What 39 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Mercedes-benz Eqe SUV

On April 15, 2026 at approximately 1:30 PM PT, I entered my 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 500 4MATIC (approximately 20,000 miles) in my garage. The vehicle was not plugged in or charging prior to entry. I opened the car, sat in the driver's seat, and authenticated via the fingerprint scanner. The seat began adjusting to my stored profile position. While the seat was adjusting, I tapped the center console to open Apple CarPlay. The seat stopped moving midway through its adjustment, and what appeared to be every warning light on the instrument cluster illuminated simultaneously. I observed dozens of yellow and red warning icons, including a towing/recovery indicator. A number of warning messages also appeared on the screen. I manually adjusted the seat using the door-side controls. I attempted to shift into reverse to back out of the garage, but the vehicle would not engage. I then tried shifting into drive and the vehicle similarly would not engage. The drivetrain was completely unresponsive. I exited the vehicle, locked it, and re-entered to attempt a restart. All warning and system lights returned immediately and the vehicle again would not shift into any gear. I then connected the vehicle to my home charger. The charge port indicator on the vehicle flashed red, indicating it would not accept a charge. I disconnected the charger and attempted to start the vehicle a third time with the same result. I left the vehicle and took another car. The vehicle sat for approximately 45 minutes. At approximately 2:20 PM PT, another household member started the vehicle. It started normally with no warning lights and was able to drive without issue. The vehicle has been driven twice since this incident. On the following day (April 16, 2026), the Active Brake Assist system displayed a warning message indicating it is not functioning. This system was working normally prior to the April 15 incident.

NHTSA ODI 11731586

Vehicle shut down while driving on highway, repeated drive system malfunction, turtle mode. The vehicle has experienced a recurring, unresolved drivetrain malfunction — specifically, a drive system malfunction and battery malfunction causing the vehicle to enter severely reduced-power mode ("turtle mode") — that has persisted through a minimum of three (3) separate repair attempts across two authorized Mercedes-Benz dealerships, totaling more than sixteen (16) calendar days out of service within approximately 47 days of the first failure. Most critically, on March 14, 2026, while driving on a public highway in Ontario, Canada, this defect caused the vehicle to shut down completely while in motion, forcing me to pull over on the highway shoulder. The vehicle would not restart for approximately one hour. This constitutes a serious and dangerous safety hazard.

NHTSA ODI 11730075

The vehicle has had repeated failures related to the air conditioning system and abnormal battery drain when the heating system is used. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership four times for the same issue and has spent more than two months in total at the dealership for repairs. The technicians have indicated that they have not been able to properly repair the problem. The vehicle continues to have unresolved defects affecting its normal operation and reliability. The vehicle has been at the dealer again from 3/26/2026 to present.

NHTSA ODI 11729782

I am filing a safety complaint regarding my 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+, which has repeatedly shut down while driving, causing loss of power and reduced braking assistance. This defect has occurred at least five (5) times since I leased the vehicle and has not been corrected despite multiple repair attempts by Mercedes-Benz dealerships. The most serious incident occurred on December 30, 2025, when the vehicle shut down while I was actively driving. The dashboard displayed multiple warning messages including “Towing not permitted – see operator’s manual – malfunction.” As the vehicle powered down, braking assistance was reduced. I narrowly avoided colliding with the vehicle in front of me, and the vehicle behind me nearly struck my car. This was not an isolated incident. Similar shutdowns and malfunctions occurred on: •November 12, 2025 •March 27, 2024 •January 20, 2024 •November 28, 2023 (initial error documented while the vehicle was already being serviced at a Mercedes-Benz dealership) Each time, the vehicle was taken to an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership. Service records repeatedly state the issue was “fixed” or that “no fault codes were found.” Despite these assurances, the defect continues to occur. I have video evidence of the malfunctions and multiple repair orders documenting repeated unsuccessful repair attempts. The dealership did not offer towing, and I was forced to wait hours or days for the vehicle to regain functionality before driving it to the dealership, which itself posed a safety risk. This vehicle is unsafe to operate. A vehicle that shuts down while driving with loss of braking assistance presents a serious risk of injury or death. Mercedes-Benz has been unable or unwilling to correct this safety defect.

NHTSA ODI 11709572

When I turned on the car this morning, the instrument cluster screen was black and would not activate. Because of this, there was no way to determine speed or to utilize driver assistance functions. This created significantly unsafe condition because I had no gauges or dials to assist. I turned the car off multiple times and attempted to reset it and the instrument cluster screen was still black and nonresponsive. This appears to be a known issue from searching the Webb for Mercedes electric vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11639919

At 0820 AM on Monday, 23 SEP 24 while traveling South on interstate 95/495 in rush hour traffic the vehicle lost complete power and 3-4 messages appeared in the display. I recall one saying the rear differential is inoperable. I turned on the emergency flashers and was fortunate to allow the car to coast to the highway’s left shoulder without causing an accident. I don’t remember the other warnings as I was preoccupied trying to get the car safely off the highway. I was able to restart the vehicle after allowing it to sit for a minute or two. I have an appointment to have it inspected on Thursday at Mercedes of Annapolis, MD. This is the second time the vehicle has lost power while traveling on the beltway. A recall was eventually issued a few weeks after the first incident. I convinced my wife to purchase this vehicle to replace her 20 year old car thinking it would provide safe, reliable transportation. To the contrary the car has had to be towed twice, has lost power on the highway and was in the shop almost a month for a noise complaint. I was told the noise issue was due to 3 bad tires, likely due to potholes, and charged $1741 to replace them. I am totally convinced the issue was not related to potholes but had no recourse other than to pay the $1741. My wife feels totally unsafe driving the car, particularly when I am out of town for work.

NHTSA ODI 11616107

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked and unintendedly decelerated to 20 MPH. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. A message advising that there was no more battery power and to pull over was displayed. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the electrical systems had failed. The dealer rebooted the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the control unit software was updated, and the battery management system software was updated under Mercedes-Benz Campaign Number: 2024060002. Additionally, the dealer test-drove the vehicle; however, the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that she had stopped driving the vehicle due to safety concerns. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V372000 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was a consideration to buyback the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 2,707.

NHTSA ODI 11614862

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V372000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that on two occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that an unknown warning message appeared. The vehicle was restarted after the first failure. The contact stated that on the second occasion when the vehicle stalled, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure was not able to be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,700 unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11592912

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost propulsion and stalled. Moments later, the contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The next day the vehicle was driven to the local dealer who determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V372000 (Electrical System); but the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 2,500.

NHTSA ODI 11592597

Driving almost 60 mph, car shuddered and went to 20 mph then 10 mph in seconds. Drove on the shoulder, only 650 miles since I leased the car. Second time has happened in four weeks.

NHTSA ODI 11579179

THIS IS A SUDDEN ACCELATION INCIDENT in reverse with a brake incident. On January 11, 2024 shortly after 12:00 p.m., I was leaving my home and reversing out of my garage. As the tail of the car went slightly beyond the garage door, it stopped abruptly as if detecting something in the path of the car behind it. As I was looking at the rear camera to see why it stopped and what was in the path and contemplating whether I should get out and go see in person (as I did not clearly see anything in the rear camera) the car started moving again at what felt like a high-speed, backwards as I was still in reverse. I tried to brake but the brakes did not work. So, I started turning so as not to go directly into the home of the neighbor across the street. I turned sharply enough that the car went diagonally into my next-door neighbor's yard to the left of our home. The car continued to move in reverse and I kept steering to avoid the car hitting my neighbor's home. The car hit and knocked over the neighbor's in-ground basketball on the opposite side of the driveway. I believe the car slowed a bit after that impact but kept going in reverse heading back into the street in front of my home. Still steering and hitting the brakes, I remember the car spinning in the street and then had somewhat of an elliptical pattern and was headed back across the yard to my same neighbors home but hit the parkway tree in front of my home and stopped with that impact. Believe electrical failure. Brakes didn't work. Airbag did not deploy. Many sudden acceleration cases end in injury and death. Thankful no children out since middle of day. MBUSA (only) is investigating. Attempted independent review but told that unable because of proprietary software. 5 weeks in and no response to investigation status.

NHTSA ODI 11572481

***THIS IS NOT MY CAR*** My car was in for service at the dealer. The dealer provided this EQE350 as a loaner. The loaner was electric, which exploded in our garage and burned the house down. The dwelling is 100% loss and 90% of contents were lost. We have pictures and videos from ring doorbells showing the combustion, and you can hear the thermal runaway. Please help us. GOOGLE "Mercedes Benz EQE Garage Fire Florida".

NHTSA ODI 11571649

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350. Then the contact stated that after starting the vehicle, he became aware that the travel range had declined. The failure became a regular occurrence until the travel range had declined by approximately 40%. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the battery charging capacity could be expected to decline by up to 40% during the winter months. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 700.

NHTSA ODI 11567208

Electrical interference with USB audio. There are loose connections that travel on the headliner all the way to the back of the car rear top speakers. Audio source suddenly gets disconnected and make a huge buzzing sound on the rear left speaker mounted to headliner. A potential fire hazard.

NHTSA ODI 11536718

SAFTE CONCERNS: 1. Vehicle has sever severe pulsing/shaking/jerking behavior in motion. So far I have encountered this problem when the vehicle was under 20 mph; 2. Vehicle lightly pulsing/vibrating when braking and does not stop smoothly; 3. Stepping on the gas pedal for 100% acceleration, the vehicle only went up to 30~40% power. BACKGROUND: I purchased this vehicle (with 25miles shown) on 4/21 evening around 9 pm PDT. Saturday 4/22 evening, the first time I took the car out for a drive, I experienced the concern 1 and 2 as stated above then I took it back to the dealership on 4/23 morning. I have recorded videos when vehicle was shaking. I will follow up with video attachments in email. The dealership diagnosed the car and did verify the strange behavior, but said all problems were fixed by the real axel steering software update from 4/24 to 4/25. Please find attached the service report. I then drove the car back with 91 miles shown on the vehicle 4/25 evening. However, 4/25 night, when the vehicle was reaching around 110 mile total mileage, I encountered the same issues again, along with a new one as described in concern 3 above. Through out the whole process, the vehicle was never over 40 mph, so no one got hurt or no accidents happened while the vehicle lost control. However, the issue was random and happened in my drive way, at traffic lights and as vehicle is turning on the roads, these strange behavior could not only risk passengers in the car but also put surrounding vehicles and traffic into risks. The vehicle only throw two error messages ONCE on 4/23 morning: 1) rare steering malfunction 2)auto brake system malfunction.

NHTSA ODI 11519132