NHTSA Complaint #11522934 — 1981 MERCEDES-BENZ 380

Mercedes has acknowledged and agreed to repair at their cost the defect in the subframe connections to the wheel control arms. This structural weakness, once snapped, results in the loss of control, wheels falling off and suspension components dropping to the ground. MBZ agreed to fix this issue on all R107 and C107 cars (US Models 450SL/SLC) from 1973 thru 1980- Mercedes Recall#191185120001, SIL 33/001 Subframe Modification Dated 11/1/85 - but did not include the R107 and C107 between 1981-1985 (US Model 380SL/SLC) that developed the same potential life threatening catastrophic defect. Mercedes did, however, update the the 1986-1989 models with strengthened subframes, a de facto admission of their bad unsafe design. My recently purchased 1981 380SLC was just inspected for this issue and cracks are clearly present, requiring immediate strengthening.