What 66 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Mercedes-benz Eqs SUV

Several times, the car's "panic braking" has randomly slammed the brakes and tightened the seat belt. After the first few times, I took it to Mercedes and they re-uploaded software which was hard for them for some reason. It fixed the problem. Luckily, I had always been on small streets. But today, the panic braking happened again, only this time, I was on a major road (4 lanes at 35 mph) and, with nothing around me, no cars in front of me, the panic braking and seatbelt tightening happened so violently that I was thrust forward with enough force to hurt my hip. Nothing severe no doctors needed. I will take it back into Mercedes for another review but what if there had been someone behind me or I hadn't been wearing my seat belt. I would have been hit hard or gone through the windshield. (I was wearing my seatbelt and always do). This has happened at least 5 times since I've owned it.

NHTSA ODI 11726004

The contact leases a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS450. While driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped with no other vehicle or object nearby. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact was informed that it was a common failure and that other vehicle owners had sustained injuries due to the failure. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving 10-15 MPH and approaching a red traffic light, the failure recurred, almost causing the vehicle to be rear-ended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

NHTSA ODI 11716672

This afternoon, while I was driving on freeway at a normal speed (75 miles/hour) with an ample distance (30 feet) from the car in front of me , I suddenly felt a huge impact. It was so violent that I immediately thought my car was hit by the car behind me. I stopped the car on freeway and called 911. But from the back mirror, I did not see any damage on the car behind me. I got out to inspect my car but did not see any collision damage. According to my online search, this model - Mercedes-Benz EQS - has a frequently reported issue of "Phantom Braking" from the Forward Collision Avoidance System. It was very startling and dangerous experience for me. Now 5 hours later I still feel the pain in my neck and back from the impact. Please address this issue to save lives.

NHTSA ODI 11702392

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS580 4Matic. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with Level 2 Semi-Autonomous Driving System and was purchased brand new. The contact stated that the first failure had occurred in the first month of purchase. The contact stated that while driving with the Adaptive Cruise Control with the Stop-and-Go Mode engaged, the set speed changed radically. The contact stated that while the speed was set to 60 MPH, the speed decelerated to 20 MPH unintendedly. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated that a staff at the dealer advised the contact that it was a known issue with similar vehicles. The contact stated that the failure recurred while the dealer was test-driving the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle back to several dealers on several occasions and the contact was provided a loaner vehicle; however, the same failure occurred with the loaner vehicles. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200.

NHTSA ODI 11701566

The vehicle went to catch on fire and the electrical socket burnt so it could no longer charge. The airbag showed malfunction passenger side door. Multiple times the collision warning has malfunction and alerted there was a collision when none occurred.

NHTSA ODI 11679815

Active Emergency Stop Assist Inoperative warning has shown up more than once and the dealer can not duplicate the warning or repair. It is causing frequent phantom braking and sudden stops both in normal driving use and cruise control.

NHTSA ODI 11674402

Emergency braking system and violent seat belt retraction activated in error with no other vehicle in front of on my car . As I have vertigo and a pacemaker the seat belt retraction snapped my head forward in tightening my body but not my head resulting in severe head movement causing extreme dizziness. Also the rapid seat belt retraction place strong pressure on my pacemaker

NHTSA ODI 11668476

2023 Mercedes EQS 450 Normal Recuperation driving around 40 mph suddenly the brakes were applied and seat belts engaged with no apparent reason or obstacle. It was for a second and released so no damage except the scare and jolt of the brake. The internet is full of discussions about this Phantom Braking with electric and non-electric vehicles of all brands. This is the first incident in the 3 months that we have owned this sedan and we will be taking it to the Mercedes dealership soon. This car is always giving warning lights and sounds with so many safety features.

NHTSA ODI 11616685

- Emergency braking, Yes available. - It's a fatal issue. My family and I are at collision risk. - No they always say “Not duplicate the issue” -Inspected by the dealer. - the collision warning Sound went off. I was driving on the highway by speed 60 mph and no cars were behind me and the car in front of me was so far and suddenly the emergency brake sound went off and the car suddenly stopped with hard and terrified brake and all the seat belts had tightened up.

NHTSA ODI 11615719

Description of Incident: While attempting to reverse out of my driveway, I experienced a catastrophic and life-threatening malfunction with my vehicle. I was in reverse gear when the car came to an abrupt, extremely forceful stop, which caused the vehicle to jerk violently forward. This sudden and unprovoked halt put me and my passenger at risk of serious injury. My foot was on the brake the entire time. As the car stopped so unexpectedly, I shifted into Drive in an attempt to inch forward. However, despite my foot remaining firmly on the brake, the car accelerated at full power, without warning, and with no input from me to do so. The car then drove directly into the foundation of my house, causing significant damage. Despite applying constant pressure to the brake, the vehicle failed to stop or respond. This malfunction resulted in the destruction of my home’s foundation and caused bodily injury to both me and my passenger. This was a life-threatening event and could have resulted in severe harm or death to anyone nearby. The car’s acceleration while my foot was still on the brake indicates a severe safety risk and defect in the vehicle’s systems, which also places others at risk.

NHTSA ODI 11615797

My 2023 EQS 580 randomly stops while driving. It has happened 5+ times while traveling at speeds between 10-25mph. My dealer here in Atlanta has replaced the front sensor which didn't resolve the issue. I am thankful that so far the vehicle has not stopped on city streets and not highways. There are no warnings just a hard stopped like other complaints state. I comtacted Mercedes support but they have not been helpful. The vehicle is back at the dealer..

NHTSA ODI 11612984

Two weeks ago, we got warning messages about the Active Steering function being inoperative and the Active Emergency Stop function being unavailable. Additionally, the driver side rear tire has consistenly lost air pressure repeatedly since the car was purchased in the fall of 2023. The dealer examined the car and was unable to replicate any of the issues and returned the car to us without any repairs or modifications being done. Yesterday, we were driving on [XXX] going from Winter Park to Granby around 60 MPH. Suddenly, we heard something that sounded like a bomb - a large BOOM followed by the sound of shattering glass. We looked up and it appeared the sunroof had shattered. If the interior screen was not closed, we would have been rained on by glass. We got off at the next exit and saw that the glass on the roof was shattered and large pieces were missing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11599183

I was stopped at a stop sign and when the light turn green I pressed the accelerator to move forward unfortunately, the vehicle hard braked for no reason. At first, I thought someone hit me from behind since there was no one in front of me but that was not the case. The braking was so violent that it caused my neck to snap back and forth, which caused the back of my head to hit the seat head support. I was going no faster then 10 mph but not slower then 5mph. In turn, the vehicle is available for inspection. My safety was at risk because I had no control or indicator that the braking was going to automatically brake on its own. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer or independent service center because the incident happened today (Sunday) therefore, I plan on making an appointment as soon as possible to see if they can identify any defects. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others since I plan on taking it to the Mercedes dealer where I purchased the vehicle. There were NO warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to failure.

NHTSA ODI 11588360

The vehicle pre collision automatically stops the car completely five times with no car or any objects in the front. I took the car to Mercedes dealership to see if they can find the issues, but they can’t. On 04/07/2024 I had my wife record while I’m driving and we got video of the car just completely hard breaking on its own with no cars in the front. I am worry that another vehicle will rear end me at higher speed when it does happen again.

NHTSA ODI 11581634

Just over two months owning the vehicle (bought [XXX]) I was driving on a smaller highway at roughly 35 mph when the car suddenly came to a stop. There were no obstacles front or behind or the sides. It threw me forward. I was aching and in shock, but needed to get out of the left lane so I pushed the gas pedal and the car moved so I could pull into the left turn lane. I did not know what happened. I did not see any lights on the dash. I was not sure what to do but knew I needed to get off this busy road and the Mercedes dealership was just up the road. I carefully drove to the dealership and explained in detail what happened. The Mercedes dealership told me they got a whole new program for the car sent from Germany and they wiped the previous program and put a new one on my car and that the problem was resolved. On [XXX] as I was driving down the road the same incident happened again. It threw me forward and this time I saw a little red triangle on the dashboard that was only there for a second. There were no obstacles in the road or to my front rear or sides. I sat stunned and shaking and thankful that I wasn’t rear-ended. I again contacted Mercedes and told them that now I am too frightened to ever drive this car again. They told me there was nothing found wrong and to come get i- It is safe enough to drive again. If I had been on the highway at the time, I certainly would have been in a horrific accident, possibly resulting in death. I checked to see if there were previous reports of this to NTSB and there were. I contacted Mercedes USA and they did an investigation and deemed that my car does not qualify for replacement. I didn’t have three strikes to qualify for the lemon law even though it is a life or death situation. They drove the car back to me today. I do not feel safe in that car and never will again. I believe it should be recalled. This is not only an EV issue as my sales rep had a C class ‘23 and it happened to him. Please stop a death. Recall! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11580937

