Total Complaints
4 filings
MERCEDES-BENZ 202 · model year
4 NHTSA complaints. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1994MERCEDES-BENZ202 carries 4 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1994 202 is electrical system with 2 filings, followed by fuel system, gasoline (1) and power train (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 15 investigation files overlapping the 1994 202. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
4 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
THE INSULATION OF THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS GETS BRITTLE AND CRUMBLES CAUSING THE ENGINE TO EITHER NOT RUN PROPERLY OR JUST QUIT RUNNING. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE ON THE ROAD. MERCEDES BENZ IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM WITH THE W202 BODY (AND I BELIEVE OTHER BODY STYLES) BETWEEN 1994 THRU 1996 +- MODEL YEARS. AT ONE POINT THEY WERE DOING A GOOD-FAITH REPLACEMENT OF THESE HARNESSES BUT STOPPED. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE ARE ABOUT 1.5 M CARS IN THE US AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM. *TT *KB
Mileage: 147,000
THE ENGINE HAD SEVERAL ERRATIC FAILURES SUCH AS MISFIRING, LACK OF POWER AND EVENTUALLY STOPPED TO WORK AT ALL DURING A HEAVY RAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOTORWAY. I CHECKED IF THERE WERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE WIRINGS BETWEEN ENGINE MANAGEMENT COMPONENTS SUCH AS IGNITION COILS, INJECTORS, HFM, CAMSHAFT SENSOR, WATER TEMP SENSOR ETC. AND THE ECU. I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I REALIZED THAT THE INSULATION OF THESE WIRES WIRE LITERALLY FALLING INTO PIECES BY CRACKS SINCE THE MATERIAL HAD BECOME TOTALLY STIFF AND BRITTLE, MAKING ELECTRICAL CONTACT TO SURROUNDING ENGINE PARTS AS WELL AS INTERNALLY POSSIBLE. I WENT TO AUTHORIZED SERVICE STATION WHERE THEY AGREED THAT THE COMPLETE WIRE HARNESS ON THE ENGINE HAD DISINTEGRATED FOR SOME REASON, AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. DAILMER-CHRYSLER LATER BY E-MAIL REFUSED TO GIVE ANY ECONOMICAL HELP WHAT SO EVER TO SOLVE THIS FAULT AND ONLY REMINDED THAT MERCEDES IS GIVING 2 YEARS OF GUARANTEE ON ITS CARS. ON A 12 YEAR OLD CAR I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BAD QUALIT
Mileage: 147,300
THE ENGINE HAD SEVERAL ERRATIC FAILURES SUCH AS MISFIRING, LACK OF POWER AND EVENTUALLY STOPPED TO WORK AT ALL DURING A HEAVY RAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOTORWAY. I CHECKED IF THERE WERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE WIRINGS BETWEEN ENGINE MANAGEMENT COMPONENTS SUCH AS IGNITION COILS, INJECTORS, HFM, CAMSHAFT SENSOR, WATER TEMP SENSOR ETC. AND THE ECU. I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I REALIZED THAT THE INSULATION OF THESE WIRES WIRE LITERALLY FALLING INTO PIECES BY CRACKS SINCE THE MATERIAL HAD BECOME TOTALLY STIFF AND BRITTLE, MAKING ELECTRICAL CONTACT TO SURROUNDING ENGINE PARTS AS WELL AS INTERNALLY POSSIBLE. I WENT TO AUTHORIZED SERVICE STATION WHERE THEY AGREED THAT THE COMPLETE WIRE HARNESS ON THE ENGINE HAD DISINTEGRATED FOR SOME REASON, AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. DAILMER-CHRYSLER LATER BY E-MAIL REFUSED TO GIVE ANY ECONOMICAL HELP WHAT SO EVER TO SOLVE THIS FAULT AND ONLY REMINDED THAT MERCEDES IS GIVING 2 YEARS OF GUARANTEE ON ITS CARS. ON A 12 YEAR OLD CAR I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BAD QUALIT
Mileage: 147,300
THE ENGINE HAD SEVERAL ERRATIC FAILURES SUCH AS MISFIRING, LACK OF POWER AND EVENTUALLY STOPPED TO WORK AT ALL DURING A HEAVY RAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOTORWAY. I CHECKED IF THERE WERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE WIRINGS BETWEEN ENGINE MANAGEMENT COMPONENTS SUCH AS IGNITION COILS, INJECTORS, HFM, CAMSHAFT SENSOR, WATER TEMP SENSOR ETC. AND THE ECU. I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I REALIZED THAT THE INSULATION OF THESE WIRES WIRE LITERALLY FALLING INTO PIECES BY CRACKS SINCE THE MATERIAL HAD BECOME TOTALLY STIFF AND BRITTLE, MAKING ELECTRICAL CONTACT TO SURROUNDING ENGINE PARTS AS WELL AS INTERNALLY POSSIBLE. I WENT TO AUTHORIZED SERVICE STATION WHERE THEY AGREED THAT THE COMPLETE WIRE HARNESS ON THE ENGINE HAD DISINTEGRATED FOR SOME REASON, AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. DAILMER-CHRYSLER LATER BY E-MAIL REFUSED TO GIVE ANY ECONOMICAL HELP WHAT SO EVER TO SOLVE THIS FAULT AND ONLY REMINDED THAT MERCEDES IS GIVING 2 YEARS OF GUARANTEE ON ITS CARS. ON A 12 YEAR OLD CAR I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BAD QUALIT
Mileage: 147,300
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1994 MERCEDES-BENZ 202; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.