Total Complaints
5 filings
MERCEDES-BENZ SL550 · model year
5 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 2008MERCEDES-BENZSL550 carries 5 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 2008 SL550 is engine and engine cooling with 1 filings, followed by seats (1) and service brakes, hydraulic (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 2008 SL550. 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
5 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| SEATS | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 |
| STEERING | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
WHILE DRIVING AT 50MPH, AUDIBLE AND VISUAL WARNINGS OF BRAKE FAILURE. NO BRAKING AVAILABLE OTHER THAN TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFT FOR ENGINE BRAKING.
Mileage: 57,000
THE SUBJECT CAR, A 2008 MERCDES BENZ SL550, THAT HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT AND IS STORED IN A GARAGE. THE CAR WAS STARTED AND DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARAGE ON TO THE STREET, APPROXIMATELY 50 YARDS LATER WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 20 MPH, THE BRAKES 100% FAILED AND THE POWER ASSISTED STEERING STOP WORKING. AFTER COASTING TO A STOP AND PLACING THE CAR IN PARK. THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. THE DASH BOARD FLASHED A STOP SIGN SYMBOL AND A MESSAGE THAT INCREASE PEDAL PRESSURE WOULD BE REQUIRED. THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. AT FIRST THE BRAKES AND STEERING SEEM NORMAL BUT AFTER ABOUT 10 SECONDS, AGAIN THE BRAKES AND STEERING FAILED. AT THIS POINT A TOW TRUCK WAS CALLED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC. THE CAR WAS INSPECTED AND THE FAILURE WAS REPEATED. THE SHOP INSPECTED THE CAR AND DIAGNOSED THE CAR WITH A COMPUTER. SEVERAL CODES WERE APPARENT. THE SHOP RECOMMENDED THAT THE BRAKE SYSTEM BE FLUSHED AND THE COMPUTER RESET. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS INSP
Mileage: 66,550
THE SUBJECT CAR, A 2008 MERCDES BENZ SL550, THAT HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT AND IS STORED IN A GARAGE. THE CAR WAS STARTED AND DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARAGE ON TO THE STREET, APPROXIMATELY 50 YARDS LATER WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 20 MPH, THE BRAKES 100% FAILED AND THE POWER ASSISTED STEERING STOP WORKING. AFTER COASTING TO A STOP AND PLACING THE CAR IN PARK. THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. THE DASH BOARD FLASHED A STOP SIGN SYMBOL AND A MESSAGE THAT INCREASE PEDAL PRESSURE WOULD BE REQUIRED. THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. AT FIRST THE BRAKES AND STEERING SEEM NORMAL BUT AFTER ABOUT 10 SECONDS, AGAIN THE BRAKES AND STEERING FAILED. AT THIS POINT A TOW TRUCK WAS CALLED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC. THE CAR WAS INSPECTED AND THE FAILURE WAS REPEATED. THE SHOP INSPECTED THE CAR AND DIAGNOSED THE CAR WITH A COMPUTER. SEVERAL CODES WERE APPARENT. THE SHOP RECOMMENDED THAT THE BRAKE SYSTEM BE FLUSHED AND THE COMPUTER RESET. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS INSP
Mileage: 66,550
DRIVER PLACED A PURSE BEHIND THE FRONT SEAT OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAS POWER SEATS WHICH OPERATE ON A MOTOR. THE STRAP FROM THE PURSE APPARENTLY CAME IN CONTACT WITH THE SEAT IN MOTION CAUSING SMOLDERING AND EVENTUALLY THE SEAT MOTOR TO BURN ITSELF OUT. A FIRE WAS AVOIDED DUE TO A FUSE CAUSING THE MOTOR TO STOP HOWEVER THE MOTOR WHILE IT WAS OPERATING AND PRIOR TO THE FUSE KICKING IN NEARLY CAUSED A FIRE. THE SEAT SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH A CONTACT MECHANISM ( SIMILAR TO THAT IN THE WINDOW AND ELEVATOR DOORS OR GARAGE DOORS WHICH CAUSES THE SEAT TO STOP UPON CONTACT. IF MAKEUP OR OTHER FLAMMABLE PRODUCTS HAD BEEN IN THE BAG, THERE SURELY WOULD HAVE BEEN A FIRE. *KB
Mileage: 24,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MERCEDES BENZ SL550. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART AND WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS REPAIRED. APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS LATER, THE RECURRED WHETHER THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION OR STOPPED. DURING THE RECURRENCES, THE VEHICLE WOULD RESTART AFTER STALLING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO THE AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS OF DIAGNOSING THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
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 2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550; 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.