21 of the
131 complaints about the 2020 Mercedes Benz GLE 350 are about the
driver-assist systems — 16% of everything
reported for this model year.
Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before
13,500 miles.
F
21
Complaints
3
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
Exactly what failed
Automatic Emergency Braking
523.8%
Blind Spot Detection
314.3%
Warnings
314.3%
Adaptive Cruise Control
314.3%
Assist
314.3%
Back Over Prevention
29.5%
Camera
14.8%
Warning
14.8%
What owners said
Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.
Long Beach, CA
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
I keep getting coolant level low. I add coolant fluid into the tank and the warning message comes up again. I see no leaks under my vehicle so not sure if there’s a leak inside the tank itself or air leak somewhere but I’ve gotten that warning message about 10 or more times. Also as im driving the blind spot sensor just randomly goes off without a car or anything being next to me.
NHTSA complaint #11753409 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Weston, CT
LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
My 2020 GLE 350 first displayed a problem with left indicator on front left hand head lamp. I took an appointment with my Mercedes dealer for repair. Then it started showing all kinds of safety problems on the screen -like blind spot monitoring, collision warning etc not working. I parked it in my garage, shut off the engine, locked it and in a couple minutes, it started a blower like sound. I called Mercedes service center and described the problem. They sent a tow truck. While waiting for tow truck, the blower would automatically start every 3 to 4 minutes in a standing, switched off car which can be very dangerous. After diagnostics the authorized service center found the root cause to be a worn out seal which let condensation in the lamp assembly and the water entered in the electrical module. I have taken up the issue with Mercedes corporate. While they are investigating, I wanted to file this complaint so that if there are similar complaints in this model, it may be a manufacturing defect that needs a recall to fix the bad sealing
NHTSA complaint #11707529 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Weston, CT
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
My 2020 GLE 350 first displayed a problem with left indicator on front left hand head lamp. I took an appointment with my Mercedes dealer for repair. Then it started showing all kinds of safety problems on the screen -like blind spot monitoring, collision warning etc not working. I parked it in my garage, shut off the engine, locked it and in a couple minutes, it started a blower like sound. I called Mercedes service center and described the problem. They sent a tow truck. While waiting for tow truck, the blower would automatically start every 3 to 4 minutes in a standing, switched off car which can be very dangerous. After diagnostics the authorized service center found the root cause to be a worn out seal which let condensation in the lamp assembly and the water entered in the electrical module. I have taken up the issue with Mercedes corporate. While they are investigating, I wanted to file this complaint so that if there are similar complaints in this model, it may be a manufacturing defect that needs a recall to fix the bad sealing
NHTSA complaint #11707529 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Simi Valley, CA
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
The main multimedia screen in the car has failed and is malfunctioning. Rear view parking camera only works some of the time. No access to temperature control. No access to navigation. No access to multimedia. The lack of functioning camera system has put myself and others at risk during parking and driving. This has been reported as a recall in the past (NHTSA 21V354, MBUSA Campaign 2021080009) and has been reportedly completed. My concern is that this repair/fix dis not sufficiently address the root of this issue and now the problem has returned.
NHTSA complaint #11699182 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lancaster, CA
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
Wire harness need to be replaces car is under 100k miles and the same issue has been recalled cla250 gla models with the same engine. Current model GLE is not under recall but has the same issue with the electrical issue “oil pump vavle connector fault” which cause engine light .
NHTSA complaint #11695606 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hingham, MA
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
When operated with driver assist and stop and go assist, the car, often slams the brakes for no reason in the middle of the highway. I have reported this problem multiple times to the dealership and the dealership has kept the car in for investigation multiple times sometimes for more than two weeks. They were able to replicate the problem, but they had absolutely no solution. It’s been a few years now and it keeps happening. This is a liability issue us cars behind me are at risk to collide.
NHTSA complaint #11650987 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When operated with driver assist and stop and go assist, the car, often slams the brakes for no reason in the middle of the highway. I have reported this problem multiple times to the dealership and the dealership has kept the car in for investigation multiple times sometimes for more than two weeks. They were able to replicate the problem, but they had absolutely no solution. It’s been a few years now and it keeps happening. This is a liability issue us cars behind me are at risk to collide.
