What 9 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Mercedes-benz B-class E-cell

Complaint submitted to Transport Canada: “The Eco Start function on the Mercedes Benz B250 does not work and so intermittently shuts off the car without warning. Very very dangerous. When stopped at a stop light, unless the eco smart button is turned off the car engine will suddenly shut off. Red text appears in the display above steering wheel stating gear shift error contact dealership. I contacted Mercedes Benz Canada who told me that they would not be liable for the repair. We have researched whether the function can be disabled. There does not appear to be any means of doing so. We simply turn off the feature, however this is not a solution.”

NHTSA ODI 11627103

Drive unit failed. Manufacturer's Faulty coolant seal. Coolant leaked into engine, Dashboard displayed "Workshop" warning about 2-3 times before breakdown.

NHTSA ODI 11613247

2016 MERCEDES BENZ B250 E. CONSTITUENT STATED THAT THE COOLANT SEEPED INTO THE ENGINE CAUSING ENGINE FAILURE.

NHTSA ODI 11499893

On 4/19/22 while driving my Mercedes B250e, I received a 'check coolant level' warning message, followed closely by 'without starting engine again, consult workshop' and then 'stop, switch engine off'. All messages appeared in less than 30 minutes time, and then my engine completely shut off while I was pulling into a parking lot. Prior to this date, there were no warning signs of the issue. The issue was diagnosed by the Mercedes Atlanta South dealership as a catastrophic electric drive unit failure caused by a coolant leak due to a faulty rotor seal. I was quoted a price of $12K-$20K to replace the EDU. I declined the service while trying to get assistance from Mercedes customer care, so the vehicle is still in an inoperable condition and available for inspection. This issue has happened to countless B250e drivers, and it is completely unsafe to allow these cars to continue driving without recall since the engine can shut down while driving, and become completely inoperable, with little to no warning. This is a known issue to Mercedes - see attached invoice which references 'SEVERAL PTSS CASES'.

NHTSA ODI 11466784

2021-11-29, 10a PST. The "check coolant level" warning appeared while I was driving westbound on the 210 freeway in Glendale, California. As I took the exit to La Crescenta Ave, another alert appeared that there was a sudden "malfunction: visit workshop" warning. As I was trying to turn off on a side street to pull over (with my 4 year old in the back seat), the car stopped in the middle of the road and would not start back up again. Some good citizens helped me push my car up the hill to the side street where I could safely park the vehicle. There are other accounts of this issue occurring with this vehicle, apparently the coolant leaks into the engine and the electric drive motor needs to be replaced. The repair cost is prohibitive ($17,000) and my car is 4,000 miles out of warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11445157