2020 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS 450 Complaints

I am writing to escalate an unresolved service issue with my 2020 Mercedes Benz GLS 450, VIN [XXX] . During a maintenance service on March 6, my trusted independent services shop for 25 years, Carrera Motors in San Mateo CA, identified that the electrical harness of my GLS 450 was significantly damaged. The plastic casing around the wires had effectively disintegrated, exposing the wires directly to the engine. Carrera Motors indicated that this was a serious issue and does not normally occur with a 5 year old vehicle. They encouraged me to contact Mercedes directly. At the instruction of Carrera Motors, I contacted Mercedes customer care on March 10 and was issued a case number (#[XXX]) for the harness issue. She mentioned that someone would get back to me within 3 business days. Unfortunately, 3 days went by without a response. I called and left 3 messages over the next 2 days. Finally, MBUSA returned my call and instructed me to take the car to an authorized Mercedes dealer. At my own expense, I had the car towed from Carrera Motors to Autobahn Motors in Belmont CA on March 18. Mark Nissen at Autobahn was responsible for the service of my vehicle. He and his services team have verified that the electrical harness was seriously damaged and needs to be replaced at a cost of $5,009.99. Replacement is considered critical, and it’s been identified as a serious safety issue. This issue has not been resolved. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On a long road trip - about halfway on [XXX] - received an error message on 48v system malfunction - immediately called nearest Mercedes dealership (Richmond Va) to schedule a service - while on the line received an engine overheating pull over and shut it off message - at this point vehicle deaccelerated over riding my control of vehicle speed. Had to navigate from far left lane to right hand emergency lane at 40 mph - very dangerous maneuver as losing power. Vehicle was towed and received a 48v software update - software that deaccelerates the vehicle with no override for safety is a real problem INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The shock absorbers have prematurely failed as other recalled 2020 GLS vehicles, but our VIN is not showing under the recall campaign 20V329000. Can our vehicle be included on this recall?

intermittent rear view camera inoperable when you shift from park to reverse. Doesnt come on even if you turn off and tune on the engine.

The adaptive cruise control feature of this vehicle on various highways [XXX] , [XXX] and the [XXX] ) and in various locations while traveling at highway speeds has mis-read speed limit signs and aggressively decelerated(I assume by using its regenerative braking) to as low as 35mph while traffic is moving at 65+mph. The dealership was unable to duplicate this issue. No faults are displayed to the driver. I do not know if rear brake lights are illuminated when this occurs. This is an aggressive and scary deceleration with no warning. I fear a rear end collision is likely. No one aside from the dealership has inspected this vehicle INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

We intermittently experience phantom braking, including on the highway with no objects or vehicles ahead of us (for example, not on a curve, no vehicle visible within half a kilometer). Vehicle abruptly slows. This includes when in a lane (no lane change). It also can occur during a properly indicated lane change. It occurs when we are driving the posted limit. It also occurs when there are no parallel nearby roads. This appears to be a significant safety issue.

I have received multiple notifications over several months that read "Camera view restricted". This impacts the collision avoidance and adaptive highbeam assist functions. Dealer has offered no service recommendations.

While driving on the New Jersey Turnpike on November 17, 2023, a burning smell was noticed inside the car. The smell lasted about an hour. No smoke was present and the car continued to operate. While concerned, I assumed it was environmental and outside the car. On November 25, 2023 my car threw a 48V battery warning and forcibly shut off. We were not on a highway at the time and were able to pull over to a gas station. MB roadside was called and towed the car to Euro Motorcars Devon of Devon, PA, the local Mercedes-Benz dealer and where I purchased the car and receive service. Over the course of the next few weeks the service department concluded and ultimately determined that there were burnt out cables which were connected to the 48V battery (this is highlighted in the service receipt attached). This repair was not covered under my warranty and lead to a $5,804.56 repair bill. The car was repaired to my satisfaction and the bill was paid in full on December 14, 2023 determined the matter was complete. On or about May 1, I received a recall notice from MBUSA. The ID is 2024040002 and the NHTSA Recall ID is 24V207. This recall specifically called out the 48V battery connections and potential for misconnections to cause fire. This is the exact issue that is clearly articulated in the service report (attached). After six weeks attempting full reimbursement, MB considered the issue closed and their official position was that I was only entitled to $337.08 for the actual recall of the battery connection check. Of course the connections would now be correct as they fixed them and replaced the cables that caught fire. I am escalating this to your department and seek full reimbursement from Mercedes for this repair performed. This failure occurred prior to the recall notice and is the singular event that the recall is to mitigate that happened.

The passenger rear wheel brake caliper lower bolt got loose. The bolt is most likely not available for inspection. The caliper body then started rubbing against the wheel inside surface and caused a noise. If the caliper body had jammed into the wheel and stopped it from rotating, say on the highway, the vehicle could have skidded or rolled over? The MB dealership inspected and replaced the bolt. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The noise came during braking on tuesday, 28 May. The car was repaired by the MB dealership on Thursday, 30 May.

Today around 6:47pm. I was reversing my car and I noticed another car in my backup camera and tried shift the gear shift to drive but it didn't work and stayed stuck on reverse and would not moved and the brake pedal and emergency brake wouldn't work.