AI DamageMercedes-Benz S400: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Mercedes-Benz S400 across 4 model years: 23 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Electrical system 61% of all complaints
- 2 Engine 26% of all complaints
- 3 Fuel/propulsion system 17% of all complaints
- 4 Electronic stability control 9% of all complaints
- 5 Powertrain 9% of all complaints
- 6 Suspension 9% of all complaints
- 7 Engine and cooling 4% of all complaints
- 8 Equipment 4% of all complaints
- Electrical system: 14 complaints (61% of all).
- Engine: 6 complaints (26% of all).
- Fuel/propulsion system: 4 complaints (17% of all).
- Electronic stability control: 2 complaints (9% of all).
- Powertrain: 2 complaints (9% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 23 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hybrid propulsion system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 3 | 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.
-Combustion engine sporadically fails to start. -Combustion engine can no longer be started. -Start/Stop function is sporadically unavailable (READY displayed in yellow in instrument cluster).
I smelled a very bad gas leak one day and it gets worse after I fuel my thank. Nobody wants to seat my car after I buy a gas. I realized there is a gas on my driveway under my passenger seat. When I googled it, there is a recall for MB W221 for 2011 models because of the Fuel Filter parts problem.
Airmatic Suspension sprung a leak and could not be driven safely due to the vehicle getting severely low where the tire and rim tucked into the wheel well. When the airmatic suspension fails the vehicle can get so low that it can scrape the roadway, hit bumps and damage parts under which can dislodge and cause an…
The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start intermittently. The hybrid battery warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the interior lights were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to mercedes-benz of tampa ([address], tampa, [ZIP], [phone]) to be diagnosed.
This needs to also include the 2010 s400 hybrids vehicle has only 87,000 miles on it, and cannot be driven due to possible fuel ingition and the possibility of a catastrophic fire. Please respond with the utmost of haste, lives are at stake. Death by fire is horrific.
When coming to a complete stop, the hybrid system shuts down the engine and fails to restart. This places the driver, passenger and others at risk of collision as vehicle will remain stopped in traffic. This issue has been known to mercedes-benz as if is a failure of the power electronics module.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Engine. Cold start, unusual noises, oil leaks and engine codes.
- Fuel/propulsion system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Electronic stability control. ABS/ESC sensors, steering angle, codes after suspension repair.
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 2026-11-05.