What 122 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Mercedes-benz GLE

This is a known issue with GLE 450 48v batteries over heating and causing loss of power and all function to control the vehicle. , For an unknown reason my vehicle was not part of a recent recall and probably should have been. I experienced the issue today and escaped tragedy. My battery light came on, then off, then a bright red battery light came on across the dashboard…then all of a sudden, my car lost all power with no warning. All while driving on the freeway 394! Luckily traffic was light and I was able to coast halfway up an off ramp. Then I got an overheating message. Reports show all cars were recalled, however mine wasn’t part of the recall!! I would like an investigation to include all cars in the years and models not just some of them.

NHTSA ODI 11603504

There were two incidents that had similar symptoms: one before the dealership said they fixed and one afterwards. The issue is that while driving I would get three warning, all at the same time: coolant too hot, 48v battery malfunction, shut the engine off. The first time it happened immediately after I turned on the vehicle and within 5 minutes of leaving a parking lot. The second time it happened after about 3 hours of driving at highway speeds. After the first time it happened dealership said they fixed the issue by upgrading the software (battery software?). Both times it happened on the highway. The first time on the uphill, and vehicle immediately shut off and could not make it up the ramp. The second time in the tunnel on the flat road, could not make it to the exit. Both times created extremely dangerous situation as I had no time to take the exit and vehicle shut off about 30 seconds after warning popped up. The second time in the tunnel was especially dangerous as there was no shoulder and i had to stop in the middle of the right lane as cars were going at 60 mph by me. I was really worried for myself and my family. I have to trust that Mercedes is capable of fixing the issue and providing a reliable vehicle I can depend on and trust for the safety of my family.

NHTSA ODI 11575432

The adaptive cruise on the Mercedes has a habit of harsh braking during stop and go traffic. It's not a natural braking manev8, instead it's jarring and I feel like it could cause a rear end with how jarring it is. Many other users are experiencing the same.

NHTSA ODI 11543347

The transmission with the Auto Start/Stop 48v system is very clunky and not smooth at low speeds. I'm unable to park in my garage or parallel park with the Auto Start/Stop feature enabled which is by default for reduced emissions. I fear hitting pedestrians/people at crosswalks, causing damage to my house inside my garage when parking, and/or other vehicles when parallel parking because the transmission is so clunky, it causes the vehicle to surge or lurch forward very harshly in such a way that I could cause damage to another vehicle or even hit a pedestrian or person at a crosswalk. There's something inherently wrong with the 48V auto start/stop when it engages and disengages with the transmission causing it to surge or lurch forward uncontrollably and dangerously.

NHTSA ODI 11525053

I was driving and came to a stop sign. When I was getting ready to pull off my entire vehicle automatically went into park and shut off. I was almost rear ended by the vehicle behind me. People were blowing at me. I just restarted the vehicle after a few attempts it started and I drove off. Also my entire dash went black while I was driving. I also felt water on my feet why on the passenger side ( like a light mist).

NHTSA ODI 11515152

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 ODI 11509485

I was turning on to a busy street and the throttle became unresponsive. I verified the car was in drive. There was no engine noise when pressing the accelerator pedal. I stopped the car and shifted to park and then back to drive and the car responded normally.

NHTSA ODI 11491479

1. After coming to a stop, foot placed on the pedal to accelerate through a neighborhood security gate, the car would not accelerate despite how hard I depressed the gas pedal. After approximately 3-4 seconds the car finally accelerated. 2. When coming to a stop the vehicle has a very hard “clunk” in the transmission to stop. Vehicle was taken to the dealership but they could not replicate the problem at the time so car was given back to me with “non replicable” issues.

NHTSA ODI 11488292

1. FIRST MESSAGE: 48V BATTERY MALFUNCTION 2. SECOND MESSAGE: STOP THE VEHICLE COOLANT IS NOT WORKING VEHICLE IS OVERHEATING. 3. LOST POWER, I COULD ONLY DRIVE 10 MILES PER HOUR. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED BY A SEMI TRUCK. THERE ARE SEVERAL ONLINE OCCURRENCES REPORTING THESE SAME MESSAGES. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN A VEHICLE LOSES ALL POWER WHILE ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED. MERCEDES AWARE OF A BULLETIN WITH THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11476213

I WAS TRAVELLING ON HIGHWAY WITH ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL ON. WHEN NEAR THE EXIT, I PRESS THE OFF BUTTON FOR THE CRUISE CONTROL. TO MY SURPRISE, THE CAR DIDN'T SLOW DOWN, AND INSTEAD MAINTAIN THE ENGINE POWER TO KEEP THE CAR IN SET SPEED. I TRIED THE OTHER SETTINGS (OFF, CANCEL, SPEED DOWN) OPTION BUT NOTHING IS RESPONSIVE. SINCE I AM ON THE OFF RAMP ALREADY, I HAVE TO STEP ON THE BRAKE (THIS DOES FINALLY STOP THE CRUISE CONTROL) TO SLOW DOWN THE CAR. AFTER I COME TO A STOP AT THE STOP LIGHT, I NOTICE THAT THE AR VIEW CAMERA HAS A CONDENSATION IN THE CENTER OF THE CAMERA LENS (SEE FIRST PICTURE WITH 11/10 DATE). AT THE SAME TIME, MULTIPLE WARNING MESSAGE APPEAR ON DASH, INCLUDING "ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL INOPERATIVE", "ACTIVE LANE KEEP ASSIST INOPERATIVE", AND A FEW OTHERS. THE CRUISE CONTROL INDICATOR REMAIN ON AND ACTIVE ON THE DASH (BUT SYSTEM ISN'T WORKING) UNTIL I GOT TO A SAFE LOCATION TO RESTART THE CAR. ALL ERROR MESSAGE WAS CLEARED AFTERWARD. A FEW DAYS LATER (11/16), I HAD THE CAR AT THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. I MENTIONED THE ISSUE BUT THEY SAID THEY ARE UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG AND CAMERA LENS WAS CLEARED AT THAT TIME. AFTER I GOT HOME, I NOTICE THERE ARE CONDENSATION AGAIN ON THE CAMERA LENS (SEE SECTION PICTURE WITH 11/16 DATE).

NHTSA ODI 11376864

SUDDEN ACCELERATION - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURES- 1) 03/21/20 COMPLETE ELECTRICAL FAILURE - ALL WARNING LIGHTS, EXTERIOR LIGHTS & BRAKE LIGHTS STUCK ON, THEN WOULD NOT START AFTER LOCAL SHOPPING TRIP-ODOMETER 754 MILES - VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALER - 'REPROGRAMMED'. 2) 06/18/20 ACTIVE SPEED CONTROL-CRUISE CONTROL (WHICH READS SPEED LIMIT SIGNS AND ADJUSTS SPEED) WAS SET AT 50 MPH - SUDDENLY BEGAN TO ACCELERATE TO 80 MPH. ODOMETER 1641 MILES. 3) ACTIVE SPEED LIMIT CONTROL OFTEN READS FRONTAGE ROAD SPEED LIMIT SIGNS WHILE ON MAIN HIGHWAY, INITIATING BRAKING. 4) ACTIVE SPEED CONTROL WHEN ON CRUISE CONTROL WILL APPLY BRAKES WHEN USING TURN SIGNAL FOR LANE CHANGES. 08/31/20-09/04/2020 RETURNED TO DEALER- ODOMETER 2361-'REPROGRAMMED'. 5) 09/19/20 ACTIVE SPEED LIMIT CONTROL SET AT 15 MPH SUDDENLY BEGAN TO ACCELERATE TO 80 MPH. ODOMETER 2512. WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL BY BRAKE APPLICATION TO RELEASE CRUISE CONTROL AFTER VEHICLE INITIATED HARD ACCELERATION WITHOUT ANY DRIVER INPUT AND HAD REACHED 30-35 MPH. SAME AS 06/18/20 SIMILAR INCIDENT. DEALER WAS ADVISED AND 'UPDATED SOFTWARE' MERCEDES BENZ-GRAPEVINE, TX INVOICE 511097. MERCEDES GLE 450 DATE OF MFG. 10JAN2020 - LEASED 25JAN 2020.

NHTSA ODI 11360596

DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH AND '48V BATTERY MALFUNCTION' WARNING GOES OFF, ALONG WITH A YELLOW CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. A FEW SECONDS LATER A 'COOLANT' ERROR MESSAGE POPS UP AND A RED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. CAR LOOSES POWER COMPLETELY AND I'M UNABLE TO ACCELERATE AT ALL. CALL FLASHES A MESSAGE OF 'PULL OVER AND TURN THE ENGINE OFF'. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST SAFELY TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY BEFORE THE CAR STALLED COMPLETELY. FOUND OUT THROUGH SEVERAL BLOG POSTS MULTIPLE OTHER 2020 GLE OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME SAFETY ISSUE AND THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL BY MERCEDES-BENZ AND NO RESOLUTION FOR THE ISSUE. VEHICLES ARE SPENDING MONTHS IN THE SHOP AND EVENTUALLY BEING BOUGHT BACK BY THE MANUFACTURER OR DEALERSHIP. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS ISSUE TO LOSE ALL POWER AND CONTROL OF THE VEHICLES SPEED. I'M LUCKY NO ONE WAS ON THE ROAD NEAR ME WHEN THIS HAPPENED, OTHERWISE AN ACCIDENT ALMOST SURELY WOULD HAVE OCCURRED. MERCEDES SHOULD BE FORCED TO ADDRESS THIS SAFETY ISSUE IMMEDIATELY.

