1995 Mercedes Benz Sl500: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 39 complaints
39
Total Complaints
100,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

55,935 25th Percentile
100,000 Median Mileage
131,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
4
ENGINE
4
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
3
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
2
STEERING
2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
AIR BAGS
2
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
6
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CAR STALLED IN TRAFFIC DUE TO WIRING HARNESS FAILURE. STARTED SMALL FIRE THAT WAS EXTINGUISHED BEFORE ANY SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. I REPLACED THE WIRING HARNESS AND CLEANED ENGINE COMPARTMENT. WIRING HARNESS INSULATION HAD TURNED TO POWDER IN MANY LOCATIONS SHORTING FUEL INJECTORS, MASS SENSOR AND CAM MA..."
"MY 1996 MERCEDES SL500 WITH LESS THAN 55,000 MILES HAS CRUMBLING WIRE INSULATION ON THE ENGINE CONTROLS WHICH HAS RESULTED IN SHORTED WIRING IN THE ENGINE CONTROLS. THE POOR QUALITY OF THE INSULATION ON THE WIRES IS THE PROBLEM, YET THE CAR MAKER OR THE DEALER HAS NOT DONE A RECALL TO REPLACE THIS ..."
"CAR GOES INTO LIMP MODE ALSO CAUSING ADDITIONAL ERROR CODES ON MY COMPUTER. *TR"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28