2001 Mercedes Benz Slk: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 23 complaints
23
Total Complaints
78,000mi
Median Mileage
VISIBILITY
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

35,500 25th Percentile
78,000 Median Mileage
102,375 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VISIBILITY
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
2
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
2
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT
1
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:INTERIOR
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
0
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MERCEDES BENZ AUTOS HAVE SHIFT LEVERS THAT CANNOT GET WET, OR THE CAR IS INCAPACITATED...I.E. WON'T MOVE OUT OF 1ST GEAR (5 MPH) OR AT ALL. RAIN ON AN OPEN CONVERTIBLE SHIFT LEVER (MY PROBLEM) AND/OR COFFEE OR BEVERAGE SPILLS FROM HOLDERS POSITIONED DIRECTLY ABOVE THE SHIFTER CAN TRIGGER VEHICLE I..."
"FAILURE OF AIR MASS METER AFTER ONLY 45,000 MILES NECESSITATING REPLACEMENT. *JB"
"PREMATURE WEARING OF STEERING COMPONENT IN 2001 SLK 320 SPORT- TIE ROD ENDS/DRAG LINK WORN OUT AFTER ONLY 48,000 MILES. FAILURE CAUSED PREMATURE WEAR IN FRONT TIRES NECESSITATING EARLY TIRE REPLACEMENT. *JB"

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.

VISIBILITY 5 complaints
25th: 30,250 mi Median: 49,000 mi 75th: 72,262 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MD: 5 VA: 4 CA: 3 SC: 2 KY: 2 FL: 2 AL: 2 NY: 1 MO: 1 CT: 1

Who Files Complaints?

4.3%
Original Owners
95.7%
Second+ Owners

Mercedes Benz Slk — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
2002301

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