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CarsLore / Mercedes-Benz / E-Class / 1997

1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

38 owner complaints — #3 of 15 E-Class model years, 2.5× the typical year. 1 recall, 5 service bulletins.

38complaints · 1 crashes, 0 fires
1recalls
5manufacturer bulletins
90,000 mimedian mileage at failure

Problems owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.

  • Suspension20
  • Structure6
  • Visibility3
  • Service brakes, hydraulic3
  • Electrical system2
  • Air bags2
  • Fuel system, gasoline1
  • Exterior lighting1
  • Engine and engine cooling1
  • Seats1

NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 1 injuries and 0 deaths reported

Compared with other years

’92’94’96’97’98’00’02’04’0638’92’95’97’98’01’04’0838
199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062008

NHTSA ODI complaints by model year

Fatal crashes in the US

From 2020 to 2023, 5 1997 E-Class vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 4 people died inside them, and 2 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)

New York safety inspections

At its first New York inspection the 1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class failed the safety check 1.54% of the time — 4% less often than the average 1997 passenger car (1.60%). Median odometer at inspection: 120,615 miles.

973first inspections
1.54%failed on safety
120,615 mimedian odometer
0.0%0.8%1.5%’94’96’97’98’00’02’04’06’08’10’12’14’16’18’20’22’24’26’271.5%0.0%0.8%1.5%’94’97’00’03’06’09’12’15’18’21’24’271.5%

NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count

In the Netherlands

232 first registered in 1997 are on Dutch roads; 54% arrived later as imports. Median list price when new: €70,520.

51.3%had an APK defect recorded since June 2022
92.1%logical odometer history
0.0%with a recall still open

Most common APK defects

Colours

Grey 37%Blue 20%Black 20%Green 15%Red 3%Purple 3%

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles and APK defects (CC0) · defect descriptions in the RDW's Dutch wording

In the United Kingdom

180 cars built in 1997 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 987 more were declared off the road (SORN).

180licensed, end of 2025
15%of those still registered are on the road

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0

In Finland

83 of these cars first registered in 1997 were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026, with an average of 285,000 km on the odometer at their last inspection.

Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use · CC BY 4.0

In New Zealand

21 1997 cars are on the New Zealand register; 95% arrived as used imports, 0% were sold new in New Zealand.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

Recalls in Canada

1 Transport Canada recall for the 1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

2001019
29 Jan 2001		Seats And Restraints
Certain vehicles may experience inadvertent driver and passenger side air bag deployments due to a production problem in the air bag modules. Correction: Driv…

Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada

Recalls

00V388000 · Air bags28 Nov 2000 · 16,255 vehicles

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE EXPERIENCED SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENTS IN THE ABSENCE OF A CRASH.

Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words

Service bulletins

What Mercedes-Benz told its dealers about the 1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class: known faults, fixes and updates.

BulletinSummary
616253MERCEDES-BENZ USA WILL CONDUCT A RECALL CAMPAIGN OF CERTAIN VEHICLES TO REPLACE THE LEFT / RIGHT SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG. *TT
601449UPDATED INFORMATION TO REFLECT ADDITON OF APPROVED TIRES. *YC
10136029SENTEX gate operator with Clik Card Remote not compatible with Homelink
10015071TRUNK LID OPENS OR CLOSES TOO QUICKLY WHILE OPERATING WITH REMOTE TRUNK LID CONTROL BUTTON. *TT
10010822CONSUMER SHUTOFF DISPLAYED IN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WHILE DRIVING. *TT

NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)

NHTSA investigations

PE07021 · Suspension:front:springs:coil springsopened 19 Apr 2007 · closed 9 Aug 2007

FRONT SUSPENSION COIL SPRING EJECTION

RQ00013 · Air bags:side/windowopened 2 Jun 2000 · closed 20 Jul 2001

INADVERTENT SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG DEPLOYMEN

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation