"How reliable is the 2002 Mercedes Benz S Class?"

"Based on 56 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Mercedes Benz S Class has a median complaint mileage of 80000 miles. The most common issue is Suspension."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Mercedes Benz S Class?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Mercedes Benz S Class is Suspension, accounting for a significant portion of the 56 total complaints filed."

2002 Mercedes Benz S Class: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 56 complaints

Total Complaints

80,000mi

Median Mileage

Suspension

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

55,849 25th Percentile

80,000 Median Mileage

97,461 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Suspension

Instrument Cluster/Panel

Electrical System

Interior Lighting

Tires

Front

Exterior Lighting

Equipment

Air Bags

Automatic Transmission

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE THE CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT, NO SPECIFIC TIRE INFORMATION GIVEN. *YH"

"HESITATES ON ACCELLERATION(DANGEROUS AT INTERSECTIONS AND PASSING) HAVE COMPLAINED 4 TIMES TO SELLER AND THEY CAN NOT CORRECT IT. PLEASE ADVISE ME. THANKS 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.

Suspension 12 complaints

25th: 37,500 mi Median: 58,067 mi 75th: 97,711 mi

Instrument Cluster/Panel 6 complaints

25th: 64,106 mi Median: 83,766 mi 75th: 116,233 mi

Electrical System 5 complaints

Median: 98,500 mi

Interior Lighting 4 complaints

25th: 89,000 mi Median: 95,750 mi 75th: 105,908 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 14 FL: 7 VA: 5 GA: 4 TN: 4 MD: 3 NY: 3 MO: 2 IL: 2 MI: 2

Who Files Complaints?

21.4%

Original Owners

78.6%

Second+ Owners

Mercedes Benz S Class — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1995	32	127,000	Front Underhood	0
2000	101	84,000	Instrument Cluster/Panel	3
2001	46	79,000	Electrical System	0
2003	43	55,000	Front	0

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