Mercedes-Benz SL500Years to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 223 owner complaints and 1 safety recall on record for the Mercedes-Benz SL500.

Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaints Best years—Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints223Top: Suspension Safety recalls11993–2009 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years. Photo: George, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Best & worst years

Mercedes-Benz SL500 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 SL500 median. Tap a year for its full report.

6 8 22 6 9 6 2 2 3 80 45 19 13 2

'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'03'04'05'06'09

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

2009Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls 2006Not rated–/10013 complaints · 0 recalls 2005Not rated–/10019 complaints · 0 recalls 2004Not rated–/10045 complaints · 0 recalls 2003Not rated–/10080 complaints · 0 recalls 2001Not rated–/1003 complaints · 0 recalls 2000Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls 1999Not rated–/1002 complaints · 0 recalls 1998Not rated–/1006 complaints · 0 recalls 1997Not rated–/1009 complaints · 1 recall 1996Not rated–/1006 complaints · 0 recalls 1995Not rated–/10022 complaints · 0 recalls 1994Not rated–/1008 complaints · 0 recalls 1993Not rated–/1006 complaints · 0 recalls

Complaints by system

Most common Mercedes-Benz SL500 problems

All model years combined: 223 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

61Suspension3 crash/fire/injury

59Electrical system11 crash/fire/injury

29Service brakes3 crash/fire/injury

18Fuel/propulsion system1 crash/fire/injury

17Fuel system, gasoline

14Power train

13Service brakes, hydraulic

13Air bags

10Engine

6117 other systems9 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
Suspension	61	3
Electrical system	59	11
Service brakes	29	3
Fuel/propulsion system	18	1
Fuel system, gasoline	17	1
Power train	14	0
Service brakes, hydraulic	13	1
Air bags	13	4
Engine	10	3
17 other systems	61	9

1 recall

Mercedes-Benz SL500 recalls

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

Air bags: frontal99V-327 · 1997 · Nov 22, 1999 · 4,402 vehicles

1 investigation

NHTSA investigations of the SL500

Aug 14, 2007
AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM FAILUREPE07042 · 2000–2004 · closed Nov 20, 2007
No recall