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ProblemsByVin Index / 2017-MERCEDES-BENZ-GLE-CLASS / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class owner complaints

73 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 4 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.

electrical 4 complaints shown

12 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $850 · see electrical cluster analysis →
11/07/2018 ODI #11149969.0

We bought our brand new car in december 2016. Since we bought it, we've had a multitude of things that would go wrong. First, a brake light warning went on for no reason, then our a/c wasn't working which occurred on may 2017. We experienced alot of minor issues including the phone, bluetooth connection, the engine warning light would go on. If you stopped the car, and reset it, this would go away. The "hold brake" for a hill would work and then not work; windows would go down on their own. The sirius radio would work intermittently. On the last incident with the sirius radio, which occurred in july 2018, we took it to the dealer, and we were called and told our car had a water issue. Apparently, the sirius module sits under the passenger seat and when broken down, the aformentione

10/03/2025 65,340 mi ODI #11691253.0

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the center digital screen failed to function as intended while attempting to use the safety features. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the command control unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,340.

09/16/2017 1,800 mi ODI #11023801.0

When the vehicle is parked, the door lock will automatically lock on its own - with the keys sill inside the vehicle. This vehicle is equipped with the "keyless go" feature that will allows the driver to lock/unlock the vehicle without using the "keyless remote fob'. As a precautionary measure, if the remote fob is detected in the vehicle, the doors are not to lock. I have two infants and I would load them into the back seats, as I close the rear door, and try to enter the driver seat, all the doors would lock (the remote fob would still be in the vehicle and should prevent the doors from locking). I am now locked out of the vehicle and both infants are locked in. I am not able to open the doors, because the remote fob is also locked in the vehicle. This will also happen if I

09/11/2018 6,735 mi ODI #11128729.0

Rear hatch opens on its own intermittently while parked and locked; doors remain locked. This has happened in driveway as well as in shopping center parking lots. We have had to the dealer three times, but they can not replicate the problem. This has happened when keys are inside house on a table. Dealer could not find any fault codes; told us to try leather case over key fob. Dealer states there is nothing more that they can do.

other 3 complaints shown

11/30/2025 ODI #11702123.0

Panoramic sunroof suddenly exploded while driving. It was the rear section of the sunroof. There was a loud boom sound. There were no vehicles nearby kicking up rocks, etc. I jumped and screamed but managed to remain somewhat calm trying to figure out where the sound came from in the vehicle. I then realized it was the panoramic sunroof as sunlight began to trickle into the vehicle. Fortunately, the shade had been pulled closed. Otherwise, more tiny shards of glass would have immediately fallen on me. I handed to situation over to my insurance company for repair.

10/28/2025 ODI #11696132.0

I am writing to formally report a serious safety incident involving my Mercedes-Benz vehicle. While driving home recently, without any warning, I heard a sudden explosion that sounded like a gunshot. In an instant, shattered glass fell throughout the interior of the car, covering my daughter, grandson, and me. Fortunately, the only other vehicle nearby was at a considerable distance; otherwise, the outcome could have been catastrophic. Our car swerved sharply as a result of the shock. We came to realize that the sunroof had exploded and completely shattered.

09/10/2017 ODI #11022552.0

The plastic fuel tank in Mercedes benz gle 350 was ruptured by road debris due to lack of shield protection to the tank. This accident happened while I was driving on the highway I-45 from dallas to houston on aug 12 2017. The half tank of the gas was leaking out within 10 minutes. Thanks to no traffic met during that time, otherwise we could get fire.

brakes 3 complaints shown

5 total in this category · severe · avg repair $450 · see brakes cluster analysis →
11/01/2021 47,000 mi ODI #11438854.0

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact felt a slight hesitation upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to independent mechanic who informed her that the brake calipers on the rear driver’s and passenger’s side were worn and needed to be replaced. The contact then took the vehicle to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the mechanic confirmed the failure. The vehicle remained in the dealer possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided the contact a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

11/01/2021 47,000 mi ODI #11438856.0

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact felt a slight hesitation upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to independent mechanic who informed her that the brake calipers on the rear driver’s and passenger’s side were worn and needed to be replaced. The contact then took the vehicle to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the mechanic confirmed the failure. The vehicle remained in the dealer possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided the contact a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

10/17/2023 41,300 mi Crash ODI #11550482.0

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was in the hold brake position while at a complete stop. The contact stated that the vehicle independently moved forward twice. The contact stated that the failure caused her to rear-end the vehicle in front. A police report was filed. The contact also stated that damage was done to both vehicles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 41,300.

body 2 complaints shown

4 total in this category · severe · avg repair $1,500 · see body cluster analysis →
12/28/2023 Crash ODI #11562286.0

The vehicle accelerated on its own after a stop in front of the garage after stopping. It was so fast that it ramped into the building and destroyed it until a pillar put it to a stop.

