RoadVitals

1998 Mercedes-Benz M Class Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
5
Latest Oct 18, 2009
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Feb 1, 1999

What this page shows

Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 Mercedes-Benz M Class. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–5 of 5

Powertrain (other)
Filed Oct 18, 2009
Crash reported

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT IN A SHOPPING CENTER AND GOING ABOUT 5 MILES PER HOUR, SUDDENLY THE ACCELERATOR WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I CRASHED INTO 2 CARS. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT HURT AND THE DAMAGE TO THE 3 CARS WAS SLIGHT BUMPER DAMAGE. I CALLED THE POLICE AND MADE A REPORT. I BROUGHT IT TO THE GARAGE THE NEXT DAY TO HAVE THE CHECKED AND NO PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. THE NEXT DAY I WENT ON THE INTERNET THE CHECK FOR SIMILAR OCCURRENCES AND FOUND SEVERAL. MY CAR WAS A MERCEDES BENZ ML320 SUV. *TR

NHTSA ID
10288856
Incident
Sep 15, 1998
Mileage
67,700 mi
EngineSteering
Filed Sep 3, 2004

NO POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING WHICH IS HARD TO STEER THAT MIGHT CAUSE INTO AN ACCIDENT. THE HARMONIC BALANCER FAILED. *AK

NHTSA ID
10089062
Incident
Aug 29, 2004
Mileage
37,400 mi
Engine
Filed Mar 15, 2004

THE CRANKSHAFT HARMONIC BALANCER PULLEY OF MY MERCEDES ML 320 GAVE OUT ON ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THE BELT STARTED TO BURN. I CALLED THE MERCEDES BENZ DEALER IN HONOLULU, HI AND THE SERVICE MANAGER, DAN TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THE PULLEY TO DATE AND THAT I SHOULD BRING MY ML 320 IN TO GET REPAIRED. DAN STATED THAT THE PULLEY MAY NOT BE THE ONLY PART THAT IS DAMAGED AND THAT THE COST COULD PROBABLY GO UP IN PRICE. I STATED THAT I HAD A MECHANIC LOOKED AT IT AND SAID THAT NOTHING ELSE WAS DAMAGED. DAN INSISTED THAT THERE WERE PROBABLY INTERNAL DAMAGES. AT THAT POINT, I DECIDED TO JUST PURCHASE THE PART AND HAVE MY MECHANIC FIX MY CAR BECAUSE MY MECHANIC LOOKED AT MY CAR THOROUGHY AND I FELT THAT THE MANAGER JUST WANTED TO HAVE ME BRING IN MY CAR IN FOR THE REPAIR(S) WHICH WOULD HAVE PROBABLY COST ME A LOT OF MONEY. *AK

NHTSA ID
10062287
Incident
Mar 15, 2004
Body & structure
Filed Jan 2, 2003

ON DECEMBER 29TH WHILE TRAVELING WITH MY FAMILY ON I-77 NORTH IN VIRGINIA THE METAL SUNROOF WIND DEFLECTOR ON MY 1998 MERCEDES ML320 COMPLETELY AND WITHOUT WARNING BROKE OFF AND FLEW INTO THE PATH OF SEVERAL AUTOMOBILES. A MAJOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WAS NARROWLY AVOIDED. MY ML320 IS WELL MAINTAINED AND ONLY SERVICED BY THE DEALER WHOM SOLD ME THE CAR.

NHTSA ID
10000688
Incident
Dec 29, 2002
Mileage
110,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Feb 1, 1999

REAR DOOR LOCK FAILED. YH

NHTSA ID
606535

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .