What 82 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Mercedes-benz Gle-class Hybrid

On May 26, 2025, around 3:00 PM, I was traveling with my family on a bright and sunny day, with no rain for several days leaving the roads dry. As we were on I-35, I took an exit, and just a few seconds later, my 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 unexpectedly shut off, all the lights on the the dashboard lit up, and the vehicle came to a sudden and complete stop. Thankfully, this incident occurred on the service road rather than the highway, and we were at low speed otherwise it could have posed a serious risk to my family and me. Once the car stalled, both the steering and tires locked up. However the vehicle had power but would not start or move. As the same situation could happen to someone else which could put them at serious risk it might be in the best interest of Mercedes-Benz to research and fix this issue. I reached out for a tow truck, and the driver had to hook it up and drag my vehicle onto the flatbed. Mercedes-Benz service suggested a replacement of the engine and could not diagnose what the issue is. I have consistently performed the recommended maintenance on my vehicle since I purchased it, and it currently has around 63,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11672757

While driving at about 55mph on road with one lane going each way, the car engine shut off, all instrument displays went off. There was no check engine light, warning or noise. I was almost rear ended by a car behind me. The car behind me swerved barely missing me, but almost hit oncoming traffic. Once car was on side of road it would not start. I tried to jump car battery with NOCO jump starter and it did not work. Instrument display did not come on, car transmission stuck in Drive. After testing battery with digital voltmeter it showed 12.6V, but car would still not come on nor would instrument display. Car had to get towed to dealer where it's currently at being diagnosed. This was very dangerous and could have been fatal.

NHTSA ODI 11672109

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was condensation leaking from a hole near the trunk release button onto the pedal and the floor of the front passenger’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact believed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V177000 (Visibility). The vehicle was not diagnosed of repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,432.

NHTSA ODI 11670708

Engine harness wires insulation is falling apart very early after 3 years. It’s causing arching inside the insulation. Issues is from overheating and can cause a fire. Isolation needs to be upgraded and wire harness needs replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11645796

My Mercedes gle350 2021 is having a cylinder misfire. I had the repairs done last February. Carlton Mercedes acknowledged this is a known issue with this car. Did some googling and saw how big of an issue this is in this car. Repairs were made and now a year later cylinder misfire again! My neighbor has the same car but 2022 having the same issue currently. This needs to be recalled. Mercedes needs to be held accountable for this issue. It’s costing people anywhere from 7-15,000 dollars to repair and most of these cars only have around 50,000 miles on them! It’s insane!!

NHTSA ODI 11644521

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was jerking and bucking while attempting to enter a highway. The contact stopped and turned off and restarted the vehicle and was able to drive the vehicle normally. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and occurred at various speeds. The contact stated that she had observed the check engine light was illuminated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was blinking. The contact stopped and restarted the vehicle to reset the check engine warning light. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #2, and the cylinder needed to be replaced. The contact was advised by the dealer that the cylinder failure was a known failure by the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11641668

I was driving down with my wife at a street, 35 miles per hour speed and suddenly heard an loud Explosion above my head and my wife screamed and I suddenly applied the break to avoid an accident as luckily there was no other car in back and front. There was a sudden break applied and my wife's neck and back got hurt due to sudden break fear of explosion and got severe pain in her neck and back. I pulled over a side and found out that the glass panel burst and cracked all the way across my vehicle between sunroof and the windshield. Dealer said it is not under warranty even I still have warranty as my vehicle has only 36,000 miles and excellent condition and always dealer maintained. Dealer asking $2,700.00 to replace and fix. This is due to MB manufactures defect which I found out that it is prone to break due to poor design and might have caused accident if driving on freeway in speed as it scared the [XXX] out me and my wife while it exploded on top of our head. It happened to several cars and MB has not recalled yet and asking to pay $2,700.00 to replace and fix. Action Law Suit have been filed by others as given below for reference and help to get my vehicle repaired. (1) [XXX] (2) [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11641548

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact initially stated that the air conditioner failed to function as needed and the vehicle was taken to dealer and was repaired. The contact stated that recently while driving 70 MPH, there was a burning odor coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that when the vehicle was restarted, the burning odor was coming from the floor. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with contaminated filters. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ODI 11636498

1. Failed component/system. Primary issue is stalling under normal operating conditions. The vehicle is available for inspection. It is a 2024 Porsche Panamera. It is currently with the dealership at Chantilly. 2. The vehicle stalls while I was crossing a highway potentially leading to a collision. The second time it stalled my daughter was in the vehicle, which could have put her in danger and others on the roadway. 3. The dealership could not replicate the issue 4. The dealership will not have Porsche engineering try to identify the issue they are just stating they cannot replicate it while test driving. 5. There was no indication or warning light that stalling would occur. There were software issues that occurred as soon as I received the vehicle, which I had let Porsche know, and that was an additional malfunction which they have stated they have fixed. This would be the second time that they worked on this issue. I would like to note that I purchased the vehicle in November and as of November 22 Porsche has been in possession of my vehicle. They returned it on December 2 stating they had fixed all issues. On December 3 the dashboard warnings occurred again. Therefore, the car was returned to the dealership, and they have had it longer than I have. There is a lemon law in Virginia that states that the dealership has one attempt to fix a life-threatening issue. I believe this is a life-threatening issue that could injure or kill myself and or my family. I believe Porsche is not taking this seriously and because they can’t replicate the stalling, they would like to return the car, as is even though I experience two incidences of stalling across the freeway .

NHTSA ODI 11634734

DTC codr P219E is is a known issue for this Vehicle. Cylinder issue. This is a world wide known issue and Mercedes benz in Canada has sent out email giving out warranty extension for M260 cylinder head but here in the US, there is no recall or warrant for this issue making customers spend over 7k for repairs. Kindly look into this

NHTSA ODI 11633184

The windshield wiper fluid will not pump out onto the front or back window, causing poor visibility. The pump is working, but the design of the strainer on the bottom of the pump causes a restriction and causes goo to build up and block the flow of the windshield wiper fluid. Mercedes refuses to cover this under warranty, even though the failure is caused by their bad design. I am unable to use the wiper fluid, and my visibility while driving is impaired. This is a safety issue. Mercedes' neglect of their responsibility to provide a safe vehicle and honor its warranty is endangering us, the American people. Google is full of similar complaints about the Mercedes windshield wiper pump design. The repair involves removing the front wheel of the vehicle, etc., and a repair cannot be done by the average driver; it requires a mechanic. My dealer said that it would cost about $300 to fix, and I'd have to wait for the approximately 2+ hours that the repair would take, even though my car only has 22,000 miles on it and is under the original manufacturer's warranty. PLEASE HOLD MERCEDES ACCOUNTABLE AND ISSUE A RECALL.

NHTSA ODI 11629889

On August 6, 2024 my vehicle reported " The state of charge of the starter battery in the vehicle Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 SUV is very low". We took it to our local dealership to have the battery replaced but upon receiving the vehicle we started having issues. The vehicle would shake and loose power. Upon turning off and turning back on the vehicle would continue working properly. We proceeded to have a local shop diagnose it since our 2021 vehicle was about 10k over the covered warranty and our local MB dealership is not very efficient. They recommended remove and replace engine cylinder head assembly. The warning lamp was for the battery and what followed after the starter battery getting replaced was the engine light. The problem that was concerning was the loss of power driving on the expressway. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Vehicle diagnosis from shop available upon request.

NHTSA ODI 11629288

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that after exiting the vehicle, the doors unintendedly locked with the keys inside the vehicle. Additionally, the contact’s child was still inside the vehicle during the failure. The contact stated that the doors were not supposed to lock with the keys inside. The contact called a locksmith to have the vehicle unlocked. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,045.

NHTSA ODI 11624862

Vehicle unexpectedly lost power on a major highway. Limped into a service station, called for a tow truck. Several days later vehicle was repaired with a bill of $2800. Four weeks later, while driving, check engine light comes on. Contact dealership that completed repairs, brought car in. Now it’s the 48V Hybrid battery needs to be replaced, $4000. Based on some cursory research, this is a known problem in these cars. Mercedes Benz needs to be held accountable. The car was purchased brand new three years ago.

NHTSA ODI 11622517

On [XXX], after I purchased the vehicle on [XXX] from Mercedes Benz Midlothian with 57,000+ mile, this occurred. I was driving south on [XXX] near Fairfield VA, when the SUV started popping, with the roaring of the wheels. Then the vehicle started to slow down no matter what I did with the gas pedal. I then pulled over to the grassy area of the [XXX] , and the vehicle completed died - like a brick. The engine would not start up at all. Safety: The issues for me are the facts that I was traveling 1:45 minutes from my home and I was almost smashed in the rear-end by the traffic behind me - due to a vehicle that totally STOPPED on the highway with a speed limit of 70 miles an hours - without any warnings. I traded in a 2014 ML350 with 279,000+ plus miles and had no major issues with the SUV it was a charm. Now I am dealing with a HUGE issues after purchasing a 2021 vehicle [in three days]. I do not know what the problems are - as the dealership has not diagnosis the issues during this writing. There are no reports from the police, dealership, or manufacturers, insurance at this time of writing. The only warning lights that I was grant was the power of the SUV left the vehicle totally. Just ridiculous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11620654

My 2021 Mercedes Benz GLE 350 got AC Conditioning Leak problem (blow hot air) , which could lead to a short circuit and even risk a fire. I checked with NHTSA recall history with this model, and found out 2020 and 2021 models had recall last year with AC issue, but my Vehicle was not included in 2023 recall (NHTSA campaign number: 23V-177). I believe manufacturer was aware of this model AC issue from manufacturing defect, but inappropriately set the range of recall. Please investigate this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11613368

Currently unavailable camera view restricted” The message went away but I’ve noticed it appearing more often

NHTSA ODI 11590839

On Thursday, [XXX], I called Mercedes Benz of Naperville at 7:23 AM, 12:34 PM and missed the call 3:03 PM. I reported Sandy in service on Thursday morning. That I smelt a burning plastic smell on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30PM. While picking up my grandchildren from their schools. I came home and parked my car. Later on, Wednesday night My Daughter drove my car and then told me. My car smelt of plastic burning. I call Mercedes Benz Thursday morning. I told them to send me a tow truck. My call needs to be towed into their service department. I ask to speak with Kevin. My service agent of Mercedes Benz service department. Sandy told me he was with a customer. I spoke to Sandy three times. I then went and checked my car for any. Displays on my car dashboard. There were no displays, and I started the car and let it run. I did not smell any burning plastic. On Sunday [XXX]. I drop my car to family dollars and return back home. I did not smell any burning plastic. At 3:04PM Stacy Wright and myself were driving on the way to a meeting in Naperville, Il. At 3:14 PM my car started smelling like burning plastic. At 3: 16 PM heavy black smoke was coming through the vent. I immediately turned left on [XXX] in front of White Castle and stopped the car. At this time the front engine of the car was on fire and the car was full of thick black smoke. I told my passengers on the passenger side to get out of the car and run. It’s on fire. I ran towards White Castle leaving my driver's door opened. I turned around to take a picture of my car on fire burning severely at 3:18 PM. Fire was coming from the front hood of the car. At 3:20PM. The car was engulfed in flames and burning the entire car. The Blue Island Police and Fire Department got to the scene of the fire at 3:18PM. To put the fire out. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11585973

