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

I reported multiple times to Mercedes USA that the vehicle was experiencing electrical issues as I was periodically loosing power and/or control over the vehicle. The vehicle was returned twice to the dealership but the problem always came back pretty much immediately. On the day of the accident, I was driving the vehicle on a straight road. The road was a little bit humid as it has been raining few minutes/hours before but it wasn't raining at the time I was driving. I was maintaining a speed of 55mph (speed limit on this portion of the road). The vehicle started to suddenly move by itself on the right side. A minute later, the vehicle moved a second time on the right without any apparent reason. The third time, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and made a sharp turn to the right. The turn to the right was so sharp that the vehicle made a 180 degrees turn and was projected on the side of the road. The vehicle stopped in a ditch and engine stopped. I wasn't braking or turning the wheel when the vehicle started to act-up. I didn't feel any movement in the steering wheel and I couldn't control the brake or direction. I restarted the engine and the brakes and directions were back up again. I contacted Mercedes who wants to inspect the vehicle but didn't set a date yet. Sheriff arrived on the spot less than a minute after the crash (was driving back home after his shift). He confirmed no collision with another vehicle, no marks of tires on the road, no standing water on the road or any other reason for the crash. No ticket was given to me by the sheriff.

NHTSA ODI 11534284

We bought this GLE AMG 63 new, it has only 1100 miles and we have had two 48 V batters replaced; they just towed it again to the dealer 22 March because it needs yet another 48V battery; the techs say it’s a design problem but there is nothing they can do except get “approval” to have the 48V battery replaced. It has also shut down while driving causing us to pull over on freeway; We don’t five it (1100 miles) because we are concerned about safety issues from the 48V battery failing at unexpected times; firs, overheating and battery coolant issues…etc. We believe this falls under the Lemon law and should be recalled. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your feedback.

NHTSA ODI 11513359

When vehicle is driven 70 mph and above the drive side of vehicle is making a whilst noise by ear of the driver, that is coming into the car. The gas cap door is not sitting flush with the body of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11512252

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE450. The contact stated that on two separate occasions the vehicle failed to start on the initial attempt. The vehicle was towed to dealer who diagnosed that the firmware needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred a second time approximately 90 days later. The vehicle was towed to the same dealer who diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,525.

NHTSA ODI 11509252

Many times while driving a warning pops up in the driver interface that the camera view is restricted, including an icon implying that the AEB system is "unavailable." Funny thing is there is never any obstruction of the camera that I can tell. So I told the service rep at the dealer, including showing him a pic of the error message and the repair order just said, "unable to replicate" with nothing done. So unusual that mine is the only Mercedes vehicle that does this! Also emailed corporate through the special purpose link on the website and got no response. I'm sure that Mercedes is working diligently behind the scenes to fix this problem because they value the safety of their customers so highly, but I just thought I would let you know as well.

NHTSA ODI 11508657

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE53 equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: Sport Contact, Tire Size: 255/40/ZR21, DOT: (Unavailable). The contact stated that on several occasions while driving 30 MPH on wet pavement at low speeds, the vehicle started to shake, and a loud abnormal sound was heard in all four tires. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the tire assembly needed to be replaced; however, there was no repair for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

NHTSA ODI 11504709

Driver side window detached inside door and will not come up.

NHTSA ODI 11493300

2021 MB GLE 53 AMG Coupe. Less than 7500 miles. Car wont start throws a red error saying see the operators manual. This is the second time in 5 months this has happened and is extremely frustrating given MB is fully aware of the issue. They say it is related to software but I just had my car at the dealer for another issue and all software was updated. This is a design flaw that MB needs to fix before someone dies. The issue can happen at any time, I have just been lucky enough that both times it was parked in my garage. I am now considering pursuing a full refund under lemon law, I no longer feel safe driving this car and each time it has been in the dealer for repair I am without a vehicle for 2 weeks. Very disappointing for a vehicle that cost almost 100k.

NHTSA ODI 11492402

Wipers are not installed correctly on all 2021 GLEs on the 167 platform. Wipers make excessive noise and fo not effectively clean the windows. Dealer acknowledges the problem, states of is a common issue but has no known way to fix it.

NHTSA ODI 11485393

There is water ingress on the driver side front door/seat area. There are growing water stains and a mildew smell. We are concerned the water ingress could cause and electrical issue and fire.

NHTSA ODI 11484818

I can be driving on a flat surface with out the car been on eco mode and the car shuts off for no reason without and light on the dash board I have to wait a few secs to restart the car ,brakes don't stop like they should very loud grinding noise and comes. I have report this problem lots of times and my car was not fix it stay more in the shop then with me the car senc don't work the light up red like if someones next to me

NHTSA ODI 11479876

Car shut itself off in rush hour traffic. Slight Smokey smell. Dash light indicating a 48 Volt problem. Got vehicle towed to dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11471032

UNKNOWN

NHTSA ODI 11470877

2021 MB GLE 450 bought in April 2021, now approximately 8000 miles with two separate events of not starting. Cannot jump. Once 48V battery system updated (3 months ago), required tow to dealer. Now again at dealer with the same issue and recommended for battery change (last time was software update). Very unsafe, happened first time in public garage at night with no start, and second time in the morning when I was trying to go to work. Based on various blogs and class action law suit against MB in NJ, seems like MB is aware of 48V battery problem, and installed a bad batch of batteries. Frustrating to purchase $80000 car and learn that it is not safe at all, with possible malfunction at any time.

