The 1986 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 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. 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.
IN CASE OF ELECTRICAL FAILURE WHICH BLOWS FUSE NO. 9, THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS WILL NOT OPERATE.
Consequence
TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROLWOULD NOT FUNCTION AS INTENDED.
Remedy
USE TWO FUSES IN COMBINATION SO THAT IN CASE OF A FUSE FAILURE, THE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM WILL NOT OPERATE.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
3
1crashes2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
1
PARKING BRAKE:CONVENTIONAL
1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH
1
1crashes
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC
1
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS
1
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM
1
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT
1
SUSPENSION:REAR
1
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
1
1injuries
Total complaints12
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Was in a shopping center and went over a speed bump and the air bag deployed for no reason at all. Someone had just gone over the bump before me.hand was hurt in the process and had to get surgery on the hand. Car has not been repaired yet. *tr”
“Left ball joint split as consumer's daughter was leaving driveway. Also, control arm bushings, sway bar bushings and a wheel alignment needed to be performed. *tt”
“Left ball joint split as consumer's daughter was leaving driveway. Also, control arm bushings, sway bar bushings and a wheel alignment needed to be performed. *tt”
“Left ball joint split as consumer's daughter was leaving driveway. Also, control arm bushings, sway bar bushings and a wheel alignment needed to be performed. *tt”
“Dealer found that the front crossmember is rotted. *tt”
“Dealer found that the front brakes needed to be replaced. *tt”
“Vehicle was placed in the park position with the emergency parking brake engaged. Vehicle jumped out of gear, resulting in vehicle rolling into a wall. Consumer has contacted the dealer, dealer was unable to determine the cause of problem. Please provide any further details. *ak”
“The heater core in the vehicle ruptured, causing boiling hot coolant to pour onto the driver's feet. The boiling coolant caused severe burns to the driver's foot, ankle and leg. The escaping coolant also caused the car to fill up with steam and elliminated visibility.”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP87019 Opened 1987-05-22 · closed 1987-10-29
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationDP90009 Opened 1990-05-09 · closed 1990-08-30
PARKING BRAKE
PARKING BRAKE
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 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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