Avg. Price Paid:$44,532 - $57,332
Original MSRP: $89,350 - $147,450
MPG: 14 City / 22 Hwy
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Mercedes-Benz S-Class Recalls & Reliability

These scores and this review are from when the car was new.

Scorecard

Overall: 2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class U.S. News Best Cars 8.9
Critics' Rating: 9.4
Performance: 9.2
Interior: 8.8
Safety: N/A
Reliability:
How we calculate scores
Research analyzed for this review

Pros & Cons

  • Almost unsurpassed luxurious interior
  • Handles like a sports sedan despite its large size
  • S600 model's V12 offers extraordinary acceleration
  • Lower trims are expensive even for this class, higher trims much more so
  • COMAND driver interface is not for everyone

 

Research Other Years

Review Last Updated: 4/15/10

Recalls

There has been 1 safety recall issued from NHTSA.

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESRecall Date: 03/06/2009
  • Consequence: THIS SITUATION COULD AFFECT THE SAFE EXITING OF A VEHICLE IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH OR PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM INADVERTENT OPENING OF THE REAR DOOR.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 09V081000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 54
  • Summary: MERCEDES BENZ IS RECALLING 54 MY 2009 S-CLASS, W221 VEHICLES. DUE TO PART NUMBER LABEL OF THE DOOR LOCKS IT COULD BE THAT THE FRONT AND REAR PASSENGER SIDE DOOR LOCKS WERE INTERCHANGED DURING PRODUCTION. THE EXCHANGE OF A FRONT AND A REAR PASSENGER SIDE DOOR LOCK WOULD RESULT IN A PASSENGER SIDE DOOR THAT CANNOT BE OPENED BY MERELY PULLING ON THE INTERIOR HANDLE AND A REAR DOOR LOCK THAT CAN BE OPENED WITH A SIMPLE PULL OF THE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE EVEN IF LOCKED.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL CHECK THE PART NUMBER ON ALL DOOR LOCKS AND REPLACE ANY INCORRECTLY INSTALLED DOOR LOCK FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN MARCH 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MERCEDES BENZ AT 1-800-367-6372.
  • Notes: OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

Reliability

Our reliability score is based on the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) rating or, if unavailable, the J.D. Power Predicted Reliability rating.

Predicted Reliability Score
  • Key:
  • Among The Best
  • Better Than Most
  • About Average
  • The Rest

J.D. Power and Associates Power Circle Ratings do not include all information used to determine J.D. Power and Associates awards. See JDPower.com for more information on Power Circle Ratings. Your experience may vary.

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Warranty

Mercedes protects S-Class owners with a two-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Certain regularly scheduled maintenance during the first year is included in the purchase price. There is no separate powertrain warranty, but the warranty can be extended to as long as 84 months for an additional fee.  

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