"How reliable is the 1997 Mercedes Benz E320?"

"Based on 80 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Mercedes Benz E320 has a median complaint mileage of 113200 miles. The most common issue is SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Mercedes Benz E320?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Mercedes Benz E320 is SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 80 total complaints filed."

1997 Mercedes Benz E320: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 80 complaints

Total Complaints

113,200mi

Median Mileage

SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

90,000 25th Percentile

113,200 Median Mileage

150,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS

SUSPENSION

SEAT BELTS

SUSPENSION:FRONT

AIR BAGS

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IN 1997, WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED SEVERE WINDOW HAZING DURING RAINING CONDITION. NUMEROUS REMEDIES BY MERCEDES BENZ HAVE NOT WORKED NOR HAS TH NHTSA REPLIED TO NUMEROUS LETTERS. THIS IS AN APPARENT NATIONWIDE PROBLEM WITH MERCEDES CREATING SEVERE VISABILITY PROBLEMS IN RAI..."

"CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 25 MPH ON A SIDE STREET AND SPRING COIL THAT HELD VEHICLE TOGETHER BROKE. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK THE RIGHT FRONT SPRING TOWER BROKE AWAY FROM THE BODY. *YH"

"WHILE TRAVELING AT 10 MPH RIVET WHICH SECURED COIL SPRING BRACE TO FRAME RUSTED, ALLOWING BRACKET WHICH HOLD THE COIL SPRING TO PULL AWAY, CAUSING VEHICLE TO DROP AND DRIVER LOST CONTROL. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THEY WOULD REPLACE RIVET AT 50% OFF REPAIRS. PLEASE FEEL F..."

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