1984 Mercedes-Benz 380 Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 1984 Mercedes-Benz 380. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the structure. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Car: 1984 mercedes 380sl I was pulling into my driveway when I heard a clunk. I kept driving into my carport (garage), and I looked underneath to see if I could see anything. I had someone else look at it, and we discovered that the subframe that holds the lower a-arm was broken, and the a-arm…”
“Parked vehicle in front of garage. Turned off engine, got out & decided to move car closer to garage. Put on seat belt, restarted car, put foot on brake, & shifted into drive. Vehicle took off like a rocket, smashed through garage door, through structural beams & out the side of the building…”
“When the cruise control is activated, the car will suddenly accelerate to high speed by itself and the brake does not work. The only option is to shift to "neutral"and apply the brakes or switch -off the engine. It is most dangerous when you are in heavy traffic. *jb”
“Dt: consumer found a recall online and contacted mercedes benz, and dealer,. They acknowledged the recall, but refused to reimburse the consumer for the repairs of the vehicle. The subframe broke, and he had it repaired before he found there was a recall. He had it repaired at a firestone. *ak”
“I have a 1984 mercedes benz (mb) 380sl. This model is equipped with the exact same subframe that was installed on the mb 450sl models. The subframes for the 450sls were recalled because of the danger of it cracking and the left wheel collapsing under the car or coming off altogether while driving.…”
“Car was idling into driveway, consumer put car in reverse, and it took off in reverse, like pedal was stuck. Consumer tried everything to stop vehicle, and consumer could not. Consumer landed in between two trees. *ak”
“In 1993 I had a problem with the vehicle engine shuting down while driving if at any speed. I would step on the gas and the vehicle had no power. It would restart and I could proceed. It was very dangerous and sometimes I was making a left turn and oncoming traffic was approaching. The vehicle was…”
“Vehicle suddenly accelerated causing frontend collision at high unknown speed crashing into 2 vehicles and median strip. Please describe details. Tt”
Defect investigations
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
There is no summary currently available
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…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1984 Mercedes-Benz 380 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.