when I was driving on freeway at 40-50 miles/hour with my daughter I started getting messages " Risk of vehicle rolling away" "Active Emergency Stop Assist currently unavailable" " Service required do not change transmission position". I got scared and moved to side safety lane in heavy running traffic. Car stopped and I tried to restart the car but car will not start at all and was getting all those messages. The car has been with the mercedes dealership from last 15 days and Initially after 5 days they mentioned that car needs software udpate and after another week they mentioned car needs replacement of Power Electronics Module.

NHTSA ODI 11573909

I drove the EQS without issue for six months. Then, about a month ago while I was in reverse backing out of my garage, the car slammed on brakes and the seat belt forcefully engaged. It felt as if I hit a brick wall. There was nothing behind me--nothing in the driveway. Then last Sunday, October 29, 2023, I was at a stop light and began accelerating down an off ramp. Nothing was in front of me; however, the car slammed on brakes again--with the selt belt forcefully engaging, and I came dangerously close to getting rear ended. My husband turned off the automatic emergency breaking system, and we got an appointment with the Mercedes dealership. They had the car all day on Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1), and basically, the dealership is saying they cannot make any repairs because they cannot replicate the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11553160

The automatic emergency braking failed.

NHTSA ODI 11545526

While driving the Brakes locked in the middle of the Freeway and Street it happen 3 Times already and the only thing that the Service department from Mercedes Benz saids is that they cant duplicate the malfunction a return the car It Dangerous because it just stops the brakes lock and the car stops completly in the middle of the road

NHTSA ODI 11533687

The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS. The contact stated that while reversing, the collision avoidance system inadvertently activated, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop. Additionally, while driving forward, the failure occurred, causing unknown messages to be displayed and alarms to be activated inside the vehicle. Also Additionally, the system also erroneously activated while using the turn signals to switch from one lane to the other even though there no vehicles nearby. While the adaptive cruise control was activated, another vehicle switched into the same lane and the alarm sounded and unknown messages were displayed even though the vehicle was several car lengths ahead. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and the local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

NHTSA ODI 11531557

I had a forward collision with 2 cars. My brake has been failed and forward collision warning system failed. I leased the car because of the safety features but I am really disappointed. Since I had my kids in the car with me. It was a really horrible experience and I can't drive the car anymore because of the safety issues.

NHTSA ODI 11530268

I was traveling at about 45 miles per hours on a road with no obstacles (no cars in front of me or anything in the road) when the car braked with no warning.

NHTSA ODI 11529581

On 05Jun23, EQS 450+ suddenly reduced the speed to 30mph on the SRT highway while I was driving with cruise control set to 70mph. This creates sudden deceleration in the car and slow down as well as on the left lane traffic where there was a following car behind me with high speed. This happens multiple times when I was driving on the different highways in Texas as well as in FM roads. Car’s Behavior while Cruise control is SET to 70+mph and Intelligent Recuperation is ON. Highway Speed Sign is 70mph. Sudden, unexpected deceleration Wrong speed sign pops up on the dashboard Confusing warning sound Speed sign Indicator acts like inconsistent or confused by changing from 30mph to 45mph or vice versa.

NHTSA ODI 11528510

On June 1 2023 at 6:24 pm, driving at around 40 mph, the car suddenly braked hard and lurched to the left. There were no cars or other obstructions in front of the car. This braking and lurching to the left lasted a few seconds, but almost came to a complete stop. After a few seconds it resumed normal operation.

NHTSA ODI 11525091

Around 5:48 pm Pacific time today, May 8, 2023, traveling westbound on Sunset Blvd (near the Drummond street intersection), the brakes suddenly engaged hard for a few seconds and then released and continued. Speed was around 35 mph and there were no obstructions around. This is the second incident of phantom braking that has occurred in 2 months. Luckily there was no car behind that could have collided into us from the sudden phantom braking.

NHTSA ODI 11521077