The 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190 has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 161,737 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 11 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the vehicle speed control. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
PARKING BRAKE91V1370001991-08-2096,541 affected
Defect
THE DESIGN OF THE PARKING BRAKE GRIP MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO DISTORT THE GRIP AND PINCH THE BRAKE RELEASE KNOB. IF THE RELEASE KNOB STICKS IN A PARTIAL ENGAGE/RELEASE POSITION BECAUSE OF THE PINCHED GRIP, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE LEVER TO RELEASE UNINTENTIONALLY WITH A CORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN PARKING BRAKE FORCE.
Consequence
IF THE VEHICLE IS NOT PROPERLY PARKED WITH THETRANSMISSION IN THE CORRECT POSITION, AND IF THE VEHICLE IS PARKED ON A GRADE,REDUCTION IN PARKING BRAKE FORCE COULD LEAD TO UNINTENTIONAL ROLLAWAY AND ANACCIDENT.
Remedy
REPLACE THE PARKING BRAKE GRIP WITH A NEW GRIP TYPE.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“On 05-03-2011 while driveing my mercedes benz190 series /1985- the heating coil burst pouring &spraying hot radiator coolant from under the dash/over the fire wall onto my legs and feet. Burning and blistering 2nd degree burns over my legs and feet. There was no prior warning of any problem ,this…”
“While driving heater core blew, causing hot coolant to leak into the vehicle on driver's legs, causing third degree burns. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak”
“The vehicle surged into a brick wall. While in park, consumer went to put the vehilce into teh drive gear from park. Wiht foot on the brake, the vehicle lunged forward. This type of surging action would happen while in motion also. Consumer feels some retribution is owed. *jg”
“No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak”
“Transmission failure.”
“Engine failure.”
“The rear subframe is cracked in the middle. When shifting gears, a metal to metal sound is experienced. *ak”
“Plastic clip on accelerator cable wears out prematurely, falls out onto ground; have no control over idling speed. Tt dealer replaced entire accelerator cable the first time the incident occurred, the seond time, just the clip was replaced. *slc”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP87019 Opened 1987-05-22 · closed 1987-10-29
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA88034 Opened 1988-07-15 · closed 1990-07-31
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
THE CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY PETITIONED NHTSA TO OPEN AN INVESTIGATION INTOSUDDEN ACCELERATION ON VARIOUS MERCEDES-BENZ MODELS.THE PETITION WASGRANTED WITH RESPECT TO THE 1986-1987 300E MODEL AND ENGINEERING ANALYSISEA88-003 WAS OPENED COVERING JUST THE 1986 AND 1987 300 E VEHICLES.SUBSEQUENTLY, CFAS REPETITIONED NHTSA…
InvestigationEA90040 Opened 1990-08-29 · closed 1991-08-30
PARKING BRAKE LEVERS
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE88032 Opened 1988-03-10 · closed 1988-05-02
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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