GOING NORTH ON I-95 IN MASS AT 65 MPH IN A DRIVING RAIN THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. THE RPM AND SPEEDOMETER BOTH WENT TO 0, AND THE NOTHING HAPPENED WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. ALL OTHER SYSTEMS (INCLUDING BRAKE, LIGHTS, RADIO, WIPERS, ETC) APPEARED TO WORK FINE. WAS ABLE TO GET TO SHOULDER, PUT CAR IN PARK, AND RESTART CAR. EVERYTHING WAS FINE AFTERWARDS, BUT OBVIOUSLY A DANGEROUS CONDITION IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. WILL TAKE TO DEALER FOR INVESTIGATION. *TR
2013 Mercedes-Benz ML350 complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2013 record →
TWO BENT WHEELS ON RIGHT SIDE OF VEHICLE. IT IS UNKNOWN WHEN THE DAMAGE MAY HAVE OCCURRED OR IF THE WHEELS WERE IN FACT INCORRECT WHEN INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE DURING MANUFACTURE. INSPECTION BY THE MERCEDES-BENZ DEALER ON MAY 30 THOUGHT I HIT A LARGE POTHOLE IN ROAD. I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HITTING A POTHOLE. I HAVE DRIVEN OVER THE NORMAL LESS THAN PERFECT "ROUGH " HIGHWAY ROADS IN THE US ONLY; NO OFF-ROAD. I BELIEVE THE WHEELS ARE DEFECTIVE. EITHER POOR METALLURGICAL SPECIFICATIONS BY MERCEDES-BENZ, A SUBSTANDARD MANUFACTURE OF THE CORRECT SPECIFICATIONS OR A FRAGILE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FOR NORMAL ROAD USE. THIS VEHICLE IS A SUV WHICH IMPLIES A MORE HEAVY-DUTY CONSTRUCTION COMPARED TO A "CAR". MERCEDES-BENZ COMPANY VIDEOS ILLUSTRATE TRAILER-HAULING AND OFF-ROAD USAGE. *TR
THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVER IS LOCATED ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE STEERING COLUMN, JUST BELOW THE LEVER FOR THE TURN SIGNAL MECHANISM. I ACCIDENTALLY PULLED ON THE CRUISE LEVER INSTEAD OF THE TURN SIGNAL CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO UNEXPECTEDLY SPEED UP. THIS IS SUCH AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL SOMEONE HAS AN ACCIDENT.
ON 1/11/14 AT APPROXIMATELY 5:45 P.M. AMIDST A VERY HEAVY DOWNPOUR WITH THE WIPERS IN USE, I WAS TRAVELING EASTWARD ON I-95 AT ABOUT 60 MPH APPROACHING NEW HAVEN, WITH MY WIFE AND SON AS PASSENGERS, WHEN I HEARD A LOUD NOISE AND IMMEDIATELY SAW THAT MY WIPERS HAD INTERLOCKED AND STOPPED FUNCTIONING, LEAVING ME WITH ALMOST NO VISIBILITY. I SLOWED DOWN, PUT ON FLASHERS, AND WAS ABLE SAFELY TO REACH THE NEXT EXIT AND COME TO A STOP ON A LOCAL STREET. THE PASSENGER SIDE WIPER MECHANISM HAD COME APART. I DISENGAGED THE BLADE SO THAT THE DRIVER SIDE WIPER WAS ABLE TO FUNCTION. I TOOK THE CAR THIS MORNING (1/14) TO THE MERCEDES DEALER IN WHITE PLAINS, NY. THE SERVICE REP UPON SEEING THE DISENGAGED ARM SAID HE'S SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFORE, AND HE IMMEDIATELY CONCLUDED THAT THE "SCREWS" HAD COME LOOSE DUE TO USE OF THE WIPERS DURING THE RECENT SEVERE COLD WEATHER/SNOW WITHOUT SCRAPING THE WINDSHIELD BEFORE USE, AND THAT THE LOOSENING OF THE SCREWS WAS "BETTER" THAN BURNING OUT A $700 WIPER MOTOR. I DO NOT AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT IN LIGHT OF THE SERIOUS RISK OF AN ACCIDENT WHEN SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING I HAD ALMOST NO VISIBILITY AT NIGHT IN A HEAVY DOWNPOUR DOING 60 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY.
ON 1/11/14 AT APPROXIMATELY 5:45 P.M. AMIDST A VERY HEAVY DOWNPOUR WITH THE WIPERS IN USE, I WAS TRAVELING EASTWARD ON I-95 AT ABOUT 60 MPH APPROACHING NEW HAVEN, WITH MY WIFE AND SON AS PASSENGERS, WHEN I HEARD A NOISE AND IMMEDIATELY SAW THAT MY WIPERS HAD INTERLOCKED AND STOPPED FUNCTIONING, LEAVING ME WITH ALMOST ZERO VISIBILITY. I SLOWED DOWN, PUT ON FLASHERS, AND WAS ABLE SAFELY TO REACH THE NEXT EXIT AND COME TO A STOP ON A LOCAL STREET. THE PASSENGER SIDE WIPER MECHANISM HAD COME APART. I DISENGAGED THE BLADE SO THAT THE DRIVER SIDE WIPER WAS ABLE TO FUNCTION. I TOOK THE CAR ON 1/14/14 TO THE MERCEDES DEALER IN WHITE PLAINS, NY. THE SERVICE REP UPON SEEING THE DISENGAGED ARM SAID HE'S SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFORE, AND HE IMMEDIATELY CONCLUDED THAT THE "SCREWS" HAD COME LOOSE DUE TO USE OF THE WIPERS DURING THE RECENT SEVERE COLD WEATHER/SNOW WITHOUT SCRAPING THE WINDSHIELD BEFORE USE, AND THAT THE LOOSENING OF THE SCREWS WAS "BETTER" THAN BURNING OUT A $700 WIPER MOTOR. I FIND THE REP'S STATEMENT TROUBLING, TO SAY THE LEAST, IN LIGHT OF THE RISK OF A SERIOUS ACCIDENT WHEN SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING I HAD ALMOST NO VISIBILITY AT NIGHT IN A HEAVY DOWNPOUR DOING 60 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. I PICKED UP THE CAR THAT EVENING AND THE WIPERS ARE FULLY FUNCTIONING AGAIN. *TR
2013 MERCEDES BENZ ML350: DURING THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, UPON ACCELERATION FROM A STOP POINT, THE VEHICLE HESITATED LURCHING TO THEN GAIN SPEED AS INTENDED BY THE DRIVER. SECOND AND THIRD OCCURRENCES WERE IDENTICAL AND OCCURRED WHILE LEAVING THE HOUSE WITH NO TRAFFIC ANYWHERE ON SIGHT. VEHICLE WAS SENT FOR REPAIRS AND DEALERSHIP SAID A SOFTWARE UPDATE SHOULD HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. ON 10/15/13, WHILE TRYING TO REENTER AN EXPRESSWAY FROM THE EMERGENCY LANE, THE CAR HESITATED WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE FROM AN INCOMING VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE LURCHED CONSECUTIVE DURING THREE OCCASIONS IN A MATTER OF SECONDS THEN FINALLY GAINED SPEED THUS AVOIDING A COLLISION. SHOULD THE INCOMING CAR HAVE BEEN DRIVING JUST A BIT FASTER, 4 PASSENGERS INCLUDING A BABY WOULD HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED BY A VEHICLE TRAVELING AT EXPRESSWAY SPEEDS. *TR
2013 MERCEDES BENZ ML 350. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED HE PUSHED THE BUTTON FOR THE TRANSMISSION, BUT IT WOULD NOT GO INTO PARK, AND REMAINED IN DRIVE. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE ENTIRE STOCK PART ON THE VEHICLE HAD FAILED.
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz ML350 → · Every ML350 year → · How the figures are calculated →