2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS 550

Feel unsafe fuel rails and more where recalled in April 2022 Not all gls550 were recalled at the time due to no reason Drive to Florida with my wife and kids and car gave up on the side of a bridge hwy over the ocean We were stuck car smelt like gas and wouldn’t turn on we had nowhere to get out on a 25ft bridge with no ac no emergency lanes with 5 kids all under age of 6

NHTSA ID

11678641

Incident

Aug 2, 2025

We had our Mercedes GLS550 2017 with 59,295 overheat and call for immediate shut down on the Massachusetts Turnpike with my wife and child in the car. It was quite a dangerous situation because the failure caused by hose assembly 166-830-15-00 clamp (as described by the dealer as the reason for the loss of fluid and hose failure) caused almost an immediate overheating. The service advisor stated that it is "a quite common failure". I was quite suspicious, because just 11 days prior and 138 miles prior they had performed an Oil Change (Service B9), and thought their mechanic must have damaged the hose fitting they claimed broke. When I looked at the schematic, the fitting is quite close to the Oil Filter Cap, so I assumed that the mechanic accidentally knocked the plastic clamp and broke it. However, they said this was a "normal failure" on these cars. I am a data scientist and have requested failure rates for similar autos in the data cohorts of 50,000, to 60,000 miles and 4 to 5 years old. It woudl be also nice to see if there was data available that included Post B( service visits for the same failures. I was surprised they tracked this data since I was told it was a common failure of this part. Looking at the design of where the host runs, it is certainly exposed to a mechanics tools removing the Oil Filter wrench. If this is common, I would like to help other families with young children being stranded by the side of a busy highway. In this case, I told my wife to drive to the closest safe point even though the engine warning system said to stop immediately. The engine seems to survive fine. I dont know if you record other data on this type of hose assembly failure, but a redesign with non-plastic clamp might be more durable and more appropriate.

NHTSA ID

11444249

Incident

Nov 27, 2021

MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING FROM ARIZONA TO COLORADO. WE WERE TRAVELING AT ABOUT 85 MILES/ HR PASSING ALBUQUERQUE. ALL OF A SUDDEN WE FELT AND HEARD AN EXPLOSION. MY WIFE AND I BOTH DUCKED AND FORTUNATELY I KEPT MY HANDS ON THE WHEEL. WE LOOKED UP AND THE SUNROOF HAD SHATTERED AND BLOWN OUT. THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED US FROM BEING SHOWERED WITH GLASS WAS THE SHADE OF THE SUNROOF WAS CLOSED BECAUSE THE SUNROOF WAS CLOSED AT THE TIME. WE HAD T DRIVE THE REMAINING 400 MILES WITH THE BROKEN SUNROOF. WHEN WE GOT BACK HOME , WE CONTACTED MERCEDES AND ASKED THEM ABOUT THE SUNROOF. THEY BASICALLY DID NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYTHING EVEN AFTER WE TOLD THEM THAT AFTER GOOGLING ( MERCEDES EXPLODING SUNROOF) A TON OF ITEMS CAME UP INCLUDING SEVERAL LAWSUITS. MERCEDES DOES NOT SEEM TO WANT TO ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SUNROOF. MY WIFE AND I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. WE WERE LUCKY THAT THERE WAS NO CAR AROUND US AND THE FACT THAT I KEPT MY HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL. I DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO ANY ONE ELSE BECAUSE THEY MIGHT NOT BE AS FORTUNATE AS US.

NHTSA ID

11402698

Incident

Mar 7, 2021

Mileage

54,000 mi

REAR AXLE LOCK UP BRIEFLY MADE A SOUND LIKE SOMEONE REAR ENDED THE CAR AND SNAP THE LEFT SIDE REAR CV AXLE. VEHICLE IS AWD AND DOES NOT MOVE ON ITS OWN POWER.. SHOP TOW SUV AND ON THE AIR FOUND THE AXLE INNER JOINT JUST SPINS BUT CAR DOES NOT MOVE, THEY PULLED THE AXLE AND THE IS METAL BURNT INTO THE AXLE SHAFT SEEMS REAR DIFF LOCK UP, OIL WAS CLEAN ON THE DIFFERENTIAL.

NHTSA ID

11340655

Incident

Jul 17, 2020

Mileage

105,110 mi

I PURCHASED A 2017 GLS 550 IN JANUARY 2018 FROM LOEBER MOTORS IN LINCOLNWOOD ILLINOIS. THE STICKER ON THE VEHICLE REPRESENTED THAT THERE WERE 'ALL SEASON' TIRES ON THE VEHICLE. AFTER NUMEROUS GUARANTEES FROM THE SALESMEN, I WAS ASSURED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD BE 'SAFE' ON THE FACTORY TIRES AS THEY WERE REPRESENTED AS ALL SEASON. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I FOUND MYSELF DRIVING THROUGH A SPRING SNOWSTORM IN WISCONSIN THAT I REALIZED THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG WITH THE WAY THE VEHICLE WAS HANDLING IN THE STORM. I WAS CONCERNED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS GOING TO END UP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, OR IN A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT, AS THE VEHICLE WAS ALMOST UNABLE TO CONTROL. ALMOST EVERY OTHER CAR ON THE ROAD SEEMED TO BE UNFAZED BY THIS STORM, YET MY $100,000 VEHICLE WAS DRIVING LIKE A ROLLER SKATE.AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEALER AND CONTINENTAL TIRES, IT HAS COME TO LIGHT THAT THE TIRES ON ALMOST ALL GLS 550'S ARE ACTUALLY THE CONTINENTAL CROSS CONTACT UHP'S. CONTINENTAL HAS VERBALLY CONFIRMED(ON A RECORDED LINE) AND THROUGH EVERY BIT OF LITERATURE ONLINE, THAT THE TIRES ARE ACTUALLY SUMMER TIRES AND SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN IN WINTER/SNOW CONDITIONS.WHILE THE TIRES MAY HAVE AN M AND S ON THE SIDEWALL, THIS WAS A DESIGNATION REQUESTED BY MERCEDES TO DEFINE THESE TIRES AS 'ALL SEASON' AS THEY MEET THE TREAD DESIGN FOR THE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ALL SEASON. CONTINENTAL HAS STATED THE EXACT OPPOSITE AND DOES NOT EVEN PROVIDE SAFETY DATA FOR THESE TIRES IN WINTER CONDITIONS, AS THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED AS A SUMMER/PERFORMANCE TIRE. THE MISREPRESENTATION ABOUT THIS ISSUE IS OF EPIDEMIC PROPORTION. MERCEDES NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS MISREPRESENTATION AND NOTIFY/RECALLS THE UNSAFE TIRES THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THESE VEHICLES.THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING BREACHES OF DISCLOSURE AND MISREPRESENTATION I HAVE EVER SEEN.

NHTSA ID

11092420

Incident

Mar 7, 2018

Mileage

11,000 mi

I LOWER THE PASSENGER CAR WINDOW WHEN I ENTERED THE CAR IN A VERY HOT DAY AND THE WINDOW GLASS EXPLOTED. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID IT WAS NOT A CAR DEFECT. HOWEVER, THE CAR WINDOW GLASS JUST EXPLOTED JUST BY LOWERING IT.

NHTSA ID

10970780

Incident

Apr 2, 2017

Complaint During part of the steering movement, it feels heavier or more difficult to steer in the same spot every time. OR Rattling, humming, dry sliding/gravel noise from the electric steering system when steering (see attachment). Complaint does not impact the ability to safely steer or control the vehicle. Cause Ball screw drive (KGT) of electric steering damaged by: 1. External force due to: ‑ Hitting the curb/posts with the front wheels. ‑ Driving over obstacles (e.g. pothole/ threshold/ speed bump/ gully) at an inappropriate speed. 2. Corrosion/ water ingress through a damaged boot (see attachment). ‑ Cracks (1) ‑ High pressure cleaner (2) ‑ Animal bite (3) See various examples listed in the attachments for examples of outside influence. Remedy Remove boot clamps closest to steering gear housing on both left and right (as seen in "Steering Rack Boot Clamp Location"). Pull back boot and inspect for rust, broken end stops, water, or any other anomalies. Replace electric steering. Note: Steering gears replaced due to outside influence or damage must not be claimed under warranty!

Complaint Clanking noise from the area of the speakers in the doors. Cause Under analysis. Remedy To narrow down the cause, first of all remove the door trim. • If the noise continues to occur even with the door trim removed, then continue the diagnosis working towards the speaker and if necessary, create a TIPS case with an informative video as an attachment. Information: Please refer to this document in the warranty claim and, after completing diagnosis, select the damage code corresponding to the component part that caused the problem. • If the noise stops when the door trim is removed, please proceed in accordance with LI72.10-P-067691. Information: In this case, do not use a damage code for the speakers in the warranty claim!

Complaint A popup is seen on the HU with the message "data connection temporarily not available". Potentially affected functionalities in NTG4.5, NTG5 1.Weather 2.Local Search 3.IP Radio 4.Send2Car 5.Speech Detection Service 6.Navigation 7.iHeartRadio 8.Traffic Cams Cause MB Apps is sundowned for all vehicles with NTG4.5 and NTG5 Head Unit Variant. Remedy No support available for NTG4.5 and NTG5 Head Unit Variants for MB App related topics. Note: Please do not create TIPS. Please do not replace any components. HU/Hermes SW update / SCN coding will not fix the issue.

Complaint This document is intended as a pre-case diagnostic reference for transmission related concerns. It will also ensure that if a case is necessary, all supporting documentation is available. This should not be used on its own as justification for creating a TIPS case. Cause The root cause will vary depending on the complaint. The goal of this document is to provide diagnostic checks and procedures that may help resolve customer complaints without opening a TIPS case. Remedy Before opening a transmission-related TIPS case, the following steps must be performed to ensure all relevant data has been collected and possible remedies (when applicable) have been performed. Please Note: At minimum, the documents below must be collected before proceeding to ensure the data in its original state when the vehicle arrived is captured. - Initial Quick Test w/ Freeze frame data - VGS Control Unit Log - Initial EEPROM data (.txt format) - IPR Result (if applicable. See LI27.00-P-073124 - Transmission diagnosis using the Intelligent Predictive Repair (IPR) tool) - Transmission Heath Page If the vehicle has previously been repaired for the same concern, note the date, mileage, and TIPS case or RO number, along with a brief description of the prior work performed. IPR Guidance: The IPR recommended repair should be completed prior to following any steps in this LI and prior to case creation. IPR repairs do not require additional warranty approvals or a TIPS case to validate/confirm the results. To ensure efficient case handling, please avoid opening TIPS cases for this reason. For further information regarding IPR please see the following documents: LI27.00-P-073124 - Transmission diagnosis using the Intelligent Predictive Repair (IPR) tool Oil Pan Condition Evaluation: In some situations, IPR will advise checking the oil pan condition and determining a repair based on the evaluation. Example photos in Xentry can be found in two ways: • Use the blue hyperlink in the IPR result, and it will take you to the Condition check of transmission oil • Navigate to Xentry Bluebook > Help for control unit > Condition check of transmission oil If a different repair that what is recommended by IPR is performed, attaching photo documentation of the complaint vehicle oil pan and the IPR example to the claim is required. Reproducing the Concern: Proper evaluation of transmission concerns generally requires the condition to be reproducible. It is recommended to compare the vehicle to a similar model, if available, to help determine whether the shift behavior is characteristic of the drivetrain or uncharacteristic for the vehicle. If the concern cannot be duplicated: • A test drive with the customer may assist in understanding and reproducing the complaint. • The vehicle shift quality should be compared to a known-good vehicle with identical drivetrain and model year. • Check Shift Quality History (VGS Control Unit > Adaptations > Shift Quality History) Shift Quality History will show the last 5 noticeable harsh shifts and some of the parameters in which it occurred. You can use this to attempt recreation of the operating conditions and increase likelihood of reproducing the complaint. Complaint A: Shift Quality Note: Certain AMG variants may exhibit more firm and noticeable shift behavior as a normal characteristic. Refer to LI27.60‑P‑075147 for additional information. 1. Perform Valve flushing procedure 2. Perform 5 Torque Converter adaptions in a row - Allow the vehicle to warm up naturally, DO NOT power brake as it will increase the temperature in the torque converter. - After the 5th adaptation, collect a screen shot showing all 5 on one page 3. Perform a standstill adaption - collect a screen shot Recheck vehicle operation. If the concern has not improved, driving adaptations should be performed to target specific gear shifts.

