Airbag inflator rupture on the 2011 Mercedes Benz E350
When airbag inflator rupture gets reported
Owners of the 2011 Mercedes Benz E350 report airbag inflator rupture at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 60,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 80,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 20,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 70,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 49,782 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
46% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19,642 miles | 30,000 miles | 48,000 miles | 60,000 miles | 69,424 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $0–$0 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2013, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 165,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Takata recall: I was notified in january 2016 that my takata airbag could cause serious injury and as of today, august 4,2016 there is no remedy. The mercedes dealer tells me I should be ok to drive my car but I feel if there is a safety issue that's important enough to recall they should be replacing my vehicle with a model that doesn't have a safety recall or fixing the issue. I have had no injuries or accidents in my vehicle. This is a complaint about the delay in fixing a known safety issue.
Takata recall . Mercedes has sent 2 letters indicating death may occur from defective airbags. Defect is even more serious for us because we are on a blood thinner and bleeding caused by defect could not be stopped. Dealer indicates that car may not be sold or driven. Mercedes should either correct defect or provide a replacement car until defect is corrected. The nyt article yesterday indicates that most other car companies, including bmw, do provide replacement cars. Mercedes' stonewalling is outrageous particularly in light of thier decision to save a few bucks and put the purchasers at risk. Mercedes chose to be a cheapskate and should now suffer the consequences, not us innocent purchasers. The mercedes telephone hotline is inoperative...they claim to be busy and never answer. The recording also, contrary to the letters, claims that there is no danger? Which is correct? - the letters or the recording? If it is the letters,then the recording would seem to be a lie and mercedes should be punished for that. The nhsta should be fining mercedes for their stonewalling and demand that they fix the defect or provide a replacement.
Takata recall. I was informed that the driver and passenger airbags had both been issued a recall notice. I called mercedes-benz of naples in naples florida and they said they could not get replacement parts. It has been six months and no word when I might expect a remedy. I want an answer as to when I can expect replacement of these air bags.
Also reported on the 2011 Mercedes Benz E350
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Fuel leak or fuel odor
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Other wheel or tire problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 79 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does airbag inflator rupture happen on the 2011 Mercedes Benz E350?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 60,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is airbag inflator rupture on the 2011 Mercedes Benz E350?
79 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 11 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed