AutoUtility currently tracks 16 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 3 complaints (18.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 cites a fire. The 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class belongs to the 6th Generation (W222) platform.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 16 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (3 reports • 18.8% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Steering System (3), Powertrain & Transmission (2)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
16
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
0
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 18.8% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

3 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#2 Problem Area 18.8% of complaints

Steering System

3 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#3 Problem Area 12.5% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 12.5% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#5 Problem Area 12.5% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11744748
Filed: 06/17/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz S450. The contact received notification of NTHSA Campaign Number: 26V216000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount..."

Incident Date: 06/17/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11715449
Fire Cited Filed: 02/04/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz S560. The contact stated that while parking their vehicle, a burning-leather odor entered the cabin, and they noticed smoke in the cabin. The contact noticed a small fire beneath the driver's seat. The fire was extinguished with nearby snow. At which time the..."

Incident Date: 02/04/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11688276
Crash Cited Filed: 09/19/2025

"The car is out of control! It first began a couple of weeks ago when (1) the side view mirrors no longer closed automatically 2) Next, while I was driving, the car yesterday, the seat belt suddenly tightened as the car prepared for a sudden impact (which there was none).3) Today, the car refused to..."

Incident Date: 09/16/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11670520
Filed: 07/01/2025

"Rear drivers side seat belt/airbag combo locked in place and will not retract."

Incident Date: 05/31/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11665748
Filed: 06/09/2025

"The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz S 560 E. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle vibrated abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the..."

Incident Date: 06/09/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 51 6 5 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 29 0 6 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 22 0 10 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 29 2 12 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Current Page 16 1 11 Current
2020 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 7 0 0 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 34 2 16 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 46 0 9 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 12 1 5 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 6 0 2 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 0 0 0 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 13 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 1 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (16). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Related Official Reports for 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.