Component: Faulty exhaust valves caused the vehicle engine to misfire while driving at high speed (80mph) and required cylinder head replacement. Available for inspection. I was driving through a heavy rainstorm at night on I [XXX] toward Roanoke on [XXX]. While I was driving at speeds between 80-84 mph during a work trip from Texas to Virginia, the vehicle suddenly started shaking vigorously and I was unable to accelerate over 50mph. No alerts came on my system dash nor the MercedesME app on my phone, however, I did notice the ‘check engine’ light suddenly came on. It was very shaky but I was able to continue driving at the slower speed and with the vehicle heavily shaking. The problem was inspected and repaired under warranty by Mercedes-Benz service in Alexandria, VA. Had the 2021 vehicle been out of warranty, the repair would have cost around $10,000 according to Mercedes-Benz service. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11583723

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that the infotainment screen had gone blank and had failed to operate as needed. Due to the failure, the back-up camera failed to operate while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that an unknown liquid had spilled on the electrical unit connected to the infotainment screen. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and denied the contact’s claim to have the vehicle serviced under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

NHTSA ODI 11555516

Complete engine failure in traffic. Prior to vehicle stopping it did not give me any message that the vehicle was having a problem. The total milage on the vehicle is 21,908. Other than being told the engine has to be replaced, I have been given no information upon what cause the failure. All service requirements have been done timely. The failure occurred on August 25th and as of Oct 19th I have not been able to get an ETA on when the replacement will arrive from Germany. I was on vacation to Las Vegas when the incident occurred. The vehicle is currently located at Fletcher Jones Import 7300 W. Sahara Ave Las Vegas NV. First noticed engine with slight miss as I was 70 miles from Vegas. Miss got worst until I started hearing a rattle from passenger side of engine. At time it shut down I was in traffic at stop light in Vegas.

NHTSA ODI 11550855

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that when the vehicle was powered on the interior panels did not illuminate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the control module needed to be replaced due to corrosion from a leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,500.

NHTSA ODI 11549334

Purchased as a CPO directly from a local dealership. Vehicle has experienced multiple (10+), seemingly random failures of the Electronic Stability Control, Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keeping Assist and Active Break Assist under varied driving and weather conditions. On two separate occasions (one at 15+ mph and the other at 65+), these system failures were accompanied by a brief "limp mode" and immediate total loss of acceleration. The most recent loss-of-acceleration event occurred during lunch hour traffic on the highway, at highway speeds. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership to address these issues on 3 separate occasions. Visit #1: the communication fault codes were noted by the technicians, but they could not replicate the issues. The faults were cleared and the vehicle service was deemed complete. Visit #2 (3 days later and the first instance of acceleration loss): report from service department reads almost identical to that of Visit #1 except the notation that "...found several stored faults for communication with engine control unit." Again, the issues could not be replicated and the faults were cleared. Viewed as an unacceptable response by the consumer, the dealership retained the vehicle for further troubleshooting with the follow-on report noting, "Found no socket tension at Sockets 27 and 28 to PTCU. Removed and replaced sockets 27 and 28 at ME connector 6." The faults were, again, cleared and the vehicle was returned to the owner. Visit #3 (roughly 5 weeks after last visit and the second instance of acceleration loss, this time on the highway): The same complement of warning lamps illuminated, the car lurched, and there was zero acceleration. The vehicle was navigated to the highway's shoulder without incident and shut down. After 5+ minutes, the vehicle was restarted and acceleration functioning had returned. It was immediately driven to the dealership where it currently awaits repair.

NHTSA ODI 11539114

Driving down a multi-lane highway at 70 mph, a 48V battery malfunction warning goes off as well as the yellow check engine light. A few seconds later a ‘coolant’ error alert pops up. SUV loses acceleration with power dropping from 70 mph to 55 mph to 35 mph. Another message displayed on screen warning me to “Pull over and turn the engine off.” Narrowly missing being hit from the back, I was able to coast to an upcoming exit into a store’s parking lot before the car stalled completely.

NHTSA ODI 11536714

Cylinder head replacement

NHTSA ODI 11534934