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

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 (9)Engine (5)Airbags (3)Electrical system (2)Steering (1)Tires (1)Transmission & drivetrain (1)Wheels (1)

1 of 9 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters

May 31, 2022Transmission & drivetrainEngine

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

Working with the data? Download all 9 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 25, 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 2016 Mercedes-benz B-class E-cell verdict →