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Mercedes-Benz · NHTSA safety record

2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

65

Complaints

5

Crashes

1

Fires

6

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 have filed 65 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2012 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 21 of them (32%). The typical failure was reported at 48,500 miles, the median across the 44 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP:CONTROL/DRIVE MODULE

22V955000 · December 23, 2022

The defect
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2012-2014 ML550, 2012-2015 ML350, AMG ML63, 2015 ML250, ML400, 2016 GLE450, GLE300, 2016-2018 GLE350, GLE550, 2016-2019 GLE400, 2017-2019 AMG GLE43, and 2016-2020 AMG GLE63 vehicles. Water might accumulate in the spare tire wheel well and damage the fuel pump control unit, which could cause an engine stall while driving.
The risk
An engine stall while driving increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will install a water drain plug, inspect for water intrusion, and replace the fuel pump control unit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 15, 2023. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's numbers for this recall are 2023010002 and 2023010003.

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC · up to 348,183 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION:FRONT

18V272000 · April 27, 2018

The defect
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2012-2014 ML350 Bluetec 4Matic and ML550 4Matic, 2012-2015 ML63 AMG 4Matic and ML350 4Matic, 2013-2016 GL350 Bluetec 4Matic, GL550 4Matic and GL63 AMG 4Matic, 2017 GLS350d 4Matic, GLS450 4Matic, GLS550 4Matic and GLS63 AMG 4Matic, 2015 ML400 4Matic, 2016 GLE400 4Matic, GLE350 4Matic, GLE63 AMG 4Matic, GLE63S AMG 4Matic, GLE450 4Matic Coupe and GLE63S AMG 4Matic Coupe, 2015-2016 GL450 4Matic and 2013-2014 GL450 4Matic vehicles equipped with the Active Curve System (ACS). In certain driving conditions, if the oil level in the ACS reservoir is below the minimum level, the oil may foam and leak out of the vent holes in the reservoir cap.
The risk
The leaking oil in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will correct the oil level as necessary and replace the reservoir sealing cap to prevent oil foam from leaking out, free of charge. The recall began August 30, 2018. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2018070015.

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. · up to 9,725 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE

17V177000 · March 14, 2017

The defect
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2016 AMG GT-S, GLC300, CLA250 and GLE300d 4Matic vehicles, 2013 C250, E350 BlueTec and G63 AMG vehicles, 2008-2014 C300 vehicles, 2013-2014 C300 4Matic and ML350 4Matic vehicles, 2009 C350 vehicles, 2014 CLS550, E350 4Matic, E350 Coupe 4Matic, E350 Wagon 4Matic, GLK350 and SL550 vehicles, 2012 CLS550 4Matic vehicles, 2012-2016 E350 vehicles, 2016-2017 GL450 4Matic vehicles, 2012-2014 ML350 4Matic BlueTec vehicles, 2015 S550, S550 4Matic and C300 4Matic Sedan vehicles, 2015-2016 C300 Sedan vehicles, and 2017 SL63 AMG vehicles. Various control units on these vehicles may have been updated with incorrect software, potentially affecting the correct deployment of the air bags in the event of a crash.
The risk
If the air bags do not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, there would be an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will update software in the affected control units, free of charge. The recall began April 21, 2017. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. · up to 51 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 65.

ENGINE 21 32%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 12 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 17%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 9 14%
STEERING 7 11%
POWER TRAIN 6 9%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 6%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 3 5%
SEAT BELTS 3 5%
STRUCTURE 3 5%
AIR BAGS 2 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 9.

2012 2024 2026
2012 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

2 injured · crash · towed

My indicators stopped working a month prior to accident, then they started working again. On March 10th the issue happened again where I turned my signal on and no light appeared and no light on the dash with the indicator sound either. Boom, I had sideswipe someone on a major road causing an accident. NHTSA needs to do something about this because corporate won’t do anything!

