On February 7 my wife was driving our 2000 S430 mb sedan and hit a curb on the drivers side. All the side airbags deployed. The damaged estimated was over $6000. My repair shop, mastercrafters Inc. At 7406-08 westmore rd. In rockville, md noted that there was no other damages to the car. There was no suspension, frame or front end damage. Mr. Ken moran, the owner said that for the airbag to deploy without any other damage was extremely unusual and felt that this was an instance of a probable defective sensor or other airbag component failure. I am notifying Mercedes Benz of this occurrence, since I feel that this airbag deployment was a very dangerous situation and could have resulted in a serious accident. This event will surely cause my insurance rates to go up as well. A copy of this complaint will be sent to ussa, my insurer, and to Mercedes Benz of North America.

- Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

The 2000 Slk230 I purchased new in 2000 has 5,000 miles on it. Mint-garage stored condition. I have requested numerous times, assistance with both side door problems which may lead to unwarranted air bag release in the near future. The defect appears to have been corrected in 2001 by Mercedes Benz as the newer models have a "one piece interior door panel, vs the "two piece" interior door panels in the 2000 models. I have friends with the same year and model having the same issue. Both driver and passenger side interior door panels have broken loose from the door due to the defective design of two piece with all pressure to close the doors, pulling the two piece panel design away from the actual doors. Mercedes Benz-corporate and their local dealers refuse to assist with the issue. I am confident that in the near future, air bag deployment is inevitable from both sides due to the defect in design. Hopefully with no injury!

- Moyock, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz Slk230. While driving 25 mph, the contact heard an explosion near the driver side door, followed by a burning smell. The contact pulled the vehicle over and noticed that the driver side door air bag deployed, which bruised her left arm from the elbow to the shoulder. NHTSA campaign id number 01I005000 (air bags:side/window) was referenced. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failure. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 45,000.

- Pasadena, MD, USA