2024 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Consumer Reviews
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2024 SL-Class, so we've included reviews for other years of the SL-Class since its last redesign.
My 2022 SL55 from hell.
Don Rodosta , 04/16/2023
2022 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class AMG SL 55 2dr Convertible AWD (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
Things I didn't like about my SL55. Dashboard creeks and rattles. Brake pads squeezed. Transmission upshifted to 5th gear too quickly at low speed. Two months waiting for an appointment at Mercedes dealership. Traded it in on a EQE AMG after three months of ownership and took a big loss. Thanks Mercedes!
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2022 SL55 AMG Not Safe To Drive
Bob, 12/31/2023
2022 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class AMG SL 55 2dr Convertible AWD (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Traded in a C7 Z06 for a new 2022 SL55 AMG. The issues with the car started within 1000 miles. First the top would stop half way. Next the trunk would open by itself at highway speed. The dash rattles. The monitor then went to just a fuzzy screen so none of the multitude of systems control within the multimedia system were able to be controlled. Next the 4 wheel steering faulted at highest speed. Next the ABS and traction control faulted not allowing the car to be driven over 55 mph. Next the automatic braking system faulted and activated at 25 mph. Next the GPS system stopped functioning completely. Next all of the cameras on the car became unavailable. The dealer tried resetting the computer for the 6th time. While doing so a loud pop came from within the dash. The service tech looked at me and sais...what was that. I guess he forgot I wasn't the tech. The dealer told me that once again the car was fixed. I asked if they would trust this car as being safe enough for their wife to drive. They said they could answer yes to that. If that's the case, why should I ever drive this car or let anyone else drive it? The car is unsafe and Mercedes has been horrible to deal with. I have yet to even have a call returned. The dealer is also frustrated and told me these cars were released too soon.
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Had Flaws - But a recall fixed my major issue
Mike, 10/01/2023
updated 04/08/2024
2022 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class AMG SL 55 2dr Convertible AWD (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Edit: the below still stands for my initial purchase, however, i bought the vehicle while there was a recall on my battery charging port (or something similarly worded). the dealership i bought it from must not have felt like fixing my issue and sold it to me knowing there was a problem with it and did not disclose this. Now, after getting the vehicle back from my local dealership (not who i purchased it from), it has become an amazingly fun car to drive, with 100% battery reliability. gone 2+ weeks with no start, and the battery has not died. Just make sure when you go to purchase your vehicle it is up to date on at least this one recall issue with the battery. It is now a 5 star car, like my ending paragraph said it would be if the battery wasn't an issue. Please look up the problems on mbworld forums. if you google mbworld battery issues on amg sl 55 you will find many others experiece the same problems as me below for the 2022-2023 model year. Pro's Extremely fun to drive. Performance and comfort are perfect for me. At 31 and it being my first luxury sports car purchase, it is exactly what i expected. Amazing acceleration. The tech inside is insane. Way more functions than necessary but justifies the price tag and makes the car a lot of fun. Ride may be rough for some, but for me, it is still a great ride. BIG CON Battery drains exceptionally fast. Drove it off the lot on a tuesday. parked it in my garage. by thursday my mercedes app is telling me the battery is low. took my car to get ppf wrapped for paint protection the following week. dropped it off on a monday. they called me on wednesday and said the car died. googled this problem and turns out, this is a COMMON issue and many people are not finding solutions. In order to get my car to last 5 days without being driven, i need to turn off wifi, blue tooth, and all interior lights of the vehicle after parking it in the garage. i have to lock the vehicle at all times. i also need to store the key fob over 15 feet away (the fob and car search for eachother and if they are within a certain distance, the battery will drain). this helps a little. but today i just cleaned my car after driving it for 3 days in a row, and because i had the doors open for 30 minutes to clean the interior, guess what my mercedes app poped up with. battery in critically low condition. another minor issue that i can live with (but shouldnt have to) is the breaks squeal about 70% of the time you stop. unless you push the break hard, expect some noise. If the battery wasn't an issue, this car would easily be a 5 star car for me. i can deal with all the small annoyances because its performance and aesthetics are amazing. sound system is amazing as well. but for the cost of the vehicle, i expected better. i plan to set an appointment at a dealership to see if it can be resolved, but as mentioned, there are many people experiencing this problem and very very few have had success in resolving it. wish i would have gone with the BMW M8 or the Lexus LC500. Comparable in performance, are less expensive, and from what i can tell on forums, do not seem to have any battery issues.
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What a sound
randylip, 09/04/2023
2023 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class AMG SL 55 2dr Convertible AWD (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A)
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
I now have 1800 miles on my MB SL 55. Great car. Beautiful, magnificent interior, fast, and what a sound. The workmanship is spot on. I owned the older sl models but this blows them away. You can go from a comfortable rode car to a beast by switching small dials on the steering wheel. Its not cheap, but you get a lot of car for the money.
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Beautiful, but the ride is simply HARSH.