Complaint Mercedes-Benz USA is currently experiencing limited availability of transmission fluid specification ATF 236.17 due to a global supply constraint. 236.17 ATF 1L and 5L (PNs: A002989060312 and A002989060313) bottles are out of stock or in limited supply at Zep. This LI has been created with the following intention: - Provide dealers with additional workshop-focused guidance regarding the current ATF 236.17 supply constraint and the planned introduction of ATF 236.18. - Supplement existing communications and address common workshop questions related to maintenance, repairs, and fluid applicability. - Provide technical clarification and practical workshop guidance during the temporary supply constraint period. Dealers should continue to reference the latest News Channel Updates (NCUs) for the most current information regarding availability, ordering processes, supply status, and other related updates. Cause Damage to the Shell production facility has resulted in 236.17 oil supply being reduced to 50% of normal output until the end of 2026. Remedy Please first check Latest NCU updates for latest detailed information. Please continue placing orders through Paragon as normal. Supply is expected to remain reduced and allocation measures are currently in place. We ask for your patience through this restricted supply period. Most orders will be filled in the order in which they were received, as supply is replenished. Those dealers with zero inventory, and pending orders, will receive priority. We expect supply to be stabilized in September 2026. Approved Fluids: Only use transmission fluid from the approved list found on the Mercedes-Benz Operating Fluids website. Non-approved fluid will result in mechanical damage to the transmission and must be avoided. https://operatingfluids.mercedes-benz.com/sheet/236.17 Approved fluids can be claimed as follows if there is no Mercedes-Benz part number: Part # ATFSUB1L - TRANSMISSION FLUID 1 LITER ATFSUB5L - TRANSMISSION FLUID 5 LITER Dealerships with Zero Inventory AND Grounded Vehicles: If a vehicle is currently grounded for repair at your dealer due to no 236.17 inventory, we may be able to expedite your order. Please open a StarSupport ticket including the following information: (Parts Related Inquiry>National Accounts>Zep) • LI document number • Short explanation of repair needed for grounded vehicle • Current days down of RO Maintenance and Service Interval Guidance Published maintenance intervals remain unchanged. Vehicles should continue to be maintained in accordance with the applicable maintenance schedule. This LI does not revise or extend any published maintenance interval requirements. If all required parts and materials are not available prior to scheduling or beginning a transmission service, dealers should consider postponing routine preventative transmission maintenance until the necessary parts become available. For vehicles that have not yet reached the applicable maintenance interval and do not exhibit transmission-related concerns, there is no need to recommend preventative transmission services prior to the scheduled maintenance interval. When evaluating whether routine transmission maintenance can be deferred until parts become available, dealers should consider: • Overall vehicle condition • Vehicle usage and operating conditions • Presence of transmission-related symptoms or customer complaints • Customer expectations and vehicle operating requirements • Availability of required parts and materials Introduction of New Fluid Specification 236.18 Mercedes-Benz is currently preparing the introduction of ATF 236.18 as an additional approved transmission fluid solution for applicable NAG3 transmissions. At the time of publication of this LI, ATF 236.18 is not yet available for dealer ordering or workshop use in the U.S. market. See attachment for further details.

Single throttle lift-off clunking noise from the side shaft when moving off (audible at the outboard end). The noise is heard once in each instance when changing direction of travel. Note: Sound file in attachment Cause If the complaint is eliminated by experimentally loosening the outboard collar nut (by 1 turn), the problem is due to cracking of the microweld between the wheel bearing inner race and the joint housing of the side shaft. Note: The collar nut must always be replaced after being loosened. See also LI33.20-P-078406 Remedy Coat contact surface of side shaft with wheel bearing with Molykote paint. To do this, proceed as follows: 1. Remove side shafts 2. Clean contact surface A (see image file in attachment "Outer joint housing before") before coating with Molykote, using "spirit" (free of dust and grease) 3. Coat contact surface A (see image file in attachment "Outer joint housing after") with Molykote and leave to dry for "one hour" in removed condition 4. Reinstall side shafts Note: Before using the antifriction coating (Molykote), stir it or shake it thoroughly for (at least 1 minute).