Mercedes-Benz SLK32: problems, complaints, bulletins

Summary for the Mercedes-Benz SLK32 across 1 model years: 2 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.

Model years

Year	Owner complaints	involving a crash	Technical service bulletins (TSB)	YouTube repair videos
2004	2	0	0	0

What fails most often

1 Engine 50% of all complaints
2 Exterior lighting 50% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Engine: 1 complaints (50% of all).
Exterior lighting: 1 complaints (50% of all).

Symptoms owners describe

How many of the 2 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).

warning lights, check engine1 · 50%
stalls while driving1 · 50%
won't start1 · 50%

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash	Technical service bulletins (TSB)
Engine	1	0	0
Exterior lighting	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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mercedes benz slk32. The contact stated that both rear brake lights failed to operate as designed intermittently while driving at various speeds. Upon research, the contact discovered nhtsa campaign number: 05v505000 (exterior lighting) which he linked to his failure.
Exterior lighting · 2004 · 2020-05-20 · NHTSA complaint #11325321
The car stalled at a traffic light after 15-minutes drive. Starter turned the engine just fine, but the engine won't start. After about 20 minutes I was able to start the car. Next day it happened again - after a drive car was parked at the store parking lot and it won't start once I returned to it 10 minutes.
Engine · 2004 · 2015-10-08 · NHTSA complaint #10780746

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

20151
20201

What to check before buying

Engine. Cold start, unusual noises, oil leaks and engine codes.
Exterior lighting. Headlamps, leveling, sensors and mounts after a frontal hit.

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.