IllustrationI HAVE AN OIL LEAK WHICH MY MECHANICS TELLS ME IS THE OIL COOLER AND TO REPAIR IS ESTIMATE TO COST $5000.00. I HEAR FROM OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME VEHICLE WITH SAME ISSUE. *TR
2001 Mercedes Benz S600
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 S600 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
00–25K
625–50K
1550–75K
1175–100K
0100–150K
0150K+
32 reports with mileage · 6 unknown
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.
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 6 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
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
17 reportsTHE MERCEDES BENZ DEALER INFORMED ME THAT I HAD AN OIL COOLER AND ABC HOSE LEAK ON MY 2001 S600. THE COST TO REPAIR IS UNBELIEVABLE. ABOUT $7,500. IN READING THE MBZ FORUM THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM MBZ. THE FAILURE FOR THE OIL COOLER LEAK CAN LEAD TO A FIRE, AND THE ABC HOSE LEAK CAN LEAD T…
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THE MERCEDES BENZ DEALER INFORMED ME THAT I HAD AN OIL COOLER AND ABC HOSE LEAK ON MY 2001 S600. THE COST TO REPAIR IS UNBELIEVABLE. ABOUT $7,500. IN READING THE MBZ FORUM THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM MBZ. THE FAILURE FOR THE OIL COOLER LEAK CAN LEAD TO A FIRE, AND THE ABC HOSE LEAK CAN LEAD TO MALFUNCTION OF THE ACTIVE BODY CONTROL SYSTEM CAUSING THE CAR TO DRASTICALLY LOWER AT THE EFFECTED WHEEL. THE FREQUENCY OF THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE COVERED BY A MANUFACTURER RECALL. THIS IS A DEATH HAZARD TO ME AND MY FAMILY. I AM NOT DRIVING THE CAR AT THIS TIME DUE TO THE COST TO REPAIR AND THE PROBLEM OF INJURY OR DEATH. *TR
CAR ONLY HAS 64K MILES AND HAS A BAD OIL LEAK. MY GUESS IS THE OIL COOLER. FOR THE PRICE OF THIS CAR I SHOULD NOT HAVE A PUDDLE OF OIL ON MY GARAGE FLOOR. *TR
2001 MERCEDES BENZ, 40,000 MILES, PROFUSE OIL LEAK FROM OIL COOLER. *TR
THE CAR STARTED SMELLING OF BURNING OIL. IT GOT WORSE AND WORSE TO WHERE ONE COULD SEE THE BURNING OIL AT STOP LIGHTS. THE OIL WAS LEAKING FROM THE OIL COOLER AT THE BACK OF THE ENGINE AND DRIPPING ON TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND BURNING THERE. IT WAS LEAKING APPROXIMATELY 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 250 MILES. *TR
MERCEDES 2001 S600, MANUFACTURE 02/01. OIL COOLER LEAKS, ABC CONTROL FAILURE. THIS PROBLEM IS IN RECALL BUT MERCEDES SAID MY VIN IS EXCLUDED. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MERCEDES BENZ S-600. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. ON THE WAY TO THE DEALER THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO VIOLENTLY SHAKE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FAULTY SEAL WAS ALLOWING OIL TO ENTER THE WIRING OF THE VEHICLE, CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT. THE DEALER ALSO …
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MERCEDES BENZ S-600. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. ON THE WAY TO THE DEALER THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO VIOLENTLY SHAKE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FAULTY SEAL WAS ALLOWING OIL TO ENTER THE WIRING OF THE VEHICLE, CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT. THE DEALER ALSO FOUND AN OIL LEAK ON TOP OF THE ENGINE CAUSED BY THE OIL COOLER. THIS FAILURE CAUSED OIL TO LEAK INTO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 57,000.
Official recalls
104V228000 · Suspension
May 13, 2004
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, CORROSION MAY OCCUR IN THE INNER STEEL PORTIONS OF THE ACTIVE BODY CONTROL'S (ABC) HIGH-PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION HOSE DUE TO EXTENSIVE EXPOSURE TO HEAT AND HUMIDITY. OVER TIME, CORROSION MAY DETERIORATE THE INNER STEEL PORTIONS OF THE HOSE.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS MAY RESULT IN ABC HYDRAULIC FLUID LEAKAGE. UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES, LEAKING HYDRAULIC FLUID MAY COME IN CONTACT WITH HOT ENGINE COMPONENTS AND LEAD TO A POSSIBILITY OF FIRE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL NEW, CORROSION RESISTANT ABC HIGH-PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION HOSES. THE RECALL BEGAN AUGUST 31, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT MERCEDES-BENZ AT 1-800-367-6372.
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
1PE05062 · 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.