NHTSA complaint #11650987 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 50,000 milesHanover, MN
BACK OVER PREVENTION
The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes Benz GLE350. The contact stated that the Back Over Prevention camera image would display a glitchy or a blank image while in use. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V354000 (Back Over Prevention, Electrical System). The vehicle was initially taken to Mercedes-Benz of Westmont (200 E Ogden Ave, Westmont, IL 60559) for the recall repair; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was then taken to Sears Imported Autos Mercedes-Benz (13500 Wayzata Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55305) where it remained in the possession of the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
NHTSA complaint #11554323 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
New Braunfels, TX
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
After driving for 2 1/1 hours,we changed drivers and shortly there after lane assist, blind spot and active brake assist limited warnings come on along with engine decellerating from 70 mph with no acceleration allowed-had to pull off busy freeway(4 lanes), cut off engine and restart. Everything working fine until about 20 minutes later exact thing happened as well as 2 more times. Parked for night and exact thing happened after about 2 1/2 hours into trip. Very dangerous fighting traffic struggling to get to place to pull over and reset . MB dealership cannot find anything wrong- Safety issue to drive again not knowing if/when it might happen again
NHTSA complaint #11540575 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
New Braunfels, TX
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
After driving for 2 1/1 hours,we changed drivers and shortly there after lane assist, blind spot and active brake assist limited warnings come on along with engine decellerating from 70 mph with no acceleration allowed-had to pull off busy freeway(4 lanes), cut off engine and restart. Everything working fine until about 20 minutes later exact thing happened as well as 2 more times. Parked for night and exact thing happened after about 2 1/2 hours into trip. Very dangerous fighting traffic struggling to get to place to pull over and reset . MB dealership cannot find anything wrong- Safety issue to drive again not knowing if/when it might happen again
NHTSA complaint #11540575 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Toney, AL
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving on the interstate in the right lane with adaptive cruise set at 70mph the cameras will occasionally read the off ramp/exit speed limit signs and brake hard to decelerate to the posted off ramp speed limit. This creates an opportunity for a rear end collision. Additionally, the adaptive cruise will “see” vegetation or guard rails on the opposite side of the road, while in a turn, and brake as if to avoid a collision when no hazard exists. Many instances of the two anomalies.
NHTSA complaint #11509485 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Toney, AL
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
While driving on the interstate in the right lane with adaptive cruise set at 70mph the cameras will occasionally read the off ramp/exit speed limit signs and brake hard to decelerate to the posted off ramp speed limit. This creates an opportunity for a rear end collision. Additionally, the adaptive cruise will “see” vegetation or guard rails on the opposite side of the road, while in a turn, and brake as if to avoid a collision when no hazard exists. Many instances of the two anomalies.
NHTSA complaint #11509485 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2020 GLE350 met with an accident on 1/20/2023. My wife was driving this vehicle on the freeway at about 40-50mph and she rear ended a Toyota Camry that was ahead of her. Mt complaint is two fold - The airbags did not deploy - The Active Brake Assist system failed to work The collision is a major one. You can see from the pictures. The body shop, an approved vendor for my insurance Geico, has prepared an estimate for $25,487. My vehicle has been in the body shop since the day of the accident. On 1/27/23, the estimate was prepared. I have to approve it and they will start the work anytime this week. This high repair cost is an indicator of a major collision. In such a major collision, I'd expect - Airbags should have deployed. The Camry's airbag did deploy, so should have ours. My wife suffered a strong whiplash. She has severe neck, shoulder, elbow pain and headaches. She is scheduled to undergo physical therapy. If the airbags deployed, these injuries could have been avoided. - The Active Brake Assist system should have been activated during the rear end collision. It should have detected and avoided the collision. However, it failed to deploy too. Few times when I back up, this safety feature has been very useful. It will identify moving objects like pedestrians, vehicle crossing and automatically apply the brakes and prevent potential collision. However, when we needed it most, it failed to save us. The automatic braking didn't happen. There were no visual or acoustic warnings prior to the collision. One of the main reasons I bought GLE350 was for this safety feature. I am so disappointed by this catastrophic failure and questioning whether I should drive this Mercedes anymore. Because of these safety failures, I really worry about driving this vehicle and bringing to NHTSA's attention. Please investigate this safety failure. Year: 2020 Make: Mercedes Benz Model: GLE350W4 Mileage: 30K miles approximately
