Mercedes-Benz 420Years to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 78 owner complaints and 1 safety recall on record for the Mercedes-Benz 420.

Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaints Best years—Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints78Top: Electrical system Safety recalls11986–1999 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years.

Best & worst years

Mercedes-Benz 420 years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 420 median. Tap a year for its full report.

6 3 1 2 3 4 16 15 1 22 5

'86'87'88'89'90'91'94'95'96'97'99

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

Complaints by system

Most common Mercedes-Benz 420 problems

All model years combined: 78 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

14Electrical system2 crash/fire/injury

13Suspension

7Service brakes, hydraulic2 crash/fire/injury

6Power train

6Vehicle speed control3 crash/fire/injury

5Engine and engine cooling

5Fuel system, gasoline

4Equipment

4Child seat

2211 other systems5 crash/fire/injury

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.

Complaints by system
System	Complaints	Crash, fire or injury
Electrical system	14	2
Suspension	13	0
Service brakes, hydraulic	7	2
Power train	6	0
Vehicle speed control	6	3
Engine and engine cooling	5	0
Fuel system, gasoline	5	0
Equipment	4	0
Child seat	4	0
11 other systems	22	5

1 recall

Mercedes-Benz 420 recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components90V-033 · 1990 · Jan 26, 1990 · 594 vehicles

1 investigation

NHTSA investigations of the 420

Jul 15, 1988
SUDDEN ACCELERATIONEA88034 · 1984–1988 · closed Jul 31, 1990
No recall