Total Complaints
19 filings
MERCEDES-BENZ 300E · model year
19 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1986MERCEDES-BENZ300E carries 19 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 14 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1986 300E is air bags:frontal with 3 filings, followed by fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly (2) and air bags:frontal:sensor/control module (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 1986 300E. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
19 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 3 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY | 2 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 |
| SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER | 1 |
| SUSPENSION:FRONT | 1 |
| SUSPENSION:REAR | 1 |
| SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:POWER ADJUST | 1 |
| WHEELS | 1 |
| STEERING:LINKAGES:ROD:RELAY:CONNECTING | 1 |
| AIR BAGS | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH | 1 |
| TIRES | 1 |
SUDDEN ACCELERATION SYNDROME. I BELIEVE I ELIMINATED THIS PROBLEM BY DISCONNECTING THE CRUISE CONTROL AMP LOCATED UNDER THE DASH BOARD BY UNPLUGGING CABLE ATTACHED TO THE UNIT. WAS ABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM BY RECONNECTING THE ATTACHED CABLE. BELIEVE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEMS DESIGN DEFECTIVE. AT PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUND SOME COMPLAINTS REGARDING SUDDEN ACCELERATION SYNDROME PERTAINING TOO THIS VEHICLE- MODEL- YEAR. LUCKY MINE IS A STICK SHIFT IN THAT REGARD. DAIMLER AND NHTSA BOTH WERE NOTIFIED. DAIMLER WOULD CHARGE FOR THE DIAGNOSES AND REPAIR. APPARENTLY THERE IS NOT ENOUGH COMPLAINTS TO WARRANT A RECALL. LAW IS COMPLICATED. I CAN LIVE WITHOUT THE LUXURY OF CRUISE CONTROL AND EXORBITANT REPAIR COST. *TR
Mileage: 150
I JUST EXPERIENCED MY 4TH FUEL TANK FRACTURE OVER 5 YEARS. THE FRACTURES OCCUR IN THE SURFACE OF THE TANK NOT CAUSED BY WEAR OF ANY SORT. THEY JUST SPONTANEOUSLY OCCUR. THE TANK IS COMPLETELY FACTORY INSTALLED IN THE TRUNK OF THE CAR THIS ALLOWS FUMES TO ENTER THE ENTIRE CAR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A FRACTURED TANK IN ANY BRAND IN 40 YEARS OF DRIVING. THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER. *JB
Mileage: 180,000
I HAVE EXPERIENCED HAIRLINE CRACK FAILURES IN THREE (3) SEPARATE FUEL TANKS PLACED INTO MY 1986 MERCEDES 300E 4 DOOR SEDAN OVER 6 YEARS. THESE CRACKS NEVER ALLOWED LIQUID TO ESCAPE, BUT FUMES DID REPEATEDLY EMIT INTO THE CAR TRUNK AND PASSENGER CABIN. AFTER BEING IN PLACE FOR 9 MONTHS THE 3RD TANK IS NOW LEAKING FUMES AND I HAVE DISCOVERED STAINING WHERE THE CRACKS EXIST. THIS IS, BY ITSELF, A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION. TO HAPPEN THREE TIMES WITH THREE DIFFERENT REPLACEMENT TANKS IS EXCEPTIONAL! I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT THIS INDICATES THERE MIGHT BE OTHERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM INDICATING THAT THEIR MIGHT BE AN ORIGINAL DESIGN DEFECT IN THE TANK, ITS LOCATION (IT MIGHT BE GETTING SCRAPED BY SURROUNDING SHEET METAL), OR ITS BASIC MATERIAL CONSTITUTION; IE, TOO THIN OR POORLY ENGINEERED MATERIALS. *NM
Mileage: 100,000
BLOWOUT, WITH 4/32 TREAD LEFT, OF SCHWAB Z800 ULTRA RADIAL WITH 100,000 MILE WARRANTY, AT APPROX 50,200 MILES, OCCURRED AS DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED ON FREEWAY WITH NO IMPACT OR PRIOR DAMAGE TO TIRE. 11/27/2004. TIRES PURCHASED 6/29/99 AS PAIR. ROTATED AND KEPT PROPERLY INFLATED, WHEELS ALIGNED. ON 4/25/03 A SCHWAB Z800 PLUS TIRE, WITH 47,000 MILES(100,000 WARRANTY), PURCHASED 2/20/98, SAME CONDITIONS OF TREATMENT, BLEW OUT ON SAME CAR UNDER SAME CIRCUMSTANCES, NAMELY DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED ON FREEWAY. BOTH TIRES LEFT REAR WHEEL AT TIME OF BLOWOUT. SCHWAB REFUSED TO HONOR WARRANTY ON GROUNDS LACK OF DOCUMENTATION TIREST ROTATED EVERY 5000 MILES. NO EVIDENT CONCERN ABOUT SAFETY ISSUE.*AK
Mileage: 196,640
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH DRIVER'S AIR BAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT A COLLISION OCCURRING, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
WHIILE REACHING INTO VEHICLE FOR A POCKET BOOK THE STRAP PULLED SHIFT LEVER INTO GEAR WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED WITH NO KEY IN IT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO SLIP INTO GEAR AND ROLL DOWN HILL. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG RESULTING IN INJURIES (BURNS) TO FACE AND CHEST AND DAMAGES TO VEHICLE.
RIGHT FRONT WHEEL BECAME SEPARATED AT THE BALL JOINT AND THE TIE ROD BROKE OFF CAUSING WHEEL TO BECOME LOOSE. (OHIO STATE POLICE REPORT).
RIGHT FRONT WHEEL BECAME SEPARATED AT THE BALL JOINT AND THE TIE ROD BROKE OFF CAUSING WHEEL TO BECOME LOOSE. (OHIO STATE POLICE REPORT).
THE POWER SEATS MOVE BACK AND FORWARD ON THEIR OWN. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY WITHOUT IMPACT AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. *AK *JB
FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG, CAUSING INJURIES AFTER RECALL.
FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG, CAUSING INJURIES AFTER RECALL.
FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG, CAUSING INJURIES AFTER RECALL.
DRIVESHAFT FAILED.
MOTOR MOUNTS FAILED.
RIGHT FRONT SEAT BACK WILL NOT ADJUST.
FRONT/REAR SUSPENSION PROBLEMS.
FRONT/REAR SUSPENSION PROBLEMS.
Data as of 2025. 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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.