2006 ML350 WITH ONLY 112,000 MILES ON IT THE VEHICLE, WENT INTO LIMP MODE WHILE ENTERING A MAJOR INTERSTATE HIGHWAY NEARLY CAUSING A TERRIFYING ACCIDENT. MB USA RESTRICTS THE REPAIR OF THIS "MFG DEFECT" AND IT MUST BE REPAIRED AT AN MB DEALERSHIP ONLY, TYPICALLY AT A COST OVER $2,000. THE PROBLEM WILL NOT GO AWAY UNLESS REPAIRED. I MADE MB USA AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND THEY DENIED THAT ANY ISSUE EXISTS. I AM AWARE THOUGH, OF A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT OVER THE DEFECT IN THE 722-9-7GTRONIC-AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE LIMP MODE PREVENTS THE TRANSMISSION FROM UPSHIFTING OR DOWNSHIFTING. WHILE AT A STOP SIGN, IF THE TRANSMISSION GOES INTO LIMP MODE, THE ENGINE WILL RACE BUT THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE. I HAVE TO TURN THE CAR OFF, TAKE THE KEY OUT OF IGNITION, PUT BACK IN, AND START CAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME MANY TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION WITH OTHER CARS BLOWING THEIR HORN AT ME. THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO OTHER THAN SHUT THE CAR OFF AND RESTART, THEN PUTTING IN GEAR. THIS IS HAPPENING TYPICALLY ABOUT 2-4 TIMES A DAY. THE PROBLEM TYPICALLY HAPPENS WHILE THE CAR IS DRIVING, BUT NOT NOTICED UNTIL I SLOW DOWN AND ULTIMATELY COME TO A STOP (WITH EXPERIENCE I NOW AM AWARE THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT DOWNSHIFTING AND I KNOW THAT IT IS IN LIMP MODE, AND IF I HAVE TO STOP, I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT HAVING TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTING THE CAR). AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS STARTED HAPPENING ONLY OCCASIONALLY, BUT IS NOW HAPPENING 3-4 TIMES A DAY W
2006 Mercedes Benz ML320
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the power train. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsPower Train
Filed Sep 18, 2017121,000 milesTN
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2000Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.