NHTSA complaint 11603926. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

2 injured · 103,000 miles

TOOK OUR 2012 MERCEDES-BENZ ML350 BLUETEC TO THE DEALERSHIP NUMEROUS TIMES DUE TO AN OVERPOWERING FUEL SMELL AND BURNED PLASTIC IN THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. WE HAD TO STOP SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE WE FELT SICK AS IF WE WERE GOING TO PASS OUT AND/OR THROW UP. BUT, THEN IT STARTED TO AFFECT OUR CHILDREN AND WE DEMANDED THAT THE DEALERSHIP FIND THE ROOT CAUSE. THEY FINALLY DETERMINED THAT IT WAS A FUEL LEAK AROUND THE FUEL INJECTORS THAT COMPLETELY CHARRED COMPONENTS IN THE FUEL INJECTION CAVITY. IT COULD HAVE CREATED A FIRE OR LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I NOTICED THAT THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED TO THE NHTSA WHICH IS WHY I AM ALSO REPORTING THIS NOW ALSO. MY VEHICLE IS ONLY SERVICED BY THE

NHTSA complaint 11185111, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · fire

My wife was driving home from shopping and noticed an accumulation of dust on the rear window. She used the rear wiper to clean it but it came right back, she repeated twice and gave up. Approx 3-4 miles later she heard a POP and red lights came on the dash, when she pulled over ASAP in a safe spot smoke started coming from under the hood. She shut the engine off and tried to exit the car to find the hood release under the dash but there was fire coming out from under the car. She closed the door, grabbed her purse and cell phone and got out quickly as possible, burning her ankle and singing her long skirt. She got approx 50 feet away, looked back and the entire car was ablaze, centered mid

NHTSA complaint 11625550, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 110,000 miles

MY VIN IS NOT PART OF THE TAKATA RECALL, ALTHOUGH SIMILAR MODELS I.E ML350 4MATIC 2012 IS. MY CAR WAS INVOLVED IN A HIGH IMPACT CRASH IN WHICH IT WAS TOTALED. THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND RESULTED IN SERIOUS NECK AND BACK INJURIES. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY ON THE HIGHWAY AS TRAFFIC SLOWED. A FAST ONCOMING VEHICLE (70-80 MPH) FAILED TO SEE MY STATIONARY VEHICLE AND REAR ENDED MY VEHICLE WITHOUT BREAKING CAUSING IT TO CRASH IN THE CAR IN FRONT. THE INCIDENT WAS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO CAUSE MY ENGINE TO DROP AND THE FRONT CRUMBLE ZONE WAS FULLY UTILIZED. A WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD "LEFT SRS AIRBAG MALFUNCTION" SEE THE PICTURE ATTACHED. THIS IS POSSIBLY A WIDESPREAD ISSUE

NHTSA complaint 11046967, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

122,000 miles

The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 30 - 35 MPH, the message "Do Not Drive Vehicle" was suddenly displayed. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic, and the brake fluid reservoir was topped off. The mechanic was unable to find any leaks. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The message turned off and was displayed again 4 hours later. The contact was called by his wife, and the vehicle was driven to the residence after the brake fluid reservoir was refilled. The contact stated that a half mile later, the message was displayed again. The vehicle was driven to the residence and parked. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that

NHTSA complaint 11749928, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
ENGINE STALLED DRIVING ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT 70mph. MECHANIC DIAGNOSTIC INDICATED TO BE FAULTY FUEL PUMP and/or FUEL PUMP CONTROL UNIT. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY MERCEDES BENZ AS A FAULTY ISSUE AND SUBJECT TO RECALL. UPON CALLING MERCEDES BENZ DEALER WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THIS MATTER FOR MY VEHICLE CONTRADICTING THIS ISSUE PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED BY MERCEDES BENZ.

NHTSA complaint 11731177. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS
The driver's seat belt is locked and the retractor is not working without any reason. The front adaptive cruise control radar is also not working, along with the crucial blind spot sensor. Because of this, the vehicle cruise control (even without adaptive mode) is not working at all. This is a big safety issue and it is illegal to even drive this car without the seat belt working.

NHTSA complaint 11629538. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

65,000 miles

The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact stated while driving uphill at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The contact stated that the abnormal shaking occurred at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with timing chain failure. The contact was informed that the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure

NHTSA complaint 11628291, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

crash

Turn signals will not operate, dealership quoted me $1400 3 years ago, had the work performed and now the issue is happening again and I am being quoted the same amount of money. This is a safety concern if I cannot signal to others where I am turning!!!!! This could cause an accident!!!!! This is highly unsafe!!! What if my kids were in the car?! Talking to customers in waiting lounge at dealership other people have had same issue!! The one time they stopped working I had a person hit me going 30 mph, could have been much much worse.

NHTSA complaint 11603923. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Mercedes-Benz ML350

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2015 52 5 —
2014 67 4 —
2013 56 4 —
2011 110 3 —
2010 101 3 —

Other 2012 Mercedes-Benz models

C250 272 C300 264 E350 215 GLK350 167 GL450 45 C350 34 CLS550 23 GL350 22

Every Mercedes-Benz on this site — 216 vehicles, 576 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst