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

Severe, life-threatening autonomous safety system and powertrain failures in a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV. The vehicle exhibits sudden, violent unintended acceleration, unprovoked emergency braking, and steering lockups. On multiple occasions, including at 75 MPH on the freeway and 45 MPH on city streets, the vehicle abruptly applies maximum braking force down to a near-stop without driver input or any road obstruction, nearly causing multiple catastrophic rear-end collisions with semi-trucks and buses. Conversely, the vehicle experiences sudden unintended acceleration; during one severe city street incident, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated from 40 MPH to 60 MPH while the driver was actively braking, causing the brake pedal to feel completely locked, stiff, and unresponsive for several seconds before stopping. While stopped at red lights, the vehicle violently surges and rocks forward/backward as if wanting to accelerate without driver input. The steering assistance system abruptly locks up or pulls hard to the right without warning, requiring the driver to physically wrestle control to maintain lane alignment. The braking system suffers from severe malfunctions, including the pedal randomly repositioning itself lower while driving and dropping completely to the floor during parking, causing the vehicle to roll until pumped. The electronic parking brake intermittently fails to release when shifting into drive/reverse. Additional systemic electrical and safety defects include: complete instrument cluster/gauge blackouts impairing speed monitoring; steering wheel physically blocking gauge visibility; total failure of rearview/surround-view cameras, blind spot monitors, and mirror controls; exterior door handles failing to deploy; rear trunk malfunctions; severe high-voltage battery range loss; and continuous infotainment/navigation crashes. Authorized dealerships have failed to repair these critical safety components across 4 distinct repair attempts.

NHTSA ODI 11742216

Severe, life-threatening autonomous safety system and powertrain failures in a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV. The vehicle exhibits sudden, violent unintended acceleration, unprovoked emergency braking, and steering lockups. On multiple occasions, including at 75 MPH on the freeway and 45 MPH on city streets, the vehicle abruptly applies maximum braking force down to a near-stop without driver input or any road obstruction, nearly causing multiple catastrophic rear-end collisions with semi-trucks and buses. Conversely, the vehicle experiences sudden unintended acceleration; during one severe city street incident, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated from 40 MPH to 60 MPH while the driver was actively braking, causing the brake pedal to feel completely locked, stiff, and unresponsive for several seconds before stopping. While stopped at red lights, the vehicle violently surges and rocks forward/backward as if wanting to accelerate without driver input. The steering assistance system abruptly locks up or pulls hard to the right without warning, requiring the driver to physically wrestle control to maintain lane alignment. The braking system suffers from severe malfunctions, including the pedal randomly repositioning itself lower while driving and dropping completely to the floor during parking, causing the vehicle to roll until pumped. The electronic parking brake intermittently fails to release when shifting into drive/reverse. Additional systemic electrical and safety defects include: complete instrument cluster/gauge blackouts impairing speed monitoring; steering wheel physically blocking gauge visibility; total failure of rearview/surround-view cameras, blind spot monitors, and mirror controls; exterior door handles failing to deploy; rear trunk malfunctions; severe high-voltage battery range loss; and continuous infotainment/navigation crashes. Authorized dealerships have failed to repair these critical safety components across 4 distinct repair attempts.

NHTSA ODI 11742218

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

September 8th, 2024 @ approximately 3pm My Mercedes EQE 350+ accelerated to a high speed when the front tire touched a curb. The car ran over the curb and into the parking lot. I was able to steer the car but the brakes didn't work. The car kept going through a stop sign and into the intersection. Luckily there were no cars in the intersection and I finally thought to turn the car off. It then stopped. The whole rubber covering over the battery was destroyed from the rocks on the curb. The battery was severely damaged also. The car was at the dealership from Friday Sept 13th until around Oct 9th. They finished their testing and sent the info to corporate Mercedes on Wed Sept. 18th. I finally heard back from Mercedes corporate on Oct 3rd, 2024. They said that they didn't find any malfunctions. During this waiting period I was pressured by the Mercedes dealership to file an Insurance Claim. I said I wasn't filing a claim until I heard back from Mercedes Corporate. There have been several cases online where the same issue has occurred by other Mercedes owners. One was almost exactly the same as mine. The only difference was that the car stopped when the tires were flattened. I have been driving for 50 years and have never experienced anything like this. My nephew was in the car with me and I repeatedly said to him the brakes aren't working. The car was a write off. I had to file an insurance claim.

NHTSA ODI 11619675