2011 MERCEDES-BENZ E350 Complaints

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.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, ONE DAY AFTER FILLING MY TANK, THERE'S NOW AN OVERWHELMING GAS SMELL PRESENT BOTH ~20 FEET AWAY FROM VEHICLE, AND INSIDE THE CAR. IT IS SO BAD, I HAVE TO LEAVE WINDOWS DOWN FOR 20-30 MINUTES WHILE DRIVING BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT BECOMES TOLERABLE WITH THE WINDOWS UP. I HAVE READ THAT OTHER SIMILAR E350 MODELS HAVE THIS PROBLEM, BUT MY NEWER (2011) YEAR MODEL DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ON THE EXTENDED WARRANTY REPAIR LIST. I BELIEVE I HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE OTHERS HAVE DESCRIBED BECAUSE THE SMELL OF GAS IS VERY STRONG AFTER A TOP-OFF, AND GETS GRADUALLY BETTER, BECOMING MUCH LESS NOTICEABLE AS FUEL TANK LEVEL APPROACHES 1/2 TANK AND BELOW.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ E350. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 16V081000 (AIR BAGS) AND 16V363000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. UPDATED 10/05/16*LJ *TR

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.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ E350. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED AN ABNORMAL SMOKE ODOR IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEATING ELEMENT IN THE DRIVER SEAT BECAME OVERHEATED AND BURNED THROUGH THE LEATHER SEAT CUSHION AND THE CONTACT'S PANTS. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 87,890. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

WHILE ENTERING ONTO THE SOUTHERN STATE PARKWAY IN LONG ISLAND N.Y., GOING ABOUT 45 MPH, FOR REASONS NOT KNOWN MY SUNROOF COMPLETELY SHATTERED. MY SUNROOF WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED AT THE TIME.

1. OIL LEAK FROM THE OIL COOLER ASSEMBLY IN THE DIESEL ENGINE. OBVIOUSLY, A CHEAP GASKET WAS USED TO SEAL IT! MB, WITH DIESEL EXPERIENCE OF OVER 80 YRS, SHOULD KNOW BY NOW WHAT MATERIAL THEY USE IN THEIR DIESEL ENGINE. THIS DEFECT WILL DEVELOP IN EVERY CAR THEY MADE IN THE SAME WAY AND THEY SHOULD RECALL THE CARS AND CORRECT THE ISSUE 2. THE DRIVER SEAT IS TORN ALONG THE TUFT IN THE SEAT.THIS IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE BOARD ION ALL MB CARS USING THE SAME MATERIALS. AGAIN, IT IS A MATERIAL ISSUE AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED. OLD MB SEATS LASTED FOR DECADES!

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MERCEDES BENZ E350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS ABNORMAL LEAKAGE UNDER THE VEHICLE AND AN ABNORMAL DIESEL ODOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE OIL COOLER GASKET NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 41,150. UPDATED 02/26/16*LJ; 05/02/18*JB

ON TWO OCCASIONS (ONCE FROM A STOP AND ONCE WHILE MOVING AT 30 MPH) I HAVE PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY AND THE CAR HAS MALFUNCTIONED. BOTH TIMES THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL IMMEDIATELY BECAME DISABLED, THE ESC WARNING INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON, AND THE ENGINE STOPPED RESPONDING TO MY PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL. I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN FORWARD MOVEMENT BUT I COULD NOT ACCELERATE. I COULD PRESS THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT THE RPM GAUGE NEEDLE MOVING. THERE WAS A REAL DANGER OF BEING HIT FROM BEHIND WHEN THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE I WAS SLOWING DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TURNED OFF THE CAR, AND RESTARTED IF AFTER ABOUT 6 SECONDS. ONCE I RESTARTED EVERYTHING RETURNED TO NORMAL. I HAVE NEVER HAD A CAR IN WHICH I LOSE THE ABILITY TO CONTROL SPEED BY PRESSING THE GAS TOO HARD. I AM TOLD IT IS SOME TYPE OF "SAFETY" FEATURE TO PROTECT THE TRANSMISSION ("LIMP HOME MODE") BUT I FIND IT TO BE VERY DANGEROUS. I WOULD RATHER DESTROY A TRANSMISSION AND HAVE THE CAR RESPOND TO MY COMMANDS THEN HAVE A COMPUTER DECIDE TO TURN OFF THE ACCELERATOR WHILE I AM DRIVING AND RISK A REAR END COLLISION. I SEE SOME SIMILAR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS ON THE INTRANET FOR MERCEDES.

VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL, A LOUD THUMP WAS HEARD STOPPING THE CAR. VEHICLE WAS PUT BACK INTO DRIVE WITH LOSS OF POWER ULTIMATELY LEADING TO NO POWER TO THE WHEELS. DIAGNOSTIC WORK LEAD TO SEVERAL CODES RELATING TO TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND FAILURE.