What breaks most · 2004 to 2009 model years
Mercedes-Benz CLS500 problems by year
Owners have filed 67 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mercedes-Benz CLS500 across model years 2004 to 2009. Three years stand out: 2006 for brakes complaints, 2004 for engine complaints and 2007 for suspension complaints.
- Years to check closely: 2006, 2004, 2007
- Complaints on file
- 672004 to 2009, all trims
- Worst year
- 200662 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 30 fires · 4 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 96kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 3Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | Engine (1) | |
| 62 | 3 | 3 | Brakes (21) | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | Suspension (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (1) |
What fails on the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 34% |
21 | 0 | Shop brakes parts for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 19% |
12 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 18% |
11 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 |
| Air bags | 8% |
5 | 3 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Wheels | 6% |
4 | 0 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 6% |
4 | 0 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 |
| Stability controlABS and wheel speed sensors | 5% |
3 | 0 | Shop stability control parts for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 5% |
3 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Brakes keep going out. Brake pedal going to the floor. Esp light comes on and car throttling to a slow creep even on the highway. Extremely dangerous for me and my wife and child.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Mercedes-Benz CLS500 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2006, 2004, 2007 carry the most filings on the Mercedes-Benz CLS500. The 2006 alone has 62 complaints, led by brakes.
What is the most common Mercedes-Benz CLS500 problem?
On the 2006 model year, the most-reported component is brakes with 21 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mercedes-Benz CLS500 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mercedes-Benz CLS500 complaints that include mileage is about 96,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.