Der Alte Rentner Lake Bluff Il, 08/24/2023
updated 01/09/2024
2022 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class AMG SL 63 2dr Convertible AWD (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A)
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
------------ January 8,2024 update: ---------------- I read someone else's review about battery life in his SL55. At the recent oil change, Mercedes GAVE me a trickle charger. For about $300, you could have it installed. While the trickle charger seems to be Mercedes solution for a battery that goes dead in the car in a week, which should not be happening, their idea of installing the trickle charger is burying it in the front right wheel well and attaching it to the jump start posts with - A L L I G A T O R C L I P S ! To plug it into a wall outlet, you need to open the hood, fishing out the A/C cord and feeding it out at the right corner of the hood closest to the windshield. Frankly, it's easier to not have it installed and just plug the alligator clips when you charge. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!! (they weren't) I assume most people who can afford this car have the luxury of being able to park it in a garage, but if you have to plug this in every time you park the car for a few days, there's something wrong with the engineering of this vehicle.. For all of the electronics included in the car, you would think a voltage gauge would be among them, yes? No! My RAM 1500 has a fist load of metrics available to the driver. Mercedes has almost nothing useful. Also, this car is so low to the ground, you have to be careful driving up a modestly steep driveway, as I did in a three point turn recently. I bottomed out. Thankfully, the bumper was undamaged. Not so the rubber-like part affixed to the bottom of the bumper, which Mercedes can't seem to replace. I don't know what this part does. Neither do the mechanics or Parts Department folks I asked. In fact, this thing doesn't even show up on any parts diagram even the Service Department had access to. Long story short, a Service Tech finally found a part number and I have two on order at two dealerships. I am not hopeful of ever getting this. It seems unnecessary, but I'm sure if I were to try to trade this in at a dealership, I'd get grief over it being missing. ------------ Downgrading my original 4-star review to 2-stars: ---------------- A few more days of driving the SL63 have passed since I first reviewed this SL63 AMG, and I'm liking it less and less. The review title pretty much sums up my opinion of the car. I bought a gorgeous 2022 SL63 (Hyper Blue with tan interior - WOW!) and get compliments all the time. The tech features are impressive, and there's much to love about it. However, I sold my 2013 SL550 to a friend, so occasionally have the opportunity to get back into that and compare rides. I hate to say it but, after having spent the small fortune, that I did for the SL63, I'm ready to cash out of that and either reinvest in the last model year of the old style SL550 or reconsider the BWM 8 series convertible. By the way, on that BMW, one of the reasons I switched consideration to the Benz was that BMW did not offer massaging seats. Having sampled the massaging seats on the SL63, I would not be missing out on much giving them up. The BMW also had more legroom, but I felt the headroom was tight. Hence the decision to go with the SL63. But comparing the SL550 to the SL63, the air scarf on the SL63 is much less effective than the one on the SL550, as are the massaging seats. The SL550 had more legroom. I'm 6' tall and miss the extra space. This car is not made for the over 6' customer. I really hate to give up on this color combination, but I unless I'm driving on pristine roads, the ride on the SL63 is simply unforgivable. Furthermore, I suspect the first time I hit a sever pothole, I'll be out several thousands to replace a wheel. I wish the reviewers at Edmunds and other sites were less focused on horsepower and actually considered the target audience - in this case, an older clientele. Despite the reviewer's assertions that this is a long-range touring vehicle, this is more suited to well-maintained back roads - lets skip the RR crossings... To add insult to injury, the Lake Bluff, IL Mercedes dealer today balked at letting me try their SL55 AMG for a test drive. (I wanted to see if smaller wheels and a higher tire profile would make a difference). I probably should have asked to speak with a manager, but the salesman I spoke with said the dealership is reluctant to let people take these high-end sports cars out. I was directed instead to consult the service department, where I was informed that the smaller wheels (despite having higher profile tires) would only make the ride worse. Since I couldn't actually test the theory, my search for a 2019 or 2020 SL550 begins.. Less tech, more fulfilling. Sigh ------------ original review ---------------- I read the reviews and focused on the part dealing with Comfort. I'm sorry, even in the softest setting for the shocks, you feel every crack in the pavement. Compared to my 2013 SL550, the ride of this beast is harsh. I agree with Edmunds that the touch screen controls are overly complicated. There's a lot there, but some things are difficult to find. Voice activation helps for some things, but it's really aggravating to have to reach for the touch screen to do many things that were the touch of a button on the steering wheel. The seats are very comfortable, but I think I lost a little legroom switching to the SL63 from my older SL550. The massage feature is weaker than the SL550 too. Having said all that, when I'm on a nice back road, this baby hums along beautifully. I don't drive it in any of the aggressive modes, but it you want thrills, you can crank it up to 11. Premium stereo came with the car. I had to do a nationwide search to find the color combo I wanted, and the SL63 I bought was the only one available in the country at the time. So, I overbought. It's really not necessary. I think I might trade this one in and order a brand new SL55 for delivery in the Spring of 2024. I need to confirm that the "comfort" setting is available in the SL55, and check whether the 20" wheels on the SL55 have more space between rim and tread. That might take the worst of the stiffness out of the ride. It's a beautiful car, no doubt. And in the blue exterior, tan interior combo, it gets a lot of attention. Mileage is awful, however. Especially if you let those 500 plus horses run even for short sprints. To be 100 percent honest, I wish the previous generation of SL had been upgraded with some of the tech in this latest issue. I might have saved myself a ton of money and been happier with the SL550. I'll drive the SL63 for the Fall and make a decision soon about keeping it, swapping for an SL55), taking a second look at the BMW 8 series. (The major reason I bailed on the Bimmer is that the Benz had massaging seats, where the 8 series did not. Given how lack luster even the most aggressive setting is on the SL63, I could live without it). Or try to get my SL550 back from the friend I sold it to.
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