I was driving along in my 2013 MB GL450 with the M278 engine when the engine stopped. I had it towed to my home and checked it out. I had a suspicion the engine was seized. I eventually had to towed to my closest MB dealership for evaluation. The engine was seized. Their further investigation revealed that a wrong oil filter had been installed when the oil was changed 5 months and 3000 miles earlier. I tried to find out what this wrong filter would cause. I asked the dealership and then MB and got no response. I suspect if this filter caused the issue it would have been an oil pressure issue. The car gave no indication of anything wrong prior to engine seizing. I got no message on the display and when switching on the switch there is no indicator on the dashboard to indicate anything about oil pressure. There is no "oil can" that pops up red indicating an oil pressure issue. To this day have no idea why the engine seized other than an improper oil filter.
- NHTSA ID
- 11724243
- Incident
- Aug 15, 2025
Exhaust valve not working properly and the result of an engine misfire. Mercedez sent us a warranty letter to extend the warranty for this issue 6 months after our warranty expired even though you can find online this has been a known issue for our model of car and year, GL450 2013. There are tons of online forums and threads from Mercedez Benz owners about this manufacturer issue. This should not fall under purchasing an extended warranty or in our case a $17,000 bill to fix the issue on a car with only 70,000 miles on it. This should be a recall.
- NHTSA ID
- 11528865
- Incident
- Jun 15, 2023
The engine failed under 100k miles after being properly maintained according to the manufactures guidelines.
- NHTSA ID
- 11494992
- Incident
- Sep 21, 2022
ElectricalEngine
Filed Aug 4, 2022
2013 Mercedes-Benz GL450; it started with the activation of the vehicle's check - engine light. The Mercedes-Benz service advisor diagnosed the issue as oil intrusion into the vehicle's engine wiring harness. The estimated cost to repair was quoted as $7,0000.00. This resulted in the replacement of the engine wiring harness, four (4) Lambda sensors, four (4) camshaft hall sensors and four (4) camshaft solenoids. This trouble could cause engine failure or misfire if not corrected. Driving the MB GL450 in this condition is a safety issues for anyone driving on the road. Researching on the internet about MB GL450/550 engine oil intrusion into the engine wiring harness is a common problem.
- NHTSA ID
- 11477496
- Incident
- Jul 14, 2022
EnginePowertrain (other)Seat belts
Filed Jul 27, 2019
THIS CAR HAS LOT OF ISSUES WITH WATER PUMP, RADIATOR LEAK, LOT OF ENGINE PROBLEMS. OIL LEAK IT'S GOT LESS THAN 100,000 MILES. RADIATOR HOSES LEAK. CAR STOPPED ON MASS PIKE GOING TO ALBANY, NY TOOK IT TO BENZ OF ALBANY THEY SAID ENGINE MISFIRES NEEDS ENGINE REPLACEMENT AND IT WOULD COST $47,000 TO REPLACE. VERY VERY BAD ENGINES. I LEFT A VOICEMAIL ON BENZ CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NO ONE CALLED BACK OR SEND ME ANY TYPE OF RECALLS. VERY BAD SERVICE.
- NHTSA ID
- 11235222
- Incident
- Jul 4, 2019
- Mileage
- 100,000 mi
ElectricalEngine
Filed Mar 8, 2019
ENGINE HARNESS WIRES CONTAMINATION IN ME, CAUSE SENSORS DAMAGE AND ENGINE PROBLEMS TO START UP RIGHT NORMAL DEALER WANT TO CHARGE ME 14K FOR SERVICE AND REPAIR , EVERY TIME I START THE CAR IT SOUNDS LIKE IT TAKE TIME TO START AND I GET THE CHECK ENGINE EVERTIME I START THE CAR
- NHTSA ID
- 11185140
- Incident
- Dec 11, 2018
- Mileage
- 58,000 mi
ElectricalEngine
Filed Jul 31, 2015
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 (NA) MERCEDES BENZ GL450. WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH THROUGH A PUDDLE, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO MERGE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, WHERE THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY TURNED OFF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE KEY AND TOOK SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO START THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 37,000. ...UPDATED 09/28/15 *BF *CN
- NHTSA ID
- 10745399
- Incident
- Jun 14, 2015
- Mileage
- 37,000 mi
CAR STALLED WHILE DRIVING. PROBLEM REPORTED TO YOU, BEFORE! THEY SENT ME TO THREE DEALER, ALL THEY DID WAS ROUTINE CHECKS AND DID NOT ADMIT TO PROBLEM. THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE GM KEY PROBLEM. WHY DIDN'T YOU SURVEY THIS ISSUE AND GET A RECALL?!!
- NHTSA ID
- 10569373
- Incident
- Mar 27, 2013
- Mileage
- 3,000 mi
THIS IS TO REPORT AN EVENT HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE BEFORE. THE CAR ENGINE SYO SUDDENTLY WHILE TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY AT SPEED AND MUST HAVE THE CAR PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF HIGHWAY TO RESTART AGAIN!!! *TR
- NHTSA ID
- 10520043
- Incident
- Jun 5, 2013
- Mileage
- 4,600 mi
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.