The 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 128,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 8 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
DUE TO HEAT EFFECTS, THE THROTTLE BUSHING LOCATED ON THE ACCELERATOR CONTROL CABLE, CAN FATIGUE AND BREAK, CAUSING THE THROTTLE LINKAGE TO SEPARATE.
IF THE THROTTLE LINKAGE SEPARATES, THE ENGINE WILL RETURNTO IDLE SPEED, AND REMAIN AT IDLE, WITH NO ACCELERATION ABILITY. LOSS OF ENGINESPEED WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND ANACCIDENT.
REPLACE THE THROTTLE BUSHING WITH A NEW BUSHING MADE FROM MORE HEAT-RESISTANT MATERIALS.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Vehicle will suddenly accelerate. Dealer cannot find cause. *ak”
“While driving about 5-10 mph the air bag on the driver's side deployed for no apparent reason. The dealer is aware of the situation. The air bag has not been replaced. *ak”
“Computer failed, causing intermittent stalling. *ak”
“Plastic thermostat housing broke, caused loss of coolant which damaged the engine. Tt”
“Spring on day/night mechanism on rear-view mirror cracked and plastic bottom flew into driver's lap, causing injury. *skd”
“Air bag indicator light was flashing off/on, replaced air bag, still happens on long trips. *dsh”
“Water pump defective.”
“Engine overhaul in the first year. Tt”
ACCEL LINKAGE DISCONNECTION
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.