2011 MERCEDES-BENZ GLK350 Complaints

The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK350. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated unintendedly. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 125,000.

I noticed the smell of fuel coming from my vehicle, specifically when I top off at the gas station. This is dangerous as fuel can combust if ignited. I took the vehicle to be service, to find out about the fuel odor and was advised of the NHTSA recall. Upon researching I see that although the NHTSA recall #12V557000 specifically covers this issue, when entering my VIN, the recall does not appear for MY specific vehicle, which is a 2011 GLK-350. It appears there are several affected vehicles not included in the recall. This is a failure on behalf of Mercedes Benz as it is simple to conclude that the issue includes more vehicles than initially recalled. These vehicles need to be included as well.

There were two incidents, one when my daughter was driving and one when I was driving. We were on a highway going 65 mph and had to brake as we came upon traffic. The car fishtailed/swerved back and forth out of control several times until we could bring the car to a stop. I had to pull onto the shoulder so I didn’t hit any of the cars near me. It was terrifying and I felt lucky that I didn’t have a serious accident. When I got home, I took my car to my local mechanic who inspected the car and said my rear subframe was cracked and rusted out!! After doing some research and talking to the Mercedes dealership where I bought the car, this is a widespread problem with several different models over many years, but they have not issued a recall. Apparently the frames were not rustproofed properly so they are rusting/corroding from the inside out. These frames should last the lifetime of the vehicle with no issues!! There are thousands of people driving their cars out there with this problem and they have no idea that their cars are UNSAFE to drive!!! Someone is going to get killed if Mercedes does not issue a recall for this problem. They recently sent an internal memo to all of their sales and service managers in the US saying they will offer an extended offer on the rear subframes. This does NOT help because many people are unaware of the problem and haven’t received notification that something could be terribly wrong. Mercedes has know about this problem for years and Canada and Europe issued recalls on the rear subframes 2 years ago!!! How can Mercedes USA allow their customers to continue to drive UNSAFE vehicles?!? A class action has been proposed for this problem because Mercedes has been so remiss in their responsibility in protecting their customers. Please please please bring this to light before someone gets injured or killed!!!!

I'm having the same issues as described in Recall no. 12V557000. However when I called Mercedes they mentioned that my Vin wasn't part of that recall. I don't understand how can that be when my car is 2011-2012 glk350 model as described in recall and I smell gas, can see gas leaking and the flange where my fuel filter is cracked as well as the flange to the fuel pump side. This car as well as many other Mercedes have two separate flanges that are prone to crack and not just the fuel filter side but the fuel pump side as well. there's many forums where they all have complained about this issue. If you can smell gas, there's obviously fuel vapors leaking and not to the mentioned the physical leak that is landing everywhere you drive. This is a serious fire hazard and is extremely harmful to my kids and passengers.

Fuel/Propulsion System - There is a gas leaking from somewhere above the gas tank. I did not have this fixed yet because I see a recall for this but my VIN wasn't included in the initial recall. There are 17 other complaints on here for the same issue but we haven't been included in the recall as of today 1/2/2023. The recall that fixed other 2011 GLK 350s is NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 12V557000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). My car is available for inspection upon request. I am very afraid of a fire because the tray underneath the car on the passenger side is full of gas & the tray is right over the exhaust. I stuck a large cotton swab in the tray to soak up the liquid & since it smelled like gas I tried to light it. It caught on fire immediately. This is definitely a safety hazard as it can ignite if a spark or lit cigarette would happen to bounce up in there. Yes it is unlikely but I have seen stranger things. The tray holds a large amount of gas and is directly under the gas tank. The check engine light came on and the diagnostic machine says fuel evap control system leak. A mechanic looked at the leak after taking the rear passenger tire off and finding the gas pooling in that tray. Odometer reads 145,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, the key fob intermittently failed to remotely start the vehicle. The contact stated that the transmission had seized and failed to shift into the intended gear. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the electronic steering locks (ESL) needed to be replaced; however, the replacement part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,500.

The fuel tank flange cracked. After refill the tank, the fuel smell is in the cabin, and fuel leak out under the seat.

The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the frame was corroded and the rear subframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rear subframe needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the dealer and the manufacturer would cover 50% each for the cost of the subframe replacement; however, the contact needed to pay as well for the replacement. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK350. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road and saw the front driver’s side headrest air bag had deployed independently. The contact stated that there was no injury sustained. The contact stated the instrument panel displayed an error message of the driver’s and passenger’s side Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) had malfunctioned. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with the seat wiring harness had malfunctioned causing the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) to be illuminated. The contact was not aware of the repair needed on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

BECAUSE OF THE LOW QUALITY OF THE PLASTIC, WHICH WAS USED IN THE FUEL PUMP BODY ON MY GLK350, FORMED A CRACK ON BOTH BODIES OF THE FUEL TANKS. FUEL IS COMING OUT DIRECTLY UNDER THE REAR SEAT AND DRIPPING DOWN TO THE ROAD. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD, AND COULD CAUSE A POSSIBILITY OF FIRE.