09/23/2022 ODI #11486008.0

The sunroof exploded spontaneously and shattered without warning while driving on a highway (I20 ) from Tyler TX to DFW airport around 10 AM bright sunny Tuesday morning.I was terrified and now feeling unsafe to drive this car with this kind of unsafe sunroof product henceforth. I called Mercedes Benz USA and said the car is out of warranty and did not want to check and investigate this safety failure and be responsible to make good to replace the sunroof in order to ensure it is safe to drive this car again. We want to report this incident to you. We also informed them that there were previous same issue of there older model but they said there is nothing they can do. They are not interested in investigating this safety issue either.

steering 2 complaints shown

7 total in this category · severe · avg repair $700 · see steering cluster analysis →
11/10/2022 11,000 mi ODI #11493123.0

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the message "Power Steering Malfunction. See Operator Manual" was displayed. The steering became extremely difficult to turn. The contact was unable to maneuver the steering wheel and stopped the vehicle. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road with the assistance of a bystander who drove the vehicle. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the warning message disappeared, and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the actuator module and the steering rack needed to be replaced. The

11/01/2022 ODI #11491825.0

The vehicle only has about 10K+ miles but encountered "Power Steering Malfunction See Operator’s Manual" error message, and then the Power Steering stopped working, became stiff, and could not be moved. The vehicle got stuck in the mid of the road becoming very dangerous for the driver, passengers, and all other moving vehicles on the road too. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who said that the Powering Steer Rack was not working and needed to be replaced. The cost is about $7000. Mercedes had multiple recalls for very similar Power Steer problems in the past a few years including vehicles made in the same year as mine (2017). However they never included the GLE model in their recalls in the past. Apparently GLE was affected by the wide-spread Power Steer Malfunction problem which the

visibility 1 complaint shown

12/27/2023 ODI #11562202.0

Wednesday Dec 27th 2023 at approx 6pm. While enroute on Interstate 81 South at Hagerstown VA in heavy rain, darkness and heavy traffic at highway speed the windshield wiper arm on the passenger side (right) suddenly collided with the drivers side arm - the wiper blade flew off and was lost the wiper arms then became entangled and ceased to operate. I believe I was quite fortunate to find an opening between trucks to get to the right side shoulder and pull the vehicle off the road. On investigation I found that the right side wiper arm was rotating freely and not operating - obviously having suffered a mechanical failure. I could not determine any immediate cause. The left side wiper arm seemed to operate normally and after waiting for the rain to subside I was able to continue the

lighting 1 complaint shown

8 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $250 · see lighting cluster analysis →
12/14/2017 12,671 mi ODI #11054739.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-benz gle350. While driving at night, the exterior headlamps insufficiently illuminated the driver's line of sight on the road. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle and no way to modify the positioning of the lights. The failure mileage was approximately 12,671.

airbags 1 complaint shown

11/25/2025 84,541 mi Crash ODI #11701558.0

The contact owned a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while slowing at approximately 10 MPH and making a right turn to pull into a driveway, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into a fence and came to a stop. The contact had not sustained any injuries, and medical attention was not needed. A Police report was not filed. The contact stated that the fence was damaged. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure but was taken to be repaired. The contact then stated that approximately a year later while driving approximately 20-30 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, into ongoing traffic at a cross street. The contact pumped the brake pedal several times to stop the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to slow down as intende

engine 1 complaint shown

3 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $3,100 · see engine cluster analysis →
11/01/2021 47,000 mi ODI #11438857.0

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact felt a slight hesitation upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed her that the brake calipers on the rear driver’s and passenger’s side were worn and needed to be replaced. The contact then took the vehicle to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the failure was confirmed. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

powertrain 1 complaint shown

4 total in this category · severe · avg repair $2,500 · see powertrain cluster analysis →
10/10/2018 Crash ODI #11139376.0

Electronic shifter stays in neutral after turning off the vehicle and taking foot off the brake while parking. This is a serious design flaw and often causes a dangerous rolling condition after parking until the driver is aware the vehicle is not stopped and in park. No audible alerts or safety warnings are trigged if you do not press park. In one case our vehicle rolled across a parking lot causing serious damage totaling $4,213.95 and could have easily killed someone.

cruise control 1 complaint shown

4 total in this category · severe · avg repair $600 · see cruise control cluster analysis →
09/04/2018 ODI #11124200.0

Car not stop .when turning to stop my car accelerated on its own.on highway

Showing 300 of 73 total complaints. The full federal record is available at nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2017/Mercedes-Benz/GLE-Class#complaints.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-06-14. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
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