Total Complaints
3 filings
MERCEDES-BENZ CLS500 · model year
3 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 2004MERCEDES-BENZCLS500 carries 3 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 2004 CLS500 is engine with 1 filings, followed by fuel/propulsion system (1) and vehicle speed control (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 2004 CLS500. 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
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 1 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
FROM A STOPPED POSITION THERE IS DELAY WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS PRESSED BEFORE THE ENGINE ACTUALLY BEGINS TO ACCELERATE. THE DELAY IS APPROXIMATELY 2 SECONDS AND PRESENTS SERIOUS DANGER WHEN ATTEMPTING TO PULL INTO APPROACHING TRAFFIC. I HAVE HAD A FEW CLOSE CALLS WHERE I WAS ALMOST HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANT HESITATION WITH THE ACCELERATION. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER A FEW TIMES, BUT THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM AND NO ERROR FAULTS HAD BEEN LOGGED IN THE VEHICLES COMPUTER. THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT INITIALLY BUT IS NOT CONSISTENTLY OCCURRING. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND SUSPECT MY CASE IS NOT UNIQUE. *TR
Mileage: 50,000
FROM A STOPPED POSITION THERE IS DELAY WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS PRESSED BEFORE THE ENGINE ACTUALLY BEGINS TO ACCELERATE. THE DELAY IS APPROXIMATELY 2 SECONDS AND PRESENTS SERIOUS DANGER WHEN ATTEMPTING TO PULL INTO APPROACHING TRAFFIC. I HAVE HAD A FEW CLOSE CALLS WHERE I WAS ALMOST HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANT HESITATION WITH THE ACCELERATION. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER A FEW TIMES, BUT THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM AND NO ERROR FAULTS HAD BEEN LOGGED IN THE VEHICLES COMPUTER. THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT INITIALLY BUT IS NOT CONSISTENTLY OCCURRING. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND SUSPECT MY CASE IS NOT UNIQUE. *TR
Mileage: 50,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MERCEDES BENZ S500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE CRANK SHAFT POSITION SENSOR WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,530. *TR UPDATED 06/07/13*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER ULTIMATELY OFFERED A 20 PERCENT DISCOUNT ON THE PART ONLY. UPDATED 06/13/2013 *JS
Mileage: 64,530
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 2004 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS500; 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.