NHTSA complaint #11504347 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Milpitas, CACrash2 injured
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
My 2020 GLE350 met with an accident on 1/20/2023. My wife was driving this vehicle on the freeway at about 40-50mph and she rear ended a Toyota Camry that was ahead of her. Mt complaint is two fold - The airbags did not deploy - The Active Brake Assist system failed to work The collision is a major one. You can see from the pictures. The body shop, an approved vendor for my insurance Geico, has prepared an estimate for $25,487. My vehicle has been in the body shop since the day of the accident. On 1/27/23, the estimate was prepared. I have to approve it and they will start the work anytime this week. This high repair cost is an indicator of a major collision. In such a major collision, I'd expect - Airbags should have deployed. The Camry's airbag did deploy, so should have ours. My wife suffered a strong whiplash. She has severe neck, shoulder, elbow pain and headaches. She is scheduled to undergo physical therapy. If the airbags deployed, these injuries could have been avoided. - The Active Brake Assist system should have been activated during the rear end collision. It should have detected and avoided the collision. However, it failed to deploy too. Few times when I back up, this safety feature has been very useful. It will identify moving objects like pedestrians, vehicle crossing and automatically apply the brakes and prevent potential collision. However, when we needed it most, it failed to save us. The automatic braking didn't happen. There were no visual or acoustic warnings prior to the collision. One of the main reasons I bought GLE350 was for this safety feature. I am so disappointed by this catastrophic failure and questioning whether I should drive this Mercedes anymore. Because of these safety failures, I really worry about driving this vehicle and bringing to NHTSA's attention. Please investigate this safety failure. Year: 2020 Make: Mercedes Benz Model: GLE350W4 Mileage: 30K miles approximately
NHTSA complaint #11504347 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Brakes Failed - At Mercedes Dealership for Over a Month My Wife could have been killed on the highway going 70MPH with no brakes The car was towed by Mercedes over a month ago and never returned. No one will talk to me. Mercedes will not speak with me. Nor have they contacted the dealer - Letter Enclosed No warning - Just brake failure. Prior to that we got a "Your cameras are not working message" a week prior and the car would warn you another car was there. But there was no car.
NHTSA complaint #11479258 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 15,000 milesYardley, PA
BACK OVER PREVENTION
The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V354000 (Back Over Prevention, Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11455508 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Agoura Hills, CA
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving the car in "assist" mode I will get a warning that all assist devices are inoperable. This is not always apparent while driving until I notice the adaptive cruise control and lane assist are not responding. Obviously a safety risk. I have talked to the dealership and they cannot find a problem. I contacted Mercedes headquarters and they responded with a customer service rep that began the conversation that he has no technical knowledge of the car (obviously not a big help). I told them I would complete a report to the NHTSA and he seemed very unconcerned. I have not seen a relationship between the "assist" becoming inoperable and anything else in the car or the driving conditions. All incidents so far (about five) have been on clear days or evenings on the freeway with no precipitation nor water on the road.
NHTSA complaint #11442181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving the car in "assist" mode I will get a warning that all assist devices are inoperable. This is not always apparent while driving until I notice the adaptive cruise control and lane assist are not responding. Obviously a safety risk. I have talked to the dealership and they cannot find a problem. I contacted Mercedes headquarters and they responded with a customer service rep that began the conversation that he has no technical knowledge of the car (obviously not a big help). I told them I would complete a report to the NHTSA and he seemed very unconcerned. I have not seen a relationship between the "assist" becoming inoperable and anything else in the car or the driving conditions. All incidents so far (about five) have been on clear days or evenings on the freeway with no precipitation nor water on the road.
