2017 MERCEDES-BENZ GLE350 Complaints

While traveling at approximately 45 MPH in multi-lane highway traffic, WITHOUT WARNING the vehicle's power steering suddenly failed. Concurrently a red display message appeared in the instrument cluster stating "Power Steering Malfunction - See Owner's Manual". ALL steering assistance was lost at that point and the vehicle had to be maneuvered with great effort out of traffic to a safe offroad location. Vehicle is a 2017 Mercedes GLE 350 (166 chassis) with 22,000 miles. Initial inspection of the vehicle by a Mercedes mechanic revealed a fault in the EPS (electrical power steering), and the presence of fault code P063500. Subsequent inspection of the vehicle by the local Mercedes dealer revealed the same fault code along with the advisory that the vehicle is "technically not safe to drive..." and that a new electric power steering rack is required. Service advisor further offered the comment that "1-2 vehicles present like this monthly." Online search of Mercedes Xentry Tips for fault code P063500 reveals topic number LI46.35-P-0555436 (dated 01-12-2017), with the acknowledgement of power steering malfunction occurrences in model 204, 207 and 212 vehicles. No reference is made to model 166 vehicles. Mention is made of performing a software update of the electric power steering control unit via "Adaptations" in the 204, 207 and 212 vehicles.

My sunroof exploded for no reason. There was no accident or impact. The car was stationary and the glass just blew out.

This letter is an attempt to connect to the correct channels seeking resolution regarding a recent recall. My 2017 Mercedes GLE350 stalled in the rain and I subsequently had to get it towed to the dealership for repairs. And upon completion of the repairs, I received a recall notice about the specific issue that was just addressed. Pursuant to the recall notice, I sought a reimbursement for the repairs in which I was directed to Mercedes Customer Care and received a case number. The dealership is being a little hard-nosed regarding the reimbursement so I’m seeking recourse through official channels. I’ve attached the recall notice, invoice of repairs, and all other pertinent information regarding this issue. An expedient resolution would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you.

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side seat belt malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an unknown sensor to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V251000 (Seat Belts) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the message "Power Steering Malfunction. See Operator Manual" was displayed. The steering became extremely difficult to turn. The contact was unable to maneuver the steering wheel and stopped the vehicle. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road with the assistance of a bystander who drove the vehicle. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the warning message disappeared, and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the actuator module and the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000. The contact stated that the manufacturer did not offer much help. The dealer eventually offered to help pay for half of the cost and repairs were made.

The vehicle only has about 10K+ miles but encountered "Power Steering Malfunction See Operator’s Manual" error message, and then the Power Steering stopped working, became stiff, and could not be moved. The vehicle got stuck in the mid of the road becoming very dangerous for the driver, passengers, and all other moving vehicles on the road too. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who said that the Powering Steer Rack was not working and needed to be replaced. The cost is about $7000. Mercedes had multiple recalls for very similar Power Steer problems in the past a few years including vehicles made in the same year as mine (2017). However they never included the GLE model in their recalls in the past. Apparently GLE was affected by the wide-spread Power Steer Malfunction problem which they already knew about.

The sunroof exploded spontaneously and shattered without warning while driving on a highway (I20 ) from Tyler TX to DFW airport around 10 AM bright sunny Tuesday morning.I was terrified and now feeling unsafe to drive this car with this kind of unsafe sunroof product henceforth. I called Mercedes Benz USA and said the car is out of warranty and did not want to check and investigate this safety failure and be responsible to make good to replace the sunroof in order to ensure it is safe to drive this car again. We want to report this incident to you. We also informed them that there were previous same issue of there older model but they said there is nothing they can do. They are not interested in investigating this safety issue either.

The brakes, possibly including the brake boosters, failed on the 2017 GLE SUV on 7/19/22. The car would not stop and crashed into a brick wall. Mercedes currently has a recall for the brake boosters for models similar to mine but not my model year. The recall should include the 2017 GLE models as well. The public and drivers are at risk for injury, including death. The car is available for inspection. It currently is housed at an insurance repair shop. No warning lamps illuminated to alert that the brakes were failing.

We purchased a used 2017 GLE 350 two years ago from a Mercedes dealership. The first year or so I had not driven it at night as during Covid when we did go out after dark we usually took my husband’s vehicle and he drove. When I finally did drive the GLE at night I found that I had trouble seeing the road at any reasonable distance from the front of the car and that there is almost no illumination of the roadside even very close to the vehicle. When I mentioned this to my husband he said he had not had an issue with it but since I did we would take it to the dealership and have the headlights checked. At this point I’ve driven it quite a few times at night and know that if I was on an unfamiliar road with no roadside lighting it would be dangerous to drive, consequently I’m afraid to drive my own car at night. We have taken the car to the dealership with this complaint and they “adjusted” the headlights which made no difference I could perceive. As this is dangerous I think it’s ludicrous for such an expensive vehicle made by a company I’ve previously trusted to look out for our safety to produce vehicles with sub- standard exterior lighting thereby creating such unsafe conditions. I’ve finally done some research on your website, the Mercedes site, as well as other sites I found using Google and am shocked to find out that this issue has been reported both to you and to MB multiple times and that nothing has been done because the lights are “within, if barely, limitations”. We’ve now phoned the dealer to see if there is something they can do such as change to different bulbs and they are going to get back to us with a price to upgrade the lights. It’s sad that my previous vehicles, a 2014 GLK and a Nissan Maxima’s headlights were far superior to the 2017 GLE. When will you take steps to address this issue? How many accidents have to happen before someone forces MB to do something to correct this unsafe condition?

The sunroof rails are damage from wind force while driving. Sunroof is unusable and not covered by warranty. Cheap plastic parts used. Heard of issues where sunroof flipped back. Now am paranoid to use it. There are so many reports available online of problems that there should be a recall.