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1993 Mercedes Benz S500

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

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: 2 of 2 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 →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

What owners actually said

2 reports
163,000 miles · Feb 9, 2019
Electrical System

VEHICLE STALLED TO DEAD THREE TIME, ONE ON AN INTERSECTION. SYMPTONS STARTED WITH ROUGH IDLE, MISFIRING AND STALL. AFTER INSPECTION OF UPPER WIRING HARNESS (RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND) THE CONCLUSION WAS BARE AND DESINTEGRATED WIRES CAUSING SHORT CIRCUITS EVERYWHERE IN THE CAR, PUTTING ME AND MY FAMILY AT RISK. IT IS AN EXPENSI…

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VEHICLE STALLED TO DEAD THREE TIME, ONE ON AN INTERSECTION. SYMPTONS STARTED WITH ROUGH IDLE, MISFIRING AND STALL. AFTER INSPECTION OF UPPER WIRING HARNESS (RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND) THE CONCLUSION WAS BARE AND DESINTEGRATED WIRES CAUSING SHORT CIRCUITS EVERYWHERE IN THE CAR, PUTTING ME AND MY FAMILY AT RISK. IT IS AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL MBUSA GIVES A SOLUTION WHICH I'VE HEARD THEY LOOK LIKE UNAWARE. I OWNED OTHER MERCEDES MODELS AND WE ALWAYS HEAR THAT THIS W140 SERIESWERE THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD. BUT THIS ISSUE COULD HAVE COST MY LIFE.

NHTSA ODI #11175966

232,637 miles · Sep 14, 2015
Electrical System

WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING AT IDLE, THE ENGINE WILL MISS IN A RANDOM MANNER UNTIL THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE ENGINE STOPS. SOMETIMES THE ENGINE WILL CONTINUE TO RUN, CONTINUE TO MISS, UNTIL THE ENGINE EVENTUALLY STOPS. WHEN RUNNING AT SPEED AND THE ENGINE IS UNDER LOAD THE…

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WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING AT IDLE, THE ENGINE WILL MISS IN A RANDOM MANNER UNTIL THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE ENGINE STOPS. SOMETIMES THE ENGINE WILL CONTINUE TO RUN, CONTINUE TO MISS, UNTIL THE ENGINE EVENTUALLY STOPS. WHEN RUNNING AT SPEED AND THE ENGINE IS UNDER LOAD THERE IS A LOUD POP FROM THE RADIO SPEAKER, THE ENGINE MISSES, BUT THE ENGINE WILL KEEP RUNNING. THE MB DEALER AND AN INDEPENDENT SHOP BOTH INDICATED THE WIRING HARNESS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS DETERIORATED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER THE HARNESS WAS REPLACED THE CAR OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS AND THEN STARTED FAILING IN THE SAME MANNER. ALL CONNECTORS WERE OPENED, CLEANED, AND RECONNECTED. THE CAR AGAIN OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ABOUT THREE MONTH AND HAVE STARTED FAILING IN THE SAME MANNER. AS OF WRITING THIS COMPLAINT, THE CAR IS NOT FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

NHTSA ODI #10763582

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.