IllustrationTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MERCEDES BENZ S-600. THE CONTACT IS EXPERIENCING SUSPENSION FAILURE AND THE VEHICLE IS LEAKING HYDRAULIC FLUID. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. HE ALSO STATED THAT THE ABS LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 55,746.
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
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
2 reportsMERCEDES 2001 S 600. ACTIVE BODY CONTROL SYSTEM HAS A HYDRAULIC LEAK. DEALER (BARRIER MERCEDES OF BELLEVUE, WA) CLAIMS LEAK ORIGINATES FROM HYDRAULIC LINE BEHIND THE ENGINE. ABC HAS LOST ENOUGH FLUID TWICE AND HAS FAILED TWICE. LEAKING FLUID IS COVERING HOT ENGINE PARTS SUCH AS CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR …
Read full complaint
MERCEDES 2001 S 600. ACTIVE BODY CONTROL SYSTEM HAS A HYDRAULIC LEAK. DEALER (BARRIER MERCEDES OF BELLEVUE, WA) CLAIMS LEAK ORIGINATES FROM HYDRAULIC LINE BEHIND THE ENGINE. ABC HAS LOST ENOUGH FLUID TWICE AND HAS FAILED TWICE. LEAKING FLUID IS COVERING HOT ENGINE PARTS SUCH AS CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FIRE. DEAL QUOTED A PRICE OF $5,800.00 TO REPLACE THE HYDRAULIC LINE. CLAIMING IT WAS ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY "PULLING THE ENGINE." THIS CAR HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO A NHTSA RECALL FOR A ABC HYDRAULIC LEAK PROBLEM. I HAVE A PERSONAL FRIEND WITH THE EXACT SAME CAR AND YEAR. PHIL SMART MERCEDES ON SEATTLE HAS QUOTED A SIMILAR PRICE FOR REPAIR OF THE IDENTICAL PROBLEM. CAN YOU ASSIST IN GETTING THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. *NM
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.