AI Damage1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK430: common problems
Owners of the 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK430 filed 11 complaints with NHTSA, most often about powertrain and engine and cooling. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 11
What fails most often
- 1 Powertrain 36% of all complaints
- 2 Engine and cooling 27% of all complaints
- 3 Air bags 18% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 18% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 9% of all complaints
- 6 Engine 9% of all complaints
- 7 Structure 9% of all complaints
- 8 Suspension 9% of all complaints
- Powertrain: 4 complaints (36% of all).
- Engine and cooling: 3 complaints (27% of all).
- Air bags: 2 complaints (18% of all).
- Service brakes: 2 complaints (18% of all).
- Electrical system: 1 complaints (9% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 11 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 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.
On friday may 30, 2014, at approximately 0200, I was getting on the freeway on 880-s in downtown oakland. I was driving in the far left lane, and there was construction going on. While I was driving I felt a large bump, and immediately I tried to pull to the shoulder. I looked back and saw it was a large log.
I was stuck in traffic and car stalled out in the middle of rush hour. I could not re start for about 40 min. It shut down two more times before I got home.this was a bad situation, very dangerous. I had no where to go to get out of the way. Turns out to be a bad crankshaft position sensor.
Tl contact owns a 1999 mercedes benz clk430. The contact stated that the gear cluster pixel has faded out, preventing him from seeing what gear he is in when driving. The failure was noticed while driving 55 mph. Mercedes benz stated that all of their vehicles are designed that way and refuse to repair his vehicle.
Failed crankshaft position sensor left my car dead in very heavy highway traffic during rush hour. The crankshaft position sensor is notoriously failure-prone on the 8-cyl mercedes models. This is obviously (from the number of complaints) a defective part and needs to be recalled right away.
Dt: the vehicle caught on fire under dashboard after it was parked. It set for a short time. There was no forewarning. The fire department put out the fire. The insurance company did an investigation, and stated that the fire was due to a malfunction in wiring from distribution panel and the fuse grid to the…
At roughly 80,000 miles, began receiving abs and esp warning lights, intermittently at first and then increaing in frequency, so that now they are on roughly half the time.
At this point I consider this to be a cosmetic defect only but would like to be notified if it turns out that there is a safety issue.
Crack along passenger side front air bag on the dash board, is air bag going to exploded? Dealer wants to charge $2500. I have discussed with other clk owners and found out it's actually a quite common problem with the mercedes clk, should nhtsa ask mercedes for recall?
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 10,521 of 36,659 model years in the NHTSA data (top 29% most complained about).
On average one model year of the CLK430 has 9 complaints (4 years in the data). This year has 11, above average.
What to check before buying
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK430?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: powertrain, engine and cooling, air bags. Total complaints: 11. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: smoke, burning smell, fire (18%), stalls while driving (18%), warning lights, check engine (9%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK430?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK430 from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1999 models
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.