2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2001 vehicle, but with only 109 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is exterior lighting (20 complaints), typically at 6.8 yr or about 51,310 miles.

Covers 2 variants: SLK320 (47), SLK230 (41)

Complaints: 109
Median age at failure: 11.7 yr
Median mileage: 61,640 n=90
Crash / fire / tow: 7.3% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Exterior lighting mileage not reported 4.9 yr in service

2001 MERCEDES BENZ DEVELOPED A PROBLEM WHERE WATER WAS GETTING INTO THE HEADLIGHTS. THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS GETTING THE HEADLIGHT REPLACED. *MR *SC

Exterior lighting 37,000 mi 2.0 yr in service

YOU NEED TO INCLUDE MODEL YEAR 2001 IN YOUR INVESTIGATION OF THE BRAKE LIGHT ISSUE NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : PE05051. BOTH THE TAIL LAMP ASSEMBLIES HAD TO BE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY IN SEPT 02, WHEN THE CAR WAS OWNED BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER DUE TO THIS FAILURE. I NOW HAVE ISSUES WITH THE RIGHT REAR BRAKE LAMP BULB SOCKET FAILING TO RELEASE, SO I BELIEVE THE SAME THING IS OCCURRING AGAIN. THIS INVESTIGATION SHOULD REALLY COVER ALL MERCEDES R170 THROUGH 2004. *JB

Exterior lighting 61,000 mi 6.2 yr in service

I WAS INFORMED BY A REPAIR SHOP AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT A BRAKE LIGHT ISSUE ON 2001 MERCEDES BENZ SLK230 THAT A RECALL HAD BEEN ISSUED CAMPAIGN ID 05V505000 ON MY MAKE/MODEL FOR THIS PROBLEM. I SCHEDULED A APPOINTMENT WITH LOCAL DEALER TO GET THE SOCKET REPLACED. I WAS TOLD BY THE MERCEDES DEALER THAT MY CAR WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. MY MAKE/MODEL IS A PART OF THE RECALL BASED UPON INFORMATION VIEWED ON YOUR WEBSITE. WHY WOULD THE DEALER NOT REPLACE IT? ARE THEY NOT REQUIRED BY LAW TO PERFORM THE RECALLED WORK. *NM

Electronic stability control (esc) 164,000 mi 11.3 yr in service

THE ESP LIGHT COMES ON, THE CAR PULLS TO RIGHT AND THE SPEED PEDAL DOES NOT WORK. IT HAPPENS WHILE ACCELERATING AND ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT DUE TO LACK OF POWER TO CROSS A MAJOR INTERSECTION. THE ESP LIGHT COMES ON AND AUTOMATICALLY DISABLES THE SPEED/GAS PEDAL. *TR

Other SLK model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other SLK model years

How to read this