MERCEDES-BENZ Complaints

Steering became increasingly sluggish and difficult to navigate; i took the vehicle into the shop and they said there is metal shards or shavings being worn into the power steering fluid and destroying the pump, clogging up the filter and the rack and pinion steering system is also being compromised making the vehicle unsafe to operate.

?I wish to respectfully report a safety concern with my new 2026 Mercedes All-Terrain Wagon. Specifically, at certain sun angles under cloudless skies, flaring occurs on the inside of my front windshield. They would appear to be linked to the Heads-Up Display Unit via reflection. The housing and dash can also reflect patterns on the windshield. Again, this occurs under certain sun angles when the sun is anywhere between 11 o'clock and 4 o’clock. Additionally, the density of a flaring pattern can be dense enough to obscure signs, objects, or other hazards. For this reason, I strongly believe this constitutes a safety hazard as well as something that plagues automobile travel: principally distractions. I do agree that flaring on a small level can occur in connection with HUD’s. Nevertheless, on this vehicle, I contend it is excessive and usually appears every day under bright sun conditions. In shade or cloudy conditions, this is not an issue. This was first noticed sometime after 500 miles in winter, under sunny conditions. I now have 10,500 miles with no resolution from Mercedes national. After documenting this case from the beginning, I was notified today, 06/25/26 by the Service Manager at Chico, California, Mercedes, that the national engineers determined this was normal. In fact, one of these engineers came to Chico to inspect my vehicle. Respectfully, I beg to differ and ask you to open a case to investigate further whether this is an anomaly that constitutes a safety concern and/or a distracting issue, which is another threat to safety. For further information, contact Mercedes Benz of Chico Service 530-345-9444. I wish to add credibility to this case, as I am a retired airline captain with 26,000 hours of flying time, including 10,500 hours on the Boeing 777. You can understand my emphasis on safety: anything that impairs visibility and distracts, in my view, is a red flag. I certainly appreciate the work all of you do, with thanks, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATIO

My 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 triggered check engine light with code P06DA (engine oil pressure control) at 40,000 miles. The failed component is an oil pressure control sensor/solenoid worth approximately $200. However, due to Mercedes-Benz's engine design (M264 engine), the entire engine must be removed from the vehicle to access and replace this part. Repair estimate from authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership (Mercedes-Benz of Stevens Creek): $8,391. SAFETY CONCERN: Loss of oil pressure can cause catastrophic engine failure while driving. Engine seizure at highway speeds poses serious risk of loss of vehicle control, potential accident, and harm to occupants and other drivers. This is a known, widespread design defect affecting Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with M264/M274 engines across multiple model lines: GLC 300 (2019-2023) C 300 (2019-2023) E 300 (2019-2023) GLC 43 AMG, C 43 AMG GLB 250, A 220, CLA 250 Mercedes-Benz's own authorized dealership confirmed they are "seeing this issue more and more." Despite awareness of this widespread defect, Mercedes-Benz has not issued a recall or Technical Service Bulletin. The design makes repair financially prohibitive ($8,000+), meaning many owners continue driving with compromised oil pressure — creating an ongoing safety hazard on public roads. Mercedes-Benz refused to repair under goodwill, then denied repurchase after 30-day review. They have left consumers with no remedy for a known safety-related design defect. I am requesting NHTSA investigate this as a safety defect affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

The lane-keeping assist function (In-Lane control, part of the driver-assistance suite) does not turn off when commanded. The driver selects the control to disengage, and the system remains active and continues to apply steering input. This is a recurring condition and it is getting more frequent. A driver-assistance steering function that cannot be switched off removes driver authority over the steering at the moment the driver is trying to take control, which is a safety risk in normal driving and especially during evasive maneuvers, lane changes, and construction or debris avoidance. The condition was reported to the selling dealer in writing on June 17, 2026 as part of a recurring driver-assistance concern. During the subsequent B service visit the dealer inspected the radar sensors and applied software updates to the steering column module, steering wheel, electric power steering, and driver-assistance control units. The dealer could not duplicate the concern and did not perform a system calibration. The condition has continued after that service. The vehicle has approximately 17,428 miles. There has been no crash, no injury, and no fire. A separate recurring concern on the same vehicle: it reports its doors as unlocked when they are in fact locked, and issues a vehicle-unlocked notification while the vehicle is locked. This now occurs on a near-daily basis and was also reported to the dealer on June 17, 2026 with no diagnosis on record.

