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What 3 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Mercedes-benz Sl-class

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (3)Crash / fire / injury (1)Airbags (1)Body & structure (1)Engine (1)Equipment (1)Wheels (1)

Newest first · 3 complaints

Feb 24, 2023Wheels

The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the dashboard suddenly illuminated red indicating that the tire air pressure was alarming. The contact also felt an imbalance with the weight of the vehicle as if one side of the vehicle was lower than the other. The contact discovered that the rims had fractured. The failure had occurred while driving on roads with rough surfaces. The contact had taken vehicle to a body shop to repair the rims by welding the fractures a total of 4 times. The contact was told that the fractures occurred due to the factory rims being fragile, causing the rims to fracture easily. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.

NHTSA ODI 11508924

Jul 31, 2015AirbagsBody & structureEngineCrash

ON JULY 10, 2015 DURING 5 PM TRAFFIC MY WIFE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN FROM THE TURNING LANE INTO OUR COMPLEX WHERE WE LIVE, UPON MAKING HER LEFT TURN, SHE HAD TO CROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC, BOTH LANES HAD STOPPED TO ALLOW HER THROUGH SAFELY, AS SHE WAS CLEARING THE SECOND LANE LOOKING AS SHE PROGRESSED, NO ONE WAS IN THE OUTER LANE TURNING INTO OUR COMPLEX, A MAN PULLED OUT OF LINE AND ATTEMPTED TO ALLUDE TRAFFIC BY GOING AROUND IT AND STRUCK HER CAR IN THE PASSENGER DOOR, HE NEVER HIT HIS BRAKES TO STOP AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THROUGH A TURNING LANE WHICH ENTERS OUR COMPLEX ONLY, THERE IS A SIGN STATING THAT THIS LANE IS FOR ENTERING THE COMPLEX AND HAS MARKINGS ON THE ROAD THAT SHOWS WHERE THE LANE BEGINS FURTHER PAST OUR TURN IN ENTRANCE, INSTEAD HE WAS GOING TO DRIVE OVER THE MARKINGS TO AVOID WAITING IN TRAFFIC. MY WIFE'S CAR WAS HIT HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK BOTH MOTOR MOUNTS AND CAUSE THE ROLL BARS TO POP UP, BUT THE AIRBAG NEVER DEPLOYED, THE OTHER DRIVER'S BAGS ALL DEPLOYED UP FRONT IN HIS VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 10745357

Jun 21, 2011Equipment

TL* THE CONTACT WAS REPAIRING A 2011 MERCEDES BENZ SLK55. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TOW HOOK FRACTURED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING UNLOADED BY A TRUCKING COMPANY. THE DEALER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE HOWEVER, DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 4,127.

NHTSA ODI 10407728

Working with the data? Download all 3 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Mercedes-benz Sl-class verdict →