Lexus ES250 vs Mercedes Benz SLK

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Lexus ES250	Mercedes Benz SLK
Complaints on file	39	96
Model years covered	1990–2023	1998–2009
Worst model year	—	2002
Best model year	—	2003
Crashes reported	14	2
Fires reported	2	0
Injuries reported	8	3
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
Share of complaints involving harm	61.5%	5.2%

Lexus ES250 by year

12 19 4 1 1 1 1

90 91 92 93 95 96 23

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Airbags 8 20.5%

Engine & Cooling 4 10.3%

Brakes 4 10.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 4 10.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 3 7.7%

Body & Structure 3 7.7%

Suspension 3 7.7%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 3 7.7%

Mercedes Benz SLK by year

3 9 5 23 30 11 8 3 4

98 99 00 01 02 03 05 06 09

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 18 18.8%

Electrical System 13 13.5%

Lights 12 12.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 9 9.4%

Engine & Cooling 7 7.3%

Brakes 7 7.3%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 7 7.3%

Stability & Traction Control 7 7.3%