AI Damage2005 Mercedes-Benz E320: common problems
Owners of the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320 filed 231 complaints with NHTSA, most often about fuel/propulsion system and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 231
- involving a crash
- 10
What fails most often
- 1 Fuel/propulsion system 35% of all complaints
- 2 Service brakes 23% of all complaints
- 3 Fuel system 18% of all complaints
- 4 Air bags 10% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 7% of all complaints
- 6 Powertrain 4% of all complaints
- 7 Engine 4% of all complaints
- 8 Engine and cooling 3% of all complaints
- Fuel/propulsion system: 81 complaints (35% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 54 complaints (23% of all), 4 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Fuel system: 42 complaints (18% of all).
- Air bags: 22 complaints (10% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 16 complaints (7% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 231 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 | 81 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 54 | 4 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 22 | 5 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 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.
A warning in Red came up on the dashboard which said something like "catastrophic break failure" ..I was going slow about to stop at the Red light and the brakes did not work and I hit a mini van
Smoke appeared inside and outside the front passenger side of the vehicle. There were no injuries. The insurance company towed the vehicle to a facility. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified.
This model is know to have complete brake failure especially on the mercedes forums. Someone can inspect the vehicle because I can wait to fix to make sure this can never happen to anyone again or cause a death.
A red light was coming up, so I went to press brakes & absolutely no brakes! I swerved in a church/school parking lot to my right so I wouldn't go further ahead & be in a major intersection. Because of the quick turn, I hit a tree in an island, which stopped the car, but totaled my car.
The front passenger front airbag did not deploy. Both occupants sustained major injuries as a result of the collision. The investigating chp officer observed that the front passenger front airbag did not deploy and requested an evaluation of the system due to a perceived potential srs system failure.
The vehicle immediately became engulfed in flames. The driver was fatally injured with trauma to the head. The passenger was fatally injured with trauma to the torso and the two rear passengers died from smoke inhalation. The police were on scene and a report was filed.
The front driver's side air bag did not deploy. A special examined the vehicle and determined that the air bags performed as the should because the collision was a lateral impact.
The contact stated she had trapped her finger in the sunroof. The contact stated that the sunroof was loose. The failure mileage was unknown. Parts distribution disconnect.
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 1,751 of 36,656 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 231, 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.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: fuel/propulsion system, service brakes, fuel system. Total complaints: 231. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: fuel system, fuel smell (27%), warning lights, check engine (14%), smoke, burning smell, fire (10%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2005 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 2005 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 2005 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 2026-11-05.