NHTSA ODI 11352040

WE WERE DRIVING OUR MERCEDES GLE 350 ON I 80 NEAR MILE MARKER 203.1, OHIO ON 7/11/2020 AT 7 AM. IT WAS RAINING A BIT IN MORNING. THE LANE DEPARTURE ASSIST WAS ON, AND IT WAS TURNING GREEN AND GRAY CONTINUOUSLY. I KEEP LANE ASSIST ON ALL THE TIME FOR SAFETY PURPOSE. I WAS DRIVING ON THE SLOW LANE ON RIGHT MOST LANE AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES. SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE LOST CONTROL AND STARTED SLIPPING ON THE ROAD. I TRIED TO CONTROL IT, HOWEVER IT WOULD NOT COME UNDER CONTROL. FINALLY THE CAR DRIFTED ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT MOST LANE, AND RAMMED INTO THE CONCRETE DIVIDER ON DRIVER SIDE. THE DRIVER SIDE BAGS INFLATED AND LUCKLY NO ONE WAS HURT SERIOUSLY. I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER FROM CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, AND HAVE WORKED IN AUTO INDUSTRY FOR A FEW YEARS BEFORE. IT ALMOST FELT THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS MECHANICALLY WRONG THAT CAUSED THE CAR TO SLIP AND LOOSE CONTROL. MERCEDES GLE 350, 2020 MODEL HAS A HARSH REACTION TO LANE DEPARTURE AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT CAUSED THE CAR TO HYDROPLANE BECAUSE THE REACTION IS SO SUDDEN. PLEASE LOOK INTO THE ISSUE, SO THAT NO ONE GET SERIOUSLY HURT. THIS IS MY FIRST ACCIDENT IN LIFE AND I AM 42 YEARS OLD. I THINK THE LANE DEPARTURE SYSTEM IN MERCEDES DOSEN'T WORK OR NEEDS TO BE FINE TUNED SO THAT IT DOSEN'T CAUSE ACCIDENTS IN SLIPPERY CONDITIONS. [XXX] REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11340617

I SET THE DISTRONIC CRUISE CONTROL TO 45 MPH. IT SUDDENLY RESET ITSELF TO 70 MPH AND STARTED TO QUICKLY ACCELERATE TO 70 MPH WHILE SHOWING THE SPEED LIMIT TO BE 70 MPH WHEN THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT WAS 45 MPH. I RESET THE CRUISE CONTROL TO 45 MPH. WHEN THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT WENT TO 50 MPH, THE CAR QUICKLY STARTED ACCELERATING TO 80 MPH AND SHOWED THE SPEED LIMIT TO BE 80 MPH ON THE DASHBOARD DIGITAL DISPLAY. I QUICKLY SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES TO REGAIN CONTROL. I FINALLY FIGURED OUT THAT UNDER THE SQUARE SPEED LIMIT SIGN, WAS A ROUND KILOMETER SPEED LIMIT SIGN, AND MY CARS CAMERAS WERE ERRONEOUSLY READING THE KILOMETER SIGN AS A MPH SPEED LIMIT AND ADJUSTING THE CRUISE CONTROL TO THE WRONG, HIGHER SPEED. VERY DANGEROUS AS I ALMOST WENT THROUGH A RED LIGHT TRYING TO ADJUST THE SPEED DOWN USING THE STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS. I WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD AND DIDN'T THINK TO DISENGAGE THE DISTRONIC CRUISE CONTROL. THIS HAPPENED TODAY ON BEN HILL GRIFFIN PKWY ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTH OF RSW (FORT MYERS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT) AS I WAS DRIVING MY FAMILY TO THE AIRPORT. NOTE: MY CAR HAS THE MERCEDES DRIVER ASSISTANCE PACKAGE

NHTSA ODI 11337538

THE PROBLEM HAPPENED ON A BUSINESS TRIP TO AND FROM KANSAS CITY MO. AND MINNEAPOLIS MN. THE CRUISE CONTROL HAS A FEATURE THAT CAN READ ROAD SPEED LIMIT SIGNS AND CHANGE THE SET SPEED TO MATCH THE INDICATED SPEED. THIS FEATURE CAN BE TURNED ON OR OFF BY USING THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM. ON THIS TRIP TO KANSAS I HAD THIS SIGN RECOGNITION FEATURE TURNED OFF. THE PROBLEM IS THAT ON AT LEAST 12 OCCASIONS DURING THIS 900 MILE TRIP THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD ARBITRARILY CHANGE THE SET SPEED FROM 70 MPH TO 45 MPH APPLYING THE BRAKES TO REDUCE TO THE 45 MPH SPEED. THE MERCEDES DEALER WHO I PURCHASED THE CAR FROM SAYS THAT THEY CANNOT FIND ANY MALFUCTION. I WAS NEARLY REAR ENDED BY A LARGE TRUCK THAT I HAD JUST PASSED AND RETURNED TO THE RIGHT LANE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THIS SYSTEM IS WORKING AS DESIGNED. I GUESS THIS SYSTEM HAS KILL SO MERCEDES OWNERS BEFORE ANY THING IS DONE.

NHTSA ODI 11303038