What 46 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Mercedes-benz S-class Phev

While driving a 2022 Mercedes-Maybach S680 at approximately 40 to 65 mph, multiple advanced driver assistance and safety systems suddenly became inoperative at the same time. The vehicle displayed warnings including Active Steering Assist Inoperative, Active Brake Assist Functions Limited, Active Distance Assist Inoperative, Blind Spot Assist Inoperative, Lane Change Assist Unavailable, and Emergency Stop Assist Unavailable. These warnings appeared while the vehicle was in motion and reduced steering support, braking assistance, and collision avoidance functionality. The failures occurred without warning and created a safety concern because critical driver assistance systems were disabled during highway driving. The problem has occurred more than once and affects multiple electronic safety systems simultaneously.

NHTSA ODI 11717209

Was driving the car at 3:00 P.M. and all of a sudden thr dash display when total black out nothing on the display screen. Speed,fuel,turnning singles nothing total black out. Took it to the dealership to fix as this can and would be a life threathing at loss of life could and can happen in a traffic sistiution

NHTSA ODI 11709116

Over ~3 years of ownership, the vehicle has experienced recurrent electrical and engine-management issues, resulting in 15+ service visits and ~100 cumulative days out of service at an authorized dealer. Patterns include: (1) electrical—keyless entry intermittently unresponsive, instrument cluster flickering/rebooting, multiple warning messages including a battery/electrical icon, HVAC/A/C becoming inoperative without cooling; and (2) powertrain/engine—check-engine light (MIL) illuminated, hesitation/limited power on initial acceleration, and rough operation after start. Safety risk: intermittent failure to unlock/start can leave occupants stranded; loss of power/hesitation creates risk when merging or crossing intersections; multiple warning messages/flicker are distracting; and loss of A/C in hot conditions has required operation with windows down to avoid heat stress. Reproduction/confirmation: The concerns have been observed by the dealer on multiple visits with fault codes recorded (codes UNKNOWN to me). Repairs/updates have been attempted, but symptoms recur after service. The vehicle has been inspected repeatedly by the authorized dealer and remains available for inspection upon request. Warnings/symptoms prior to failure: intermittent MIL, battery/electrical warning, cluster glitches/flicker, and A/C blowing warm air; some events followed periods where the vehicle would not unlock or start on the first attempt. Root cause: UNKNOWN.

NHTSA ODI 11686347

I leased my 2022 S 500, Mercedes Benz. on September 28, 2022 and after about a year, I have had issues with the large screen/radio and cruise control in the vehicle. All events are documented at the Rockville Centre, Long Island service center. I have made numerous complaints beginning in January of this year through emails and was assigned a case number with Mercedes Benz corporate which is 12240831. On numerous occasions, while using the cruise control set to 50 MPH, the vehicle will accelerate to  80 MPH  on a highway with a  50 MPH speed limit. Then on other occasions,  while using the cruise control, the vehicle will accelerate to  80 MPH  on a highway with a  25 MPH speed limit. Then,  at other times, while using the cruise control set to 50 MPH, on a highway which has a 50 MPH speed limit, the car will reduce to 10 MPH .  All of these scenarios are  VERY  DANGEROUS  as you can well imagine. On many other occasions, the screen map will become blurry & distorted causing confusion as to my whereabouts. **The time has come for a replacement/repurchase of this vehicle and,  I believe, at this time, this vehicle should be considered for the  "LEMON LAW"  under all applicable State and Federal laws.   I can send a separate email with all of the pictures of the screen and cruise control issues. 

NHTSA ODI 11649962

as a loyal Mercedes Benz customer for the past 15 years, here I am writing to you for the fourth time since January 28th. of this year. My case number is [XXX]. I leased my 2022 S 500, VIN # [XXX] on [XXX] and after about a year, I have had issues with the large screen/radio in the vehicle. All events are documented with your Rockville Centre, Long Island service facility where the staff has been very helpful. On numerous occasions, while using the cruise control set to 50 MPH, the vehicle will accelerate to 80 MPH on a highway with a 50 MPH speed limit. Then on other occasions, while using the cruise control, the vehicle will accelerate to 80 MPH on a highway with a 25 MPH speed limit. Then, at other times, while using the cruise control set to 50 MPH, on a highway which has a 50 MPH speed limit, the car will reduce to 10 MPH . All of these scenarios are VERY DANGEROUS as you can well imagine. On many other occasions, the screen map will become blurry & distorted causing confusion as to my whereabouts. On a side note, we had an usually warm day [XXX]. here in New York City of about 55° and while riding around NY City, the air conditioner was not cooling properly and was brought in for service shortly afterwards for that issue as well as all of the screen issues. The same problem with the air conditioning occurred last week as the temperatures in New York City were about 55° and, frustrated again, I brought the vehicle in for the air conditioner and screen issues and they kept the vehicle for ten (10) days!!. **The time has come for a replacement/repurchase of this vehicle and, I believe, at this time, this vehicle should be considered for the "LEMON LAW" under all applicable State and Federal laws. I will be sending a separate email with a few pictures of the screen issues. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11648771

