AI Damage2004 Mercedes-Benz E320: common problems
Owners of the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320 filed 203 complaints with NHTSA, most often about fuel/propulsion system and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 203
- involving a crash
- 6
What fails most often
- 1 Fuel/propulsion system 39% of all complaints
- 2 Service brakes 25% of all complaints
- 3 Fuel system 20% of all complaints
- 4 Electrical system 6% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 3% of all complaints
- 6 Structure 3% of all complaints
- 7 Exterior lighting 2% of all complaints
- 8 Visibility 2% of all complaints
- Fuel/propulsion system: 79 complaints (39% of all).
- Service brakes: 50 complaints (25% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Fuel system: 40 complaints (20% of all).
- Electrical system: 13 complaints (6% of all).
- Air bags: 6 complaints (3% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 203 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel/propulsion system | 79 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 50 | 5 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Latches, locks, linkages | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 3 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
While driving approximately 30 mph, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop and all the warning lights on the instrument panel illuminated. In addition, an error message displayed and informed the contact to immediately stop the vehicle.
Driving on the freeway, 61 mph, start raining hard, pouring, car slipped, turned and hit the wall on the side of the freeway heads on straight. Got hit by another car on the side, after couple of turns, it stopped on the middle of the freeway.
Driver was unable to stop or maintain control of the vehicle, and it collided into a glass window of a business. No injuries reported. Upon impact, both air bags did not deploy. Vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic insisted that the problem could not duplicated.
Brake failure, caused a major collision. Car did not stop in time to avoid another vehicle. Also electrical issue. Consumer received a letter stating that his vehicle was included in the recall.
The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V918000 (Visibility); however, the contact was informed by the dealer that the sunroof glass was manufactured in a year outside of the year stated in the recall.
The sunroof has a recall due to the fact that it has a bad seal, which could fly off due to this issue. I know the seal is bad because the whole roof leaked a few years ago and fried all the electronic; e.g. lights, sunroof controls, trunk light controls, side door controls.
The driver's side mirror auto-dim function failed (as theorized by simple research where others have this issue) December 2023 and leaked a liquid behind the glass causing blurriness, double vision, and extremely dim reflection.
The wire casing in the wiring harness for the headlights crumbles and leaves exposed wires that touch, short, and draw causing dim headlights. Due to being cited for dim headlights the night before, I called MBUSA on December 27 2023 and they initially REFUSED to take a case from me.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 2,016 of 36,659 model years in the NHTSA data (top 5% most complained about).
On average one model year of the E320 has 73 complaints (16 years in the data). This year has 203, above average.
What to check before buying
- Fuel/propulsion system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: fuel/propulsion system, service brakes, fuel system. Total complaints: 203. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: fuel system, fuel smell (29%), warning lights, check engine (8%), brake failure (7%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320 from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2004 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.