The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz E-450 4MATIC. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V216000 (Power Train). The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The contact had not experienced a failure.

While driving on the highway on three separate occasions the blind spot warning will pop up and show as inoperative, next the active break assist warning flashes as inoperative, and then the entire vehicle shows as inoperative and loses all acceleration and breaks down. This has happened three times. Stayed over night at the dealership they “drove it for 70 miles” it didn’t happen to them. They released the truck back to me saying it was perfectly fine. A day later it happened again while on the highway. Highly unsafe!

Panoramic sunroof suddenly broke on my Mercedes GLE53 coupe while on a major highway. There was nothing near my vehicle when this happened. My children were in a car and this was a very scary moment for us. Mercedes will not cover the costs of Replacing the glass, forcing me to make a claim with my insurance. This is the first claim I’ve had to make in years. This is unfortunate.

On 2 separate occasions (August 2025 & February 2026), the car has had a "transmission malfunction" light come on while driving on the highway around 65-70 mph. The light comes on and immediately loses ability to accelerate. Both times the car was towed to Greensboro Mercedes. The first time they did not do anything because they didn't know what to do and it had "reset" itself. The second time they discovered that it needed a software update. Mercedes does NOT have the update that is needed. We tried going through the lemon law process but Mercedes Corporate came back with an answer of it hasn't happened enough times and a remedy has not been attempted enough times. They have NOT attempted to fix it because they DO NOT have a fix. This IS NOT SAFE for my daughter to drive. This is her car and it has been in the shop since February 2026. We purchased the car from Bob King Mercedes in Wilmington, NC as a certified pre-owned in 2024. Both dealerships have been great to work with and stand by me that it is not safe for her to drive, while corporate has dismissed it and said it is safe to drive and threatened that we'll have to pay lot rental if we don't pick it up. The dealership assured me that they would not charge lot rental as they side with me on not driving it until fixed. I do not want my [XXX] daughter to drive a car that will randomly stop working on the highway! We bought the car so I'd have peace of mind about her safety and we have now been without the car for 4 months due to this safety issue. Please give me guidance on what to do. She paid around $45,000 for a car that she can't even drive now. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The digital instrument cluster and center infotainment display screen went completely black and blank while the vehicle was in motion. This immediate failure blinded the driver to critical safety telemetry, including the current vehicle speed, gear positioning, and active safety warning telltales, creating an immediate, severe crash hazard on the roadway.This symptom is identical to the failure condition detailed in active NHTSA Safety Recall Campaign 26V281000 for this exact model year. The vehicle is currently held at an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership (Mercedes-Benz of West Covina) where technicians confirmed the physical screen and plug blackout but are actively refusing to execute the safety recall remedy without a $1,272.95 out-of-pocket consumer diagnostic fee, falsely claiming a localized cosmetic stain on a connection plug voids the manufacturer's obligation to repair a known, federally acknowledged factory software design defect.The vehicle remains unmodified, intact, and available for federal or corporate engineering inspection at the dealership location upon request. No warning lamps or symptoms appeared prior to the sudden screen blackout.

Learning that my vehicle is subject to a battery-related recall has seriously undermined my trust. Battery defects in electric vehicles can present risks that include thermal events, loss of vehicle functionality, and other potentially dangerous situations. My vehicle has had warning signs, I received emails about the risks my vehicle can present directly from Mercedes. I have had my vehicle in the service department two times in two months for this same issue. My vehicle is overheating while charging.