MERCEDES-BENZ Complaints

SEVERE THROTTLE DELAY & UNPREDICTABLE ACCELERATION When applying pressure to the accelerator pedal at intersections or traffic lights, there is a substantial "dead zone" delay where the vehicle fails to respond or move forward. To prompt movement in normal traffic flow, I am forced to depress the accelerator pedal to the floor. Once the engine computer responds, the vehicle suddenly lunges forward in an abrupt, uncontrolled surge of power. I have to keep my foot ready over the brake “just in case”. This is not something that happens every time so it isn’t entirely predictable but it is safe to say at the very least 1in10 times when the conditions are as mentioned above. 2.Recent Near-Miss Incident: This "delay-then-lunge" defect recently almost resulted in a pedestrian collision at an intersection when the vehicle hesitated during a turn and suddenly lurched forward into the crosswalk. The unpredictable nature of this acceleration profile makes controlled low-speed maneuvering extremely difficult and unsafe. 3.I brought this safety concern to my authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership service department. The service advisor and technicians verified the issue and confirmed that this lag is a widespread, inherent design issue across the CLE 300 line—reproducible in other identical customer models and dealership loaner vehicles. According to the service team, the delay stems from factory programming coordinating the 48V mild-hybrid system, drive-by-wire throttle mapping, and Eco Start/Stop function in default Comfort mode. Because the vehicle automatically reverts to default Comfort mode every time the engine is started, drivers are continuously exposed to this safety risk unless manually overridden on every single drive. The dealership indicated there is currently no official factory software recall or bulletin available to fix the programming. 4. Requested Action:This report has been submitted to my attorney to reduce any liability I might incur in the future.

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic. While the contact’s son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly slowed down and failed to properly accelerate. The contact's son attempted to shift into reverse; however, the transmission was making an abnormal grinding sound. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with drivetrain and engine damage, catalytic converter failure, and a bolt had snapped or was loose. The contact stated that the dealer related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V216000 (POWER TRAIN). The vehicle was not repaired. The part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

My kids and I went into a football game and when we came out I used the key fob to unlock the doors but the vehicle didn’t recognize my key fob when I tried to start it. There were no lights or warnings leading up to this incident. The dash didn’t say anything besides “remove key from ignition”. We were stranded for 5 hours before I had to have it towed. It cost roughly $2000 to have it repaired with no clear reason for why it happened. It was a censor on the steering column that was somehow deprogrammed while we were in the stadium and suddenly failed to recognize its own key fob once it was inserted into the ignition. The anti-theft security feature kicked in and I could not get the vehicle to respond or bypass the system and it left me and 4 children stranded in a very dangerous area for several hours with no information as to why this happened or how to avoid it in the future. The steering column locked up when the tow truck driver tried to load it and caused a significant amount of added expenses on to the repair costs and towing costs.

I own a 2022 Mercedes-Benz E350. The front glass roof panel located directly above the windshield developed a large crack while the vehicle was parked. The crack extends nearly the full length of the panel and includes areas where the glass has separated along the fracture. I am not aware of any collision, road debris, or object striking the vehicle before the damage was discovered. The damaged panel is available for inspection. I am concerned that if this type of failure were to occur while the vehicle is in motion, broken glass could fall into the passenger compartment or be shed onto the roadway, creating a potential safety hazard for the driver, passengers, and other motorists. The vehicle has been inspected by a Mercedes-Benz dealership, and the damage has been documented for repair. To my knowledge, there were no warning messages, alerts, or other symptoms before the crack appeared. The cause of the failure is unknown. I am aware of reports from other Mercedes-Benz owners describing similar cracking of roof glass panels. Based on those reports, I am concerned this may indicate a broader design or manufacturing issue and respectfully request that NHTSA investigate whether this represents a pattern affecting similar vehicles.

The infotainment and vehicle information system randomly goes black, resets itself while driving. There are no error messages or warnings. The system reboots and the screens come back after about 10-20 seconds. There was a recall issued for this back in May of 2026 and I had Mercedes Benz of Asheville, NC perform the required system update on June 17, 2026. Obviously the update did not correct the problem.

The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60–65 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle started sliding. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

Air conditioning system blows very warm air constantly , non stop, at start up when parked under sun, afternoons, even with thermostat settings to low/cool. Restarting engine, still same issue.

My vehicle steering wheel completely disengaged/malfunctioned when driving home. The steering wheel continuously rotates however there is no shifting of wheels. This is hazardous as I had to brake the car and call roadside assistance. It is currently at the Mercedes dealership and will be inspected tomorrow. The car displayed the following error after the steering malfunctioned: ESP® is malfunctioning Other driving systems and driving safety systems may also malfunction. The brake system continues to operate normally. The braking distance in an emergency braking situation can increase. WARNING: Risk of skidding if ESP® is malfunctioning • Drive on carefully.

My vehicle's infotainment system both center console and dashbboard went completely black 2 weeks after I purchased the car in August of 2025. The vehicle was in the shop for a week and a half, and they finally fixed the issue. The vehicle at the time was bought used with about 2,200 miles on it at time of purchase. Now in July of 2026, exactly one year from the day i bought the car, with only 9,500 miles on it, we are having the same issue again with both the dashboard and center console going completely dark, not allowing us to see any critical information such as MPH, gas fuel, tire pressure, etc. Other than that the car seems to drive just fine. I noticed there was a mass recall of 144,000 cars because of this same issue with Mercedes Benz. The GLC-class was in fact listed on this list of eligible recall vehicles. However my VIN # was not eligible for some reason, even though it is the exact issue that the recalls were happening on, and fits within the recall class type and year of manufacture (2024-2026). I am simply requesting to be put on this recall list because it seems like this issue will continue to persist and we do not want to be turning this in every year and also risk our lives driving a car that does not give us very critical information in order to drive safely.

While braking from highway speeds or any other speed, the vehicle becomes unstable and pulls to the left, making it difficult to maintain control. During hard braking, the vehicle does not track straight and requires steering correction to remain in its lane, creating a significant safety hazard. To diagnose the problem, the vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic. An alignment was performed, and the suspension and braking systems were inspected. The mechanic determined that the rear subframe has severe rust and corrosion. The rusted rear subframe is available for inspection upon request. Despite the alignment and inspection of the suspension and brakes, the unsafe braking behavior remains. There were no warning lights or messages indicating this condition before it was discovered. The problem has been reproduced multiple times under similar braking conditions. This condition puts the driver, passengers, and other motorists at risk because the vehicle can become difficult to control during braking, particularly at highway speeds or during an emergency stop. Based on the mechanic's inspection, the severely corroded rear subframe is the source of concern and should be investigated as a safety-related defect. I have also contacted Mercedes-Benz USA regarding this safety issue and requested assistance, but I have not yet received a response.