2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 Problems

AMENDMENT TO ACTIVE CASE 11723015. CRITICAL AIRBAG & SAFETY DEFECTS. This files a safety defect amendment to open case 11723015. Diagnostic scans confirm central data bus network collapse on VIN [XXX] has migrated into safety-critical occupant restraint and visibility modules, violating 49 U.S.C. § 30118. I. AIRBAG & RESTRAINT HAZARDS Scans from [XXX], document active faults: DTC U042782: "Implausible data received from Electronic Ignition Lock." The SRS module receives corrupted data from the failed ignition gateway, creating risk of airbag non-deployment. DTC B007A13: Passenger seatbelt pre-tensioner open circuit; occupants are unprotected against crash displacement. DTC B11FA4B: Active "Overtemperature" faults in heating elements indicate localized thermal short-circuit risk. II. HARDWARE DECAY Physical teardown confirmed structural oxidation on the central gateway motherboard and corroded connector pins. Modular swaps failed; network lock code U016887 returned within 8 months. Raw dealer records are available for federal inspection. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The engine wiring harness insulation near the ignition coil connectors prematurely deteriorated due to prolonged exposure to engine heat in the turbocharger/exhaust area. Multiple wiring connectors exhibited brittle, cracked insulation with exposed conductors. The degraded wiring began shorting within the ignition system, causing engine misfires, ignition circuit faults, and eventual loss of engine operation. While being operated by a rental customer the vehicle developed severe misfires followed by electrical shorting, smoke, localized flames in the engine harness area, and eventual engine shutdown. The flames self-extinguished after the electrical shorting stopped, but portions of the harness insulation showed thermal damage and overheating. The customer became stranded due to the vehicle becoming inoperable. Diagnostic faults included ignition coil circuit open faults and ignition primary circuit faults. The vehicle ultimately became inoperable due to the electrical failure. Inspection revealed multiple adjacent ignition harness connectors showing progressive heat-related insulation degradation in the same high-temperature area, indicating a broader harness material failure rather than isolated damage. This failure occurred on a 5-year-old vehicle. Engine wiring harness insulation should not prematurely degrade and short under normal operating conditions.

The engine wiring harness insulation near the ignition coil connectors prematurely deteriorated due to prolonged exposure to engine heat in the turbocharger/exhaust area. Multiple wiring connectors exhibited brittle, cracked insulation with exposed conductors. The degraded wiring began shorting within the ignition system, causing engine misfires, ignition circuit faults, and eventual loss of engine operation. While being operated by a rental customer the vehicle developed severe misfires followed by electrical shorting, smoke, localized flames in the engine harness area, and eventual engine shutdown. The flames self-extinguished after the electrical shorting stopped, but portions of the harness insulation showed thermal damage and overheating. The customer became stranded due to the vehicle becoming inoperable. Diagnostic faults included ignition coil circuit open faults and ignition primary circuit faults. The vehicle ultimately became inoperable due to the electrical failure. Inspection revealed multiple adjacent ignition harness connectors showing progressive heat-related insulation degradation in the same high-temperature area, indicating a broader harness material failure rather than isolated damage. This failure occurred on a 5-year-old vehicle. Engine wiring harness insulation should not prematurely degrade and short under normal operating conditions.

The vehicle is experiencing deterioration of the main engine wiring harness insulation, resulting in exposed wires contacting each other. This condition has caused intermittent check engine lights and electrical fault codes. The dealership has confirmed that the wiring insulation has degraded, allowing wires to contact each other. The issue appears related to material durability of the harness rather than external damage. The concern is that continued deterioration could result in: •Sudden engine misfire •Loss of power while driving •Engine stalling •Potential electrical short circuit An unexpected loss of engine power at highway speeds could increase the risk of a crash. The dealership indicated that similar harness insulation concerns have been observed on other M256-equipped vehicles. This appears to be a potential safety-related defect involving engine wiring insulation durability.

The engine wiring harness insulation near the ignition coil connectors prematurely deteriorated due to prolonged exposure to engine heat in the turbocharger/exhaust area. Multiple wiring connectors exhibited brittle, cracked insulation with exposed conductors. The degraded wiring began shorting within the ignition system, causing engine misfires, ignition circuit faults, and eventual loss of engine operation. While being operated by a rental customer the vehicle developed severe misfires followed by electrical shorting, smoke, localized flames in the engine harness area, and eventual engine shutdown. The flames self-extinguished after the electrical shorting stopped, but portions of the harness insulation showed thermal damage and overheating. The customer became stranded due to the vehicle becoming inoperable. Diagnostic faults included ignition coil circuit open faults and ignition primary circuit faults. The vehicle ultimately became inoperable due to the electrical failure. Inspection revealed multiple adjacent ignition harness connectors showing progressive heat-related insulation degradation in the same high-temperature area, indicating a broader harness material failure rather than isolated damage. This failure occurred on a 5-year-old vehicle. Engine wiring harness insulation should not prematurely degrade and short under normal operating conditions.

On numerous occasions, when either slowing down or in a slow turn, the engine dies and will not reengage until I have turned off the vehicle, exited, then reentered an started the vehicle. I have had passengers in the vehicle who will attest to this occurring, in fact, the last time it happened, I was almost broadsided when the vehicle stopped in the middle of a left-hand turn, crossing three lanes of oncoming traffic. The vehicle has been to the dealership at least three times and it's either a "software update" requirement or "we can't duplicate" the issue. When I called MB Customer Service, Michael (initial intake) told me "I have seen this issue before."

On a sunny afternoon without zero clouds in the sky, 75 degrees I was driving at 35 mph on a two-lane road with no cars in front of me, behind me, or coming in the other direction, the brakes were urgently and automatically applied and the seat belts dramatically tightened. The system showed a large red X on the screen. It was obvious the automated safety system mistakenly thought we were about to crash into something but there wasn't anything but smooth asphalt.

The vehicle (2020 GLS 450) suffers from terminal infrastructure "Electronic Rot," resulting in a consistent Breach of FMVSS 111 (Rearview Visibility) and dangerous Automatic Emergency Braking hallucinations. On 03/08/2026, a routine car wash triggered multiple system failures, including "Camera View Restricted" and "Adaptive Highbeam Assist Currently Unavailable," proving the electrical architecture is compromised by minor moisture. This is a multi-dealer failure: the vehicle was sold as "Certified Pre-Owned" by Mercedes-Benz of Fredericksburg with undisclosed active "Special Procurement" status; a 200-day attempted EIS remediation at i.g. Burton failed to resolve the hazards; and the regular service center, Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis, has failed to remediate the ongoing "Electronic Rot." All parties are currently withholding machine-level XENTRY diagnostic sequences required to verify the vehicle's safety status.

On numerous occasions the transmission does not fully down shift to the next lower gear and then when I have to accelerate quickly it will drop down to the lower gear like it’s supposed to but won’t shift out to the next higher gear and when I let my foot off the accelerator the truck slows down quickly like applying the brakes which almost had me rear ended a few times and now the adaptive cruise control is malfunctioning

This incident occurred around 5:50pm on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. I was driving on a merge connector between two freeways in San Francisco at about 60mph, when the vehicle threw a series of error codes and warnings on its displays, culminating with “shut down engine immediately”. The first error was a 48V battery system charging failure, and the second was a warning that coolant was too hot. The instrument panel and steering and brakes did not lose power, but the accelerator no longer worked, and the vehicle slowed down to about 35mph. I had to merge across 4-5 lanes of rush hour traffic at this speed (sketchy) to make it to the side of the freeway, and was able to exit safely and stop in a safe spot. Upon turning off the vehicle for a few minutes and then restarting it, a generic check engine light remained on afterwards. I had the vehicle towed to a Mercedes dealer where the fault(s) are currently being diagnosed. According to the dealer, they are in touch with MBUSA Engineering due to the nature of the fault codes. The vehicle had recently undergone a 50,000 mile routine service without any problems being flagged. The safety implications of this incident are clear: with no ability to match the speed of the flow of traffic, I could have been rear-ended or involved in a collision as I limped across the freeway to safety. I am fortunate that the vehicle had enough residual kinetic energy that I didn’t end up stuck blocking a freeway lane in rush hour traffic. Searching online for similar issues, this appears to be a known manufacturing issue with the mild hybrid inline-6 engine in this model of vehicle. For instance, all of the top Google hits for the term “GLS 48V battery failure” yield relevant and similar reports from other drivers, including summaries from consumer lawyers like this one: https://lemberglaw.com/mercedes-benz-gle-battery-electric-problems/

AMENDMENT TO ACTIVE CASE 11723015. CRITICAL AIRBAG & SAFETY DEFECTS. This files a safety defect amendment to open case 11723015. Diagnostic scans confirm central data bus network collapse on VIN [XXX] has migrated into safety-critical occupant restraint and visibility modules, violating 49 U.S.C. § 30118. I. AIRBAG & RESTRAINT HAZARDS Scans from [XXX], document active faults: DTC U042782: "Implausible data received from Electronic Ignition Lock." The SRS module receives corrupted data from the failed ignition gateway, creating risk of airbag non-deployment. DTC B007A13: Passenger seatbelt pre-tensioner open circuit; occupants are unprotected against crash displacement. DTC B11FA4B: Active "Overtemperature" faults in heating elements indicate localized thermal short-circuit risk. II. HARDWARE DECAY Physical teardown confirmed structural oxidation on the central gateway motherboard and corroded connector pins. Modular swaps failed; network lock code U016887 returned within 8 months. Raw dealer records are available for federal inspection. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

intermittent rear view camera inoperable when you shift from park to reverse. Doesnt come on even if you turn off and tune on the engine.

