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What 20 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 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 (20)Crash / fire / injury (2)Seats (3)Electrical system (2)Engine (2)Steering (2)Visibility & wipers (2)Body & structure (1)Brakes (1)Latches & locks (1)Lights (1)Seat belts (1)

2 of 20 complaints match · Engine · clear filters

Aug 2, 2022EngineFire

The contact owned a 2016 Mercedes-Benz GL450. The contact stated when he parked the vehicle and went into a business, he returned within 5 minutes and the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department was already notified and arrived on the scene, then extinguished the fire with water. The police arrived on the scene; however, a report was not filed. The vehicle melted from the front bottom to the windshield. The vehicle was towed to the towing company. There were no injuries. No medical treatments were received on the scene or required. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed yet; however, the contact believes it was a total loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.

NHTSA ODI 11477187

Dec 12, 2019SuspensionBrakesEngineCrash

WE PURCHASED THE CAR IN JULY 2019 AND IN ADDITION TO THE CAR HAVING WARRANTY UP TO 50,000 MILES, WE PURCHASED AN ADDITIONAL SERVICE/REPAIR PACKAGE FOR $1,800.00 RECENTLY WE NOTICED THAT WHEN WE FIRST START DRIVING THE CAR HAS A NOISE ON THE RIGHT SIDE, THE NOISE IS MOST NOTICEABLE WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE AND WHEN RELEASING THE BRAKE. WE TOOK THE CAR TO MERCEDES BENZ OF VALENCIA AND TO SAY THAT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT STAFF WAS UNWILLING TO HELP IS A GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT. THEY EVENTUALLY DID AGREE TO KEEP THE CAR GOVERNING AND TEST DRIVE IT IN THE MORNING, THEY CALLED THE FOLLOWING DAY ON DECEMBER 3RD AND TOLD US TO COME AND GET THE CAR. BILL THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT THEY HEARD THE NOISE WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE AND SAID THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO BECAUSE THE BRAKES ON THE CAR ARE NEW AND THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH THE CAR. WE ARE CONCERNED AND , WORRIED ABOUT OUR SAFETY, WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND THE ADDITIONAL REPAIR PACKAGE FOR PEACE OF MIND EXPECTING TO GET THE PROPER SERVICE TO ADDRESS ANY ISSUES BECAUSE THE CAR IS COVERED BY A 50,000 MILE WARRANTY AND WE PURCHASED ADDITIONAL SERVICE PACKAGE.

NHTSA ODI 11288654

Working with the data? Download all 20 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 2016 Mercedes-benz Gl-class verdict →