FaultScore report
Owners have filed 12 complaints about the 1986 Mercedes Benz 190 with NHTSA between 1995 and 2011. The largest single group is the airbags.
12
Complaints
2
Crashes reported
0
Fires reported
3
Injuries reported
Click any bar to open that year's report.
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
1 crashes, 0 fires
1 crashes, 0 fires
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.
An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.
PARKING BRAKE LEVERS
PARKING BRAKE
PARKING BRAKE
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
THE CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY PETITIONED NHTSA TO OPEN AN INVESTIGATION INTOSUDDEN ACCELERATION ON VARIOUS MERCEDES-BENZ MODELS.THE PETITION WASGRANTED WITH RESPECT TO THE 1986-1987 300E MODEL AND ENGINEERING ANALYSISEA88-003 WAS OPENED COVERING JUST THE 1986 AND 1987 300 E VEHICLES.SUBSEQUENTLY, CFAS REPETITIONED NHTSA TO EXPAND ITS INVESTIGATION TO COVERALL 1984 THROUGH 1987 MERCEDES GASOLINE POWERED VEHICLES.DEFECT PETITIONNUMBER DP88-013 WAS THEN ASSIGNED.ON JULY 14, 1988, THE CFAS WAS ADVISEDTHAT PETITION DP88-013 HAD BEEN GRANTED AND THAT A NEW ENGINEERING ANALYSIS(EA88-034) HAD BEEN OPENED...
ABS FAILURES
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.
Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not always mirror the American ones.
Brakes
THE PARKING BRAKE LEVER RELEASE KNOB COULD STICK, CREATING THE POTENTIAL FOR THE LEVER TO RELEASE UNINTENTIONALLY WITH A CORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN PARKING BRAKE APPLICATION FORCE. CORRECTION: PARKING BRAKE LEVER GRIP WILL BE REPLACED WITH ONE OF A NEWER DESIGN.
Electrical
AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE COULD BLOW A FUSE AND RESULT IN THE FAILURE OF THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS. ALSO, AN ENGAGED CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT BE DISENGAGED AUTOMATICALLY BY JUST TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL. DISENGAGEMENT WOULD BE TRIGGERED EITHER BY BRAKING AND DECELERATING TO BELOW 40KM OR SHUTTING THE CRUISE CONTROL OFF. CORRECTION: REMEDY WILL BE THE COMBINATION OF TWO FUSES SUCH THAT IN THE CASE OF A FUSE FAILURE THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT FUNCTION ANYMORE.
Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
WAS IN A SHOPPING CENTER AND WENT OVER A SPEED BUMP AND THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON AT ALL. SOMEONE HAD JUST GONE OVER THE BUMP BEFORE ME.HAND WAS HURT IN THE PROCESS AND HAD TO GET SURGERY ON THE HAND. CAR HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED YET.
NHTSA complaint #10374700 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
THE HEATER CORE IN THE VEHICLE RUPTURED, CAUSING BOILING HOT COOLANT TO POUR ONTO THE DRIVER'S FEET. THE BOILING COOLANT CAUSED SEVERE BURNS TO THE DRIVER'S FOOT, ANKLE AND LEG. THE ESCAPING COOLANT ALSO CAUSED THE CAR TO FILL UP WITH STEAM AND ELLIMINATED VISIBILITY.
NHTSA complaint #733839 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH
VEHICLE WAS PLACED IN THE PARK POSITION WITH THE EMERGENCY PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED. VEHICLE JUMPED OUT OF GEAR, RESULTING IN VEHICLE ROLLING INTO A WALL. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER, DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.
NHTSA complaint #848795 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
CUSTOMER HAD OPTIONAL AIR BAG INSTALLED BY MFG, AND IN A HEAD ON COLLISION AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. TT
NHTSA complaint #960843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
WAS IN A SHOPPING CENTER AND WENT OVER A SPEED BUMP AND THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON AT ALL. SOMEONE HAD JUST GONE OVER THE BUMP BEFORE ME.HAND WAS HURT IN THE PROCESS AND HAD TO GET SURGERY ON THE HAND. CAR HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED YET.
NHTSA complaint #10374700 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS
DEALER FOUND THAT THE FRONT CROSSMEMBER IS ROTTED.
NHTSA complaint #567069 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC
DEALER FOUND THAT THE FRONT BRAKES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
NHTSA complaint #567069 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM
LEFT BALL JOINT SPLIT AS CONSUMER'S DAUGHTER WAS LEAVING DRIVEWAY. ALSO, CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SWAY BAR BUSHINGS AND A WHEEL ALIGNMENT NEEDED TO BE PERFORMED.
NHTSA complaint #567069 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUSPENSION:REAR
LEFT BALL JOINT SPLIT AS CONSUMER'S DAUGHTER WAS LEAVING DRIVEWAY. ALSO, CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SWAY BAR BUSHINGS AND A WHEEL ALIGNMENT NEEDED TO BE PERFORMED.
NHTSA complaint #567069 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT
LEFT BALL JOINT SPLIT AS CONSUMER'S DAUGHTER WAS LEAVING DRIVEWAY. ALSO, CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SWAY BAR BUSHINGS AND A WHEEL ALIGNMENT NEEDED TO BE PERFORMED.
NHTSA complaint #567069 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
THE HEATER CORE IN THE VEHICLE RUPTURED, CAUSING BOILING HOT COOLANT TO POUR ONTO THE DRIVER'S FEET. THE BOILING COOLANT CAUSED SEVERE BURNS TO THE DRIVER'S FOOT, ANKLE AND LEG. THE ESCAPING COOLANT ALSO CAUSED THE CAR TO FILL UP WITH STEAM AND ELLIMINATED VISIBILITY.
NHTSA complaint #733839 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH
VEHICLE WAS PLACED IN THE PARK POSITION WITH THE EMERGENCY PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED. VEHICLE JUMPED OUT OF GEAR, RESULTING IN VEHICLE ROLLING INTO A WALL. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER, DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.
NHTSA complaint #848795 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
WHILE DRIVING AT HWY SPEEDS THE VEHICLE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL.
NHTSA complaint #816320 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
AIR BAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING, CAUSE UNKNOWN.
NHTSA complaint #811994 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
CUSTOMER HAD OPTIONAL AIR BAG INSTALLED BY MFG, AND IN A HEAD ON COLLISION AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. TT
NHTSA complaint #960843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
PARKING BRAKE:CONVENTIONAL
PULLED UP HAND BRAKE; LET HANDLE GO; DROPS OUT OF EMERGENCY BRAKE SET ON IT OWN. TT
NHTSA complaint #959599 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.