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What 76 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Mercedes-benz Gl-class

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (76)Crash / fire / injury (6)Airbags (40)Brakes (10)Suspension (7)Transmission & drivetrain (5)Engine (4)Electrical system (3)Fuel system (3)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (2)Seat belts (2)Body & structure (1)

1 of 76 complaints match · Body & structure · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 4, 2016AirbagsBody & structureWheelsCrash2 injuries

TAKATA RECALL - I HAD HEAD-ON COLLISION ACCIDENT ON 02/03/2015, STEERING WHEEL AND LEG AIR BAG WAS DEPLOYED, BUT CAUSED ME INJURY AFTER IT DEPLOYED TO MY HAND, FINGERS AND KNEES. ONCE LEG AIR BAD DEPLOYED, MY RIGHT KNEED HIT THE SWITCH UNDERNEATH THE DRIVER SEAT AND CAUSED INJURY. MERCEDES DON'T INSTALL THIS SWITCH UNDERNEATH THE SEAT ANYMORE AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS FLAW IN DESIGN AND LOCATION OF THIS SWITCH AND NOW THEY CHANGED THE LOCATION OF SWITCH. THEY MIGHT HAVE FOUND SOMETHING IN THEIR TESTING. PLEASE SEE PICTURES OF MY INJURIES ON FINGERS CAUSED BY STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG AND KNEE INJURY BY LEG AIR BAD HITTING THE SWITCH. I HAVE MORE PICTURES OF ACCIDENT SCENE AND WOULD LIKE TO SHARE. AROUND 8:05 AM I LEFT MY HOME TO GO TO WORK. WHEN I WAS ON BRIDGE NEAR THE FIRE STATION, I SAW SILVER CAR CAME IN MY LANE AND DRIVING TOWARDS ME. I CAME IN MY MIND THAT THIS CAR IS GOING TO HIT ME AND AS IT WAS COMING CLOSER AND THOUGHT CAME IN MY MIND THAT I MIGHT DIE. I MOVED SLOWLY TO RIGHT ON THE SHOULDER OF BRIDGE TO AVOID THE ACCIDENT AND STOPPED MY VEHICLE, NEXT THING I KNOW L HEAR LOUD SOUND, GAS & BURNING SMELL. I THOUGHT MY VEHICLE IS GOING TO CATCH FIRE. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE STRENGTH CAME IN ME AND I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF MY VEHICLE WALK AWAY 10-15 YARD AWAY FROM MY CAR. POLICE REPORT FILED - YES BOTH CARS DRIVER WERE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL IN AN AMBULANCE. HTTP://WWW.COLUMBIATRIBUNE.COM/NEWS/LOCAL/COLLISION-ON-SCOTT-BOULEVARD-SENDS-TWO-TO-HOSPITAL/ARTICLE_14347E77-9E46-5BE1-90A4-CE8467474D2F.HTML OPENED CASE WITH MERCEDES BENZ - CASE NUMBER: CA767053

NHTSA ODI 10863167

Working with the data? Download all 76 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2012 Mercedes-benz Gl-class verdict →