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes Benz GLS. The contact stated that while driving on the highway, the rear door window trim bars on the passenger side detached from the window. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they diagnosed as a rear door window trim detachment however the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage 65,000.

Window trim on the passenger rear window fell off while driving- it put others at risk by flying off the vehicle on the interstate- Mercedes Benz of Omaha quoted replacement of the window trim parts- no warning messages on dash

The passenger rear wheel brake caliper lower bolt got loose. The bolt is most likely not available for inspection. The caliper body then started rubbing against the wheel inside surface and caused a noise. If the caliper body had jammed into the wheel and stopped it from rotating, say on the highway, the vehicle could have skidded or rolled over? The MB dealership inspected and replaced the bolt. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The noise came during braking on tuesday, 28 May. The car was repaired by the MB dealership on Thursday, 30 May.

Today around 6:47pm. I was reversing my car and I noticed another car in my backup camera and tried shift the gear shift to drive but it didn't work and stayed stuck on reverse and would not moved and the brake pedal and emergency brake wouldn't work.

AMENDMENT TO ACTIVE CASE 11723015. CRITICAL AIRBAG & SAFETY DEFECTS. This files a safety defect amendment to open case 11723015. Diagnostic scans confirm central data bus network collapse on VIN [XXX] has migrated into safety-critical occupant restraint and visibility modules, violating 49 U.S.C. § 30118. I. AIRBAG & RESTRAINT HAZARDS Scans from [XXX], document active faults: DTC U042782: "Implausible data received from Electronic Ignition Lock." The SRS module receives corrupted data from the failed ignition gateway, creating risk of airbag non-deployment. DTC B007A13: Passenger seatbelt pre-tensioner open circuit; occupants are unprotected against crash displacement. DTC B11FA4B: Active "Overtemperature" faults in heating elements indicate localized thermal short-circuit risk. II. HARDWARE DECAY Physical teardown confirmed structural oxidation on the central gateway motherboard and corroded connector pins. Modular swaps failed; network lock code U016887 returned within 8 months. Raw dealer records are available for federal inspection. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

03/17/2023 driving on US1 coming up to speed after pulling onto highway after cars passed I went 0.2 miles and was looking at my driver side mirror ( no traffic on road ahead of me) when I hit something that pushed my big SUV toward oncoming traffic. I held wheel and muscled car to side of road stopping short of a telephone pole. Car was upright I had trouble loosening seat belt while my wife was hanging forward into hers. Dog harnessed in back seat was ok Got out of car to see a car hauler 30? Footer sticking about 4 feet into the road and travel lane. Investigation by police revealed truck driver backed out of a company driveway into the road with no people helping. With traffic totaled right front tearing wheel off. No air bags deployed, I do not believe accident avoidance nor auto braking employed, MB safety and accident location didn’t activate and not sure passenger seat belt pre tightened. Police report Saco Maine 23-113-AC . MBUSA notified. Car held for them to examine. 4 weeks later have heard nothing other than “ we’re working on it”police and Insurance found 0 fault for me. Car totaled for repair cost

We were driving the vehicle at about 30 MPH on a road when suddenly the engine completely shut off. There was no more power steering and no warning that it turned off. We got the car slowed down and once we came to a stop the car put itself in Park. After that we could restart it and keep driving with the car acting very different. This then happened again later on in the day going about 20 MPH up to a stop light. It shut itself off and luckily we were able to come to a stop with the brakes without running into the intersection and no one hitting us from behind. Once again it put itself in Park. We were able to restart the car and drive again with diminished power and really weird shifting from the transmission. The check engine light turned on both times and when we got it to the dealership the next morning all the check engine lights were off again. This is extremely dangerous to the driver and occupants. Our little son was in the back seat. We commute with this car in southern california and if this were to happen on the freeway it would be disastrous. Everyone is at risk with this car. It will just stop without any warning signs and you can have someone rear end you. And the power steering turns off also which if the car turns off in a corner on the freeway you will have no way of controlling the vehicle and will just go into the middle barrier or oncoming traffic. This could be even worse if driven on a mountain road and you loose all power of the vehicle. We will not be driving the car anymore since we have no idea when it will shut off again while driving.

The shock absorbers have prematurely failed as other recalled 2020 GLS vehicles, but our VIN is not showing under the recall campaign 20V329000. Can our vehicle be included on this recall?

CLIP MISSING FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE PASSENGER SEAT (2ND ROW), CAUSING THE SEAT TO FOLD ALL THE WAY FORWARD MULTIPLE TIMES ON ITS OWN. THIS HAPPENED WHEN THE CAR WAS STATIONARY. THE DEALERSHIP FIXED THE ISSUE AND ADDED THE MISSING CLIP.