NHTSA ODI 11461858

Was driving down a 2 lane road at about 55 MPH, and a warning light message appeared on the dash and said "battery no longer charging" then another message that said "coolant overheating vehicle shutting down" appeared. And the car would no longer accelerate. So I had to pull over on a busy 2 lane road and turn off my car and turn it back on, and then the car was working normally again. This could have been very bad if it was on a multi-lane highway. My safety was put at risk. I took the Vehicle in, and they said they cleaned some engine contact points and this was because the car lost contact with the engine

NHTSA ODI 11459441

In the middle of driving it down the road when - without warning -- the instrument panel went black, the entire panel. My husband was on his way to the dealership to replace a tire when this happened. Though he was able to make his way to the dealer, we consider this event to be a serious safety issue, given that there was a partial power outage involving the components the driver relies upon to drive the car - for example, the driver's side instrument panel has indicator lights for the odometer, gas & oil levels and especially, the gear shift controls. My husband asked the dealer to look into the problem and was told a 10682 Electrical test was performed showing that the Head Unit had a fault. When tested again it showed no fault & no available software updates, so they cleared the Head codes and ran the test, which came up negative.

NHTSA ODI 11450003

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The digital dashboard (MBUX) screen that driver is dependent on, all of a sudden go blank with no access to heaters, no display, with no GPS and no dash heater. This screen is controlled by a control unit which is right under the passenger seat and is very sensitive even to few water droplets. Yes, the component is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? With such a control unit that is sensitive to few water droplets, if a passenger sitting in the second row has wet shoes or shoes with snow or drops some water, can short circuit the unit and can result in blanking out the digital screen. On a cold day or during night on a highway, the digital dashboard screens all of a sudden go blank and the dash can get foggy, resulting in driving distraction and low visibility for driver. Heaters can be turned on manually but result in burning smell in the car. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, the dealer has inspected the problem and have also confirmed other customers also had similar issues. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle has been inspected by the Mercedes Benz dealer service department (where I leased ) and they have confirmed that few water droplets have short circuited the control unit which resulted in blanking out the screen. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No messages or warning lamps or signs have been displayed prior to the failure. But we smelled something burning in the car before this happened. This appeared on Jan 9th evening 5 PM on our way from Pittsburgh to Columbus on the highway.

NHTSA ODI 11449194

It is incredibly distressing to have experienced an issue that is widely reported in this database and online forums, and remains unaddressed by MBUSA. It also seems to be an entirely preventable issue that can be fixed via a software update. The issue relates to a malfunction of the 48V battery that made the vehicle inoperatable. It happened in the midst of winter and we would be been in a dire position if our family did not come to the rescue to pick us up. The vehicle had to be towed to a dealership. Here is the dealer summary: 48v software vehicle has no power, connected jumper, battery lights on in dash, towed into shop and connected battery charger, performed quick test, found codes in 48v- B183349 and B183371 , referred to Topic # LI54.10-P-069698 remedy #2, performed guided test for B1833349, as per guided test updated 48v software and commissioned, after completion vehicle started normally, performed extended test drive and multiple short test drives to verify vehicle now operating as designed again, lights no longer present in dash.

NHTSA ODI 11446422

Recall 21V354 has not been completed. They have had since May 14. I have contacted MBUSA twice and they will not give me a completion date.

NHTSA ODI 11442703

On two separate occasions recently, the vehicle suddenly lost all power without warning and stopped. Luckily, these incidents did not occur while driving in high speed traffic, and the car restarted once shut off. When it lost power, all warning lights came on at once. After the first incident, dealer "updated the 48v system and esp control modules and The vehicle is operating as designed." The first incident was on November 9, the second incident was on November 29.

NHTSA ODI 11442064

GLE53 would not start. The car threw an error stating 12v battery malfunction.(Impacted the 48V battery) This essentially disables the vehicle completely. This is 2021 GLE53 with less than 5000 miles. There is also an issue with the side-view mirror and wind noise.

NHTSA ODI 11441783

Issue-The car brakes aggressively using cruise control (Mercedes Distronic) with no driver intervention. This dangerous condition can cause an accident. Using my advanced cruise control…the issue is my set speed was changed along with acceleration or braking when a traffic sign is misread. I have turned off the only setting controls Traffic Sign Assist & Route Based Speed Assist but there is no change. Example of issue-My car was misreading 80mph as 60 & braking aggressively. .My prior 2020 GLE misread signs less often and did not change the speed setting or brake the vehicle. The Dealer applied all available software updates. After all the updates my car continues to adjust set speed to every misread traffic sign. For example recently I had my speed set at the posted speed of 80 and the car read a sign as 70, changed the 80 to 70, and started braking aggressively. In Idaho there are stacked signs-the upper one reads 80 and below “Trucks 70” so this happens about 50% of the time. The vehicle misreads signs often.

NHTSA ODI 11436351

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that the rear brake lights did not function properly when the brake was applied. The contact was made aware of the failure when he noticed that after slowing down to stop, other vehicles from behind were stopping close to the rear of his vehicle. The contact tested the rear brake lights and noticed that they did not illuminate as soon as the brake pedal was depressed. There were also other failures where the tailgate would open about 6 inches and the moonroof would open about 3 inches inadvertently. The transmission also shifted inadvertently. After coming to a full stop, the Eco mode would engage and turn off the engine, but when the engine turned back on, the vehicle would shake abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that it was normal for the rear brake lights to not illuminate immediately when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 500.

NHTSA ODI 11435125

I was driving at full speed on the interstate (75mph) when the vehicle died completely. I had only seconds to maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder. There was no indication of a service issue with the vehicle prior to this incident. The car is/was approximately 2 weeks old, with about 500 miles of usage. Vehicle would not restart so I could attempt to get to a safer location.

NHTSA ODI 11432776

The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE53. The contact stated that while the gear shifter was in PARK, the vehicle was still rolling. In addition, the vehicle failed to stay in reverse and in neutral. The contact mentioned that the parking brake was activated to keep the vehicle from rolling away. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they informed the contact that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11431452