2001 Mercedes Benz S Class: Reliability Data

46
Total Complaints
79,000mi
Median Mileage
Electrical System
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

50,000 25th Percentile
79,000 Median Mileage
102,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System
11
Interior Lighting
7
Instrument Cluster/Panel
6
Interior/Under Dash
4
Suspension
2
Front
2
Unknown Or Other
1
Vehicle Speed Control
1
Wiring
1
Tires
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN TAPPING THE BRAKES, THE THROTTLE ACELLERATOR HESITATES FOR ONE MOMENT. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM. *AK ON ONE OCCASION THE VEHICLE SURGED, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER STATES THAT SINCE HE IS A TWO FOOT DRIVER, THIS CAR IS A CHALLENGE TO HIM WITH THE BRAKE LIGHT ACTIVATED THRO..."
"DEALER WILL NOT REPLACE THEM UNDER WARRANTY. DT"

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Electrical System 11 complaints
25th: 68,550 mi Median: 96,000 mi 75th: 111,993 mi
Interior Lighting 7 complaints
25th: 41,350 mi Median: 60,100 mi 75th: 98,000 mi
Instrument Cluster/Panel 6 complaints
25th: 83,250 mi Median: 102,600 mi 75th: 104,550 mi
Interior/Under Dash 4 complaints
25th: 49,558 mi Median: 54,850 mi 75th: 65,362 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 9 FL: 7 NY: 5 TX: 4 MA: 4 GA: 4 MD: 3 IL: 2 NH: 1 NE: 1

Who Files Complaints?

17.4%
Original Owners
82.6%
Second+ Owners

Mercedes Benz S Class — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1995320
20001013
2002560
2003430

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