AI DamageMercedes-Benz 500SL: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Mercedes-Benz 500SL across 4 model years: 13 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Tires 38% of all complaints
- 2 Electrical system 23% of all complaints
- 3 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 4 Seats 8% of all complaints
- 5 Service brakes 8% of all complaints
- 6 Vehicle speed control 8% of all complaints
- 7 Visibility 8% of all complaints
- Tires: 5 complaints (38% of all).
- Electrical system: 3 complaints (23% of all).
- Engine and cooling: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Seats: 1 complaints (8% of all).
- Service brakes: 1 complaints (8% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 13 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Pirelli tires (4) bought 6/13/10. My left rear tire exploded while I was driving on a three lane highway on 7/21/10 (38 days later). Luckily I was on in the right lane and barely made it to an exit lane. The tire is pirelli four seasons p6. 225/55r15 I have pictures of the tire. The tires were bought from mr.
Car will sputter, stall, not restart. Happens while going down the road, turning corners, coming to a stop, while trying to accelerate from a stop.... The engine wiring harness has bare wires all over the place.
While driving, my 1991 500sl convertible for no apparent reason will not accelerate and the asr light comes on. If I shut down and restart it goes away but will come right back if I goose the gas at all. This happens a lot!
Upon disassembly of the intake system of my car, it was discovered that the wiring harness had completely disintegrated - the insulation used on the wiring had become hard and brittle, causing multiple shorts and preventing it from being re-installed in the vehicle.
Sometimes the vehicle would stall completely but when the consumer removed the key and restarted it after several minutes there would be no repeat problem with the asr (acceleration skid control).
The consumer experienced 3 tire blow outs. (nar) approx 3 out of 4 tires have failed. Consumer is requesting a reimbursement for the replacement cost. *cb23.505
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Seats. Occupant sensor, power adjustment, seat mounts.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.