NHTSA complaint #11442181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Agoura Hills, CA
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
While driving the car in "assist" mode I will get a warning that all assist devices are inoperable. This is not always apparent while driving until I notice the adaptive cruise control and lane assist are not responding. Obviously a safety risk. I have talked to the dealership and they cannot find a problem. I contacted Mercedes headquarters and they responded with a customer service rep that began the conversation that he has no technical knowledge of the car (obviously not a big help). I told them I would complete a report to the NHTSA and he seemed very unconcerned. I have not seen a relationship between the "assist" becoming inoperable and anything else in the car or the driving conditions. All incidents so far (about five) have been on clear days or evenings on the freeway with no precipitation nor water on the road.
NHTSA complaint #11442181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I HAVE HAD THREE INSTANCES I BELIEVE THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM FAILED IN MY NEW CAR. THE FIRST INSTANCE WAS A WRONG WAY DRIVER COMING TOWARDS ME ON A FREEWAY OFFRAMP. I ESTIMATE THAT WE WERE WITHIN ABOUT 30 FEET OF EACH OTHER AND TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 30MPH WHEN WE BOTH QUICKLY SWERVED TO AVOID A COLLISION. NO WARNING AND NO AUTOMATIC BRAKING OCCURRED. THE NEXT TWO INSTANCES BOTH INVOLVED DRIVING AT NIGHT ON SURFACE STREETS IN WHICH I LAST MINUTE BRAKED TO AVOID HITTING STOPPED CARS IN FRONT OF ME. I WOULD APPROXIMATE MY RATE OF SPEED AT 30 MPH. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY BRAKE IN BOTH CASES AND AVOIDED THE COLLISIONS. IN BOTH CASES THE RED TRIANGLE FLASHED AND AN ALARM WENT OFF BUT THE CAR DID NOT BRAKE OR MAKE ANY EVASIVE MANEUVERS TO AVOID A COLLISION. I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF CORPORATE MERCEDES BUT THEY REFERRED ME TO THE DEALERSHIP WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENT. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND NO ERRORS IN THE CAR. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE DEEPER; AN ERROR IN SOFTWARE PROGRAM. THUS THE CAR HAD NO ERRORS AS IT WAS FOLLOWING A FAULTY ALGORITHM. THIS SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO SAVE LIVES AND PROPERTY IF I FAIL TO TAKE QUICK ACTION AS A DRIVER. I BELIEVE THE SYSTEM FAILED!
NHTSA complaint #11399152 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 12,000 milesAgoura Hills, CA
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I HAVE HAD THREE INSTANCES I BELIEVE THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM FAILED IN MY NEW CAR. THE FIRST INSTANCE WAS A WRONG WAY DRIVER COMING TOWARDS ME ON A FREEWAY OFFRAMP. I ESTIMATE THAT WE WERE WITHIN ABOUT 30 FEET OF EACH OTHER AND TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 30MPH WHEN WE BOTH QUICKLY SWERVED TO AVOID A COLLISION. NO WARNING AND NO AUTOMATIC BRAKING OCCURRED. THE NEXT TWO INSTANCES BOTH INVOLVED DRIVING AT NIGHT ON SURFACE STREETS IN WHICH I LAST MINUTE BRAKED TO AVOID HITTING STOPPED CARS IN FRONT OF ME. I WOULD APPROXIMATE MY RATE OF SPEED AT 30 MPH. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY BRAKE IN BOTH CASES AND AVOIDED THE COLLISIONS. IN BOTH CASES THE RED TRIANGLE FLASHED AND AN ALARM WENT OFF BUT THE CAR DID NOT BRAKE OR MAKE ANY EVASIVE MANEUVERS TO AVOID A COLLISION. I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF CORPORATE MERCEDES BUT THEY REFERRED ME TO THE DEALERSHIP WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENT. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND NO ERRORS IN THE CAR. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE DEEPER; AN ERROR IN SOFTWARE PROGRAM. THUS THE CAR HAD NO ERRORS AS IT WAS FOLLOWING A FAULTY ALGORITHM. THIS SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO SAVE LIVES AND PROPERTY IF I FAIL TO TAKE QUICK ACTION AS A DRIVER. I BELIEVE THE SYSTEM FAILED!
NHTSA complaint #11399152 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.