAR SINCE 1999. THE RECALL FOR SIMILIAR CAR WITH SAME ISSUES BUT THEY SAID NOT THIS CAR.
2000 Mercedes Benz S430
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2000 Mercedes Benz S430 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 23.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all S430 years →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: 19 of 23 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 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports1 fire reports0 injury reports
Exterior Lighting complaints
5 reportsON 11/18/16 I WAS DRIVING MY 2000 S430 WHEN WILE ACCELERATING TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY MY TRANSMISSION SLIPPED CAUSING MY ENGINE TO REV. I RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL & TRIED TO PRESS IT AGAIN TO RE ENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, PLACED THE CAR IN PARK, THEN BACK TO DRIVE. I CAUTIOUSLY …
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ON 11/18/16 I WAS DRIVING MY 2000 S430 WHEN WILE ACCELERATING TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY MY TRANSMISSION SLIPPED CAUSING MY ENGINE TO REV. I RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL & TRIED TO PRESS IT AGAIN TO RE ENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, PLACED THE CAR IN PARK, THEN BACK TO DRIVE. I CAUTIOUSLY DROVE BACK HOME & PARKED THE CAR UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO GET A SHOP APPOINTMENT. ON 11/21/16 I TOOK THE CAR TO THE SHOP, THEY SAID THE FLUID WAS FULL BUT THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING & NEEDED TO BE REPLACED? SO I TOOK IT HOME TO THINK, (NO PROBLEMS WHILE DRIVING HOME). ON 11/22/16 I DROVE THE CAR OUT OF TOWN & AFTER ABOUT 20 MILES MY CLUSTER GAUGE STARTED FLICKERING THEN WENT OUT. HOWEVER, THE BLINKERS STILL WORKED ALONG WITH THE HAZARDS. SO WHEN I WAS DONE WITH MY APPOINTMENT I CHECKED MY FUSES & REPLACED THE ONES INDICATED ON THE CHART. WHILE A SMALL PORTION OF THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON IT WAS BRIEFLY & THEN EVERYTHING WENT OUT, BLINKERS & ALL. SO IN ALL MY FRUSTRATION, I'VE PARKED THE CAR & AM ATTEMPTING TO GET HELP. I FOUND THERE WERE RECALLS ON THE GAUGES BUT NOT MY VIN? IS THIS SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO MY TRANSMISSION? PLEASE HELP. *TR
BAD INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, HAD A RECALL AND WONT REPLACE. *TR
DASH LIGHTS GO OUT LOSING SPEEDOMETER AND ALL INSTRUMENT AIDS SUCH AS LIGHTS HIGH & LOW, TURNING SIGNALS, AND AIR BAG JUST TO MENTION A FEW. THE DASH PANEL CLUSTER CONTROLS SO MANY FUNCTIONS THAT CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE BECOMES DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. MANUFACTURE HAS TREATED PROBLEM AS A WARRANTY ISSUE BUT IT SHOULD BE R…
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DASH LIGHTS GO OUT LOSING SPEEDOMETER AND ALL INSTRUMENT AIDS SUCH AS LIGHTS HIGH & LOW, TURNING SIGNALS, AND AIR BAG JUST TO MENTION A FEW. THE DASH PANEL CLUSTER CONTROLS SO MANY FUNCTIONS THAT CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE BECOMES DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. MANUFACTURE HAS TREATED PROBLEM AS A WARRANTY ISSUE BUT IT SHOULD BE RECALLED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. *TR
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER ON DASH GOES BLANK/DARK, CAUSING DANGEROUS DRIVING AT NIGHT DUE TO LOSS OF SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE, TEMPERATURE, AND ALL OTHER GAUGES ON DASH. *TR
Official 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.