There is a reason why Mercedes-Benz is one of the world's most famous car brands. It is because, to their credit, Mercedes creates a long list of gorgeous, eye-popping vehicles every single year. But just as beauty is only skin deep, we must look deeper than how it looks on the outside.
Updated September 2021: If you're considering a Mercedes-Benz purchase, whether new or used, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article to help you make a better and more well-informed decision. As the saying goes; no car is more expensive than a cheap Mercedes.
When it comes to the inside of most Mercedes-Benz', there have been enough issues to disappoint many owners around the world. So before you decide on your next purchase, keep the following criticisms in mind before you end up being just as disappointed.
10 Thrust Link Bushings Known To Crack Open
For those of our readers who may not be car experts, thrust link bushings refer to a rubber cylinder filled with hydraulic fluid that can be found on the front suspension. These are extremely vital to the car itself and if damaged can spell disaster for the car.
Disaster is exactly what often gets dispelled towards the Mercedes-Benz, because these same bushings have been known to crack open unexpectedly, leaking out all the fluid inside it and spilling it internally in the car. Losing this fluid usually leads to a bumpier drive and potential tire wear.
9 Air Suspension Failure
There have been several reported issues with Mercedes-Benz when it comes to the more airmatic features, but the most frequent complaints come in regard to the air suspension.
The German brand first introduced air suspension to their vehicles in the year 2000 via equipping it to the S-Class W220. In theory, the company should have perfected this feature by now, but their vehicles continue to be plagued by failing air suspension bags and air suspension relays. Clearly, the brand still has a lot of work to do to fix it.
8 Engine Misfires
With any car, the more often a driver drives their car, the engine typical wears down due to use, and it's recommended that spark plugs get replaced after that point. Which is normal, nothing wrong there... except for the fact that some owners run into engine misfiring before they even hit 100,000 miles on their vehicle.
This can be fixed the same way with most cars — change the spark plugs — but seeing how soon owners run into this issue on their engine is alarming.
7 Oil Leaks
Every Mercedes-Benz model made after 1995 has imported an electronic transmission system. In terms of updating technology, it is a great system and innovation, but a common issue is that the electronic transmission system often leads to graphite build-up caused by an oil leak.
Because of the frailness of the electronic transmission system, an oil leak in a Mercedes-Benz offers a much more worrying situation.
6 Differential Leaks
Oil leaks are not the only common leaks for owners to run into. The Mercedes-Benz has also been prone to running into differential leaks, typically when it comes to high-mileage vehicles in the E class lineup.
These kinds of leaks are normally coming from the pinion seals, axle seals, or the differential covers, and are caused by these components becoming weaker over time due to age. M-B owners are more likely to run into these issues than owners of cars from most other brands.
5 Rusts Fast
We all know that the average car is susceptible to rust issues during lack of usage, but the Mercedes-Benz has been known to rust out easily and quickly on older, used, and even newer models. What is just as shocking is how many places on the vehicle that rust can show up.
They've been known to accumulate rust along floorboards, under the wheel wells, on the bumpers, front fenders, underneath the driver's and passenger's seats, and even behind the license plate.
4 Low Brake Pressure
A lot of Mercedes-Benz vehicles are equipped with Sensotronic Brake Control (or SBC) which refers to an electro-hydraulic braking system that offers a high-pressure brake fluid supply that proves extremely useful in emergency braking situations. The only problem here is when the SBC system fails, which, of course, is a common issue.
By failure, we mean instances where the car suddenly slows and stops, opposed to actually braking when it is instructed to do just that.
3 Worn Out Catalytic Converters
Some owners report that catalytic converters have been worn out after merely 60,000 miles. These catalytic converters have been proven either ineffective or suffer from clogging, which opens the door for a whole new bevy of other issues, such as engine misfires and hesitations. This also causes the check engine light to come on. Even worse, depending on the model, fixing the catalytic converter could cost as much as $4,000.
2 Insulation Damages Easily
This is specifically an issue that owners need to deal with in hot regions of the world. In the United States, think places like California, Arizona, Texas, etc. The heat emanating in these places greatly affects the insulation on the Benz's harness wiring.
The overexposure to heat causes the insulation to crack open. It's hard to take precautions to protect the car in states that are hot all year round. Maybe buying a Benz in a hot area is just a bad idea?!
1 Transmission Issues
To its credit, the German brand's vehicles have a stronger 5-speed transmission than most vehicles on the market, but the components within it tend to have a lot of issues. Many users tend to report on how the 13-pin connector and the transmission's valve body have problems that further damage the car itself.
In the case of the 13-pin connector, transmission fluid leaks are a commonly reported issue, which in return spills onto the wiring harness and damages the control module. The valve body, meanwhile, may lead to bad shifting.