Check engine light came on few occasions. Took to the dealer and told it’s just a false alarm no problems. On the night of sept 12th 2024, I’m my way home I lost the ac cooling all of a sudden. I was only 5 mts from home. Once inside my garage I saw to my horror some smoke coming from under yhe hood. Upon opening saw some charred wires and some wire smoldering and smoke was coming out of it. Scared for my family I parked my car outside overnite and called the dealer. They had the car towed away the next day. Got my car back on 6 th of November 2024, with a laundry list of problems and issues, that they had supposedly fixed. Three or four various engine wiring harnesses were replaced, due to charring or melting, probably due to the heat. The engine and transmission were lifted off to fix all the wires and what not. I have all the invoices. And video and pictures of some wires and smoke. They don’t have an explanation for this. The recent recall about ecu maybe suggests the overheating of engine and causing the wires to burn out and some wires started burning almost causing fire if not caught in time. Called Mbusa and they didn’t show any concern. But one week after this incident they issued that ecu engine heating warning. Off course there is no repair for that. This is a fire hazard waiting to happen.

NHTSA ODI 11631897

The car slams on the brakes for no reason. phantom braking. i have been tailgated because cars behind me - particularly on tye highway - think i’ve brake checked them (but it was the care slamming on the brakes). the door handles don’t open/deploy reliably. sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. the touch screens are incredibly dangerous - especially when the system freezes or doesn’t work properly - which is often. there are almost no physical buttons. the system software & touchscreens are VERY glitchy and often doesn’t function properly. touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel get activated just from me driving. functions turn on and off just because my hands in on the steering wheel. it’s dangerous. the car had 7 flat tires in 1 year. it’s too heavy for the 21” low profile tires. MBUSA has been made aware of the multitude of problems. The car is constantly at the dealership for warranty repairs. It's a lemon, but MBUSA won’t do anything about it. not until someone gets killed. MBUSA blows me off with every interaction and complaint i make about the quality problems with this car. They don’t care.

NHTSA ODI 11614618

HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY ISSUE, WHICH CAUSES THE ALTERNATOR & LOW VOLTAGE BATTERY TO BURN OUT.

NHTSA ODI 11576610

While driving on the freeway at approximately 40 mph on May 10, the yellow check engine light came on. I was approximately 200 miles into the current tank of gas, I stopped and checked to make sure the gas cap was properly secured. There were no obvious drivability issues. I immediately dropped the car off at Mercedes of Ontario, California, and they were able to confirm the problem, but could not clear the code, or determine the root cause of failure. Ontario Mercedes has now had my car for 6, days and that they are waiting for a M/B factory technician to tell them what to do.

NHTSA ODI 11522006

Was driver the car at 35 mph when the automated emergency breaks activated and made the car into a full stop. No cars or anyone was in front of the car. This happed again two days later doing about 30mph with no one around the car. Car had proximity 3000 miles My heads-up display stopped working on the car twice. First time it stopped the dealer had to order a new one and replace it. Same problem happed again after 2 month. Car lock does open when the car is running. I had a dad sitting the car and I came out with the keys with engine was running. The car locked itself and when pressed the unlock button on the key it doesn’t open. Have this problem multiple time.

NHTSA ODI 11506308

New S500 Benz, 1700 miles on the car, 2 months on the road only. Issues started right off the batt after purchasing this new S500. Car refuses to start daily, check engine light, 12v battery light, 48v battery needs service light, come on even tho the cars voltage is not low and is driven daily on highway. Took to the dealer, dealer says car needed to be driven more even tho its driven daily. Dealer stated voltage of the 12v battery was low, they charged the battery manually and stated that the cars ECU recorded a voltage problem. They cleared the ECU and released the car after 1 week in the shop under warranty. Next day the car was driven after it came out the shop, the car again gave a check engine light, 12v battery light, 48v battery needs service warning message. After driving the car for a bit the car completely went haywire. All interior electrical went out. Center counsel not working, dash console showed over 30 warning lights and messages ranging from electrical to low brake fluids including check engine light, SRS inoperable message, and many many more messages telling me to stop driving the car. Car is scheduled to be taken back to the dealer for another checkup. This time car must be towed in since it refuses to even turn on or to unlock the doors or windows. This car seems to be having major electrical issues as well as major computer problems. This car is unsafe to drive since it can stall out while driving. At this point i will be contacting mercades benz corporate to speak to someone about these major issues. As it stands the dealership is unaware of how or why the car is acting this way and do not know how to fix it. A true lemon indeed. Please view pics attached

NHTSA ODI 11498170

The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Benz S500. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00J000 (Electrical System, Communication) however, the parts for the repair were unavailable. The dealer had been notified about the recall and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The contact also mentioned that he experienced a blowout failure with the passenger’s side front Pirelli PZero Tire, Tire Size: 255/35/R21, DOT Number: 1UN13874K. The contact stated that he replaced the tire with the spare; however, the vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that approximately a week later, the driver’s side tire experienced the same blowout failure and was taken to an independent mechanic. The contact stated that the driver’s tire had the same tire information as the front passenger’s side tire. The mechanic informed him that there were bubbles formed on the rear passenger’s side tire; Tire Size: 255/30/R21, DOT Number: IXTY8464L. The mechanic suggested that all the tires be replaced. The tire and vehicle manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The tire failure mileage was approximately 2,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11450397