Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Please help me My 2000 s500L Mercedes' Benz dashboard have been blinking for 4 months now it has finally completely went out I am complaining on my behalf in my daughter in wife please NHTSA we cannot see anything on our car dashboard our vehicle have been inspected at two independent service dealer theses symptoms appear to have been happening 1 year after purchasing from dealer please NHSTA we need a recall on our dashboard cluster. I cannot attend work until the cluster gets fix it's so dangerous driving with a broken cause this recall will be a blessing to our family.
I was getting stuff from the trunk. When I went back to the car it was full of smoke. When I inspected the sorce of the fire it waa the blower resistor. The wiring to the blower was burnt at the connector. The plastic around the evaporator box was damaged.
Last night we had tropical storm eta in florida. We had about 10 inches of rain. The temperature was between 70f and 80f. The car was parked on high ground but in the rain. The inside of the car flooded with water under the carpet. I have not determined the source of the leak or the source of the short yet but the car is in my shop. I drilled holes in the floor to drain the water for now. The entire electrical system went crazy. The ABS was malfunctioning, the wipers were turning on and off, the brake lights and other lights were turning on and off on there own, the car stayed running with the key out of the ignition, the lights would turn on and off with the key out of ignition, the sos light was turning on and off, the airbag light was turning on and off, the speakers were popping, the throttle controls were acting odd and not corresponding with the throttle control, they would not …
One night while I was driving, suddenly the dashboard light slowly dim, flicked, and 95% lights were shut off included speedometer, the rest were very dim hardly see anything. Inside my car was totally dark at that point, I almost got into an accident. Immediately, I had to stop on the side of the road. That was very scary!! Due to this kind of defective, the car is no longer in driving condition at night. This car is only 90K mile. After this incident, I searched on the internet and I had found few forums discussed about the similar problem with S500. But I could not find any recall for my car which related to this safety issue in NHTSA. This is a safety concern. This was almost caused myself getting into an accident. Would you please review this safety matter. Greatly appreciated.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz S500. The contact stated that the instrument cluster failed to function. The contact mentioned that the light failed to illuminate and the gauges failed to indicate any reading levels. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA action number: pe05062 (interior lighting). The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 188,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz S500. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, all of the warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 151,000.
Situation first started over the summer time when I was driving from bellingham to seattle for work and I got into the car, but the A/C didn't even work. I had to have the windows rolled down. I tried everything from economy mode, automatic, regular air, etc. Once I hit 10 miles away from my destination, all of the sudden, the air came back on. It worked the rest of the day and the next day. Then 2 days later and it stopped working again, but came back on a few days later or later that day. This same problem kept going on until about late October 2012. In late October, the whole system stopped working completely (defroster, A/C, and heater). No air came out whatsoever and was completely dead. I had my dad do some work on the passenger side and some water came drained out and let it dry for a while, then it started working again, but then a week after that, it stopped working again. …
My 2000 Mercedes Benz S500's instrument cluster went out on a family trip on 3/10/13. I changed the 5a fuse that controls the trunk and instrument cluster, just to have it blow out again. The trunk will not open, the parktronics will not function, and the instrument cluster is completely out. I have read on the benzworld.org site that this is a known issue to mbusa though only a select number of VIN's are included in the recall of the instrument cluster. Of course, my VIN looks to not be included in the original recall. We would like our vehicle to be included in the recall. I have the same problem with the same part for the same model and year that other cars are being repaired for free, but my car is excluded because its VIN range is statistically not in the same narrow VIN range corresponding to the original complaint? …
I just bought my Mercedes S500 two weeks ago. It only had one owner, 98,000 miles and good car fax. I was pulling out of my driveway and noticed the dashboard lights were completely dark and all of the gauges were not working!! I cant tell how much gas I have nor how fast I am driving! I research today and find that there was a recall on this issue that is now expired. How and why does a recall expire??!! This is a major safety issue. I wont be able to drive at night, I have children to transport and I don't want to get into a accident or receive a ticket for driving too fast! Its so unfair that I just purchased this car and was not aware of a recall. How is this fair to a buyer who would have no knowledge of this!!! So I guess if me and my children got into an accident and died, Mercedes would say "oh well, the recall expired". Bullshit!!! I am so angry. And they don't care!!!!
I was having an instrument cluster problem and I looked it up to see if there was a recall. I found out there was and I wrote down the NHTSA recall number (06V028000) and went to the dealership in my area to have it fixed. The dealership stated that my VIN was in the recall but the recall had expired. This was July 2014. I also called Mercedes ([phone]) and they stated the same thing. How do I go about getting this recall fixed? In addition to this I would like to know if my VIN expired or do I have time to get it fixed.
Electrical complaints in other S500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the electrical system of the 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500, 56% of the model year's 55 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500 electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Mercedes-